Tuesday, May 3, 2011

High Trestle Trail bridge


Last week was the grand opening of the new High Trestle Trail bridge, one of the longest, tallest pedestrian bridges in the country.  This beautifully designed half-mile bridge is just a 3-mile bike ride from my house.  Its design reflects the coal-mining history of the nearby Des Moines River towns.



I feel so fortunate to live so close to this amazing bridge.  On any given day, I can visit the bridge -- and I often do.  I rode my bike out on it last week, and I had the bridge to myself.


But then I discovered why.  It was so windy, my bike about tipped over!  But the bridge is actually wider than it looks in these photos, so I felt safe.  And with the open-air design of the bridge, it almost feels like I'm flying over the river on a bike.  Amazing!


If you're ever in the central Iowa area, be sure to check out the High Trestle bridge.  There's a new trail head just west of the bridge -- I believe it's the first or second gravel road traveling north, a couple miles east of Madrid on Highway 210.  The parking lot is close enough that you can walk just a quarter mile to the bridge.

2 comments:

  1. We rode from Madrid to the bridge and back, then out to Snus Hill Winery and back on Saturday. It was great even though it was windy that day too! Nice to have it paved, especially! Thanks for sharing this on your blog, it's a great trail for bike riders, walkers, roller bladers, and horse riders!

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  2. Hi Theresa,

    My name is Sarah Gardner, I'm editor of a regional publication called Radish (I'll attach the URL for our website so you can check us out). We're preparing to run a feature on the High Trestle Trail in a coming issue and I'm interested in using an image from your blog. Could you send me an email at editor[at]radishmagazine.com so I could discuss with you what I'm thinking and work out the details?

    I have to tell you I envy you live so close to such a wonderful recreational trail!

    Best regards,
    Sarah

    ReplyDelete

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