Tour will be completed by 3 p.m. to ensure SAG support >> If riders do not reach their desired stop by noon, we will ask that you turn around in order to make it back by 3:00.
For more info Contact John Reimer
402.493.4495 or jreimer@cbmc.com
Wabash Trace Nature Trail
The Wabash Trace Nature Trail is a converted railroad right-of-way running over 60 miles through the scenic Southwest Iowa countryside from Council Bluffs to Blanchard on the Iowa/Missouri border.
You will travel through the picturesque Loess Hills which run along the western edge of Iowa. These hills were formed by windblown loess (rhymes with bus), a fine and fragile soil, which built up over the years to heights of 200-300 feet. This unusual formation can only be found to such extent and depth in western Iowa and in northern China.
The trail can be accessed in each of the towns it travels through: Council Bluffs, Mineola, Silver City, Malvern, Imogene, Shenandoah, Coin, and Blanchard. Our starting point will be the Trailhead Park in Council Bluffs, on the northern end or the Shenandoah Trailhead on the southern end (see Trail Map).
The railroad tracks and ballast have been removed, and the trail has been resurfaced with crushed limestone. The rail line that is now the trail started in 1878 as part of the Council Bluffs and St. Louis Railway and was later acquired by the Wabash Railroad. Although it was eventually taken over by the Norfolk and Western after World War II and later by the Iowa Southern Railway, the Wabash held many memories for area residents, memories that live on in the Wabash Trace Nature Trail.
