There’s nothing better than a delectable ice cream cone on a hot summer bike ride. This route takes you through North Liberty, Kent Park and Jon’s Ice Cream in Tiffin, and on the Clear Creek trail. Have a family? This is a great introduction to gravel riding!
Donut let anyone fool you – we have some great paved trails and bike lanes in #BikeIowaCity. Celebrate National Donut Day with the Bike Iowa City Tour de Donut adventure. Starting from Riverfront Crossings Park, using primarily paved trails and bike lanes you’ll weave your way through Iowa City and Coralville, exploring some of our favorite donut shops, bakeries, and bike routes!
One of the newest additions to our off road adventures is the Coralville Flow Trail, a gravity-fed smooth textured dirt roller coaster. Starting at the Coralville Creekside Cross Trailhead, you’ll venture your way along a tree-lined climbing path, emerging at a clearing where you can Choose Your Own Adventure: the fun and flowy Flow Trail #1 or the fast and furious Flow Trail #2. Further along — if you’re up for the challenge — take a lap on the Sand Crane Trail which features sloping berms on the corners and a wood frame that drops riders over the remains of an old car.
There’s nothing quite like the excitement of these three days of cyclocross racing, from amateurs to pros, from local to international, from kids to dogs, all on a course and at a venue that has consistently been ranked among the favorite of World Cup racers. Race or heckle under the lights on Friday night, and keep it going all day Saturday and Sunday as racers give everything they’ve got to get up Mt. Krumpit, take their bike-handling skills to the limit on treacherous descents and the sand pit, and deal with the unpredictable conditions Iowa weather throws at them. You’ll be up close and personal with cycling heroes and celebrities, thanks to the Herculean efforts of dedicated local volunteers who make it all happen. There is no other sporting event like cyclocross—come experience it for yourself!
It is only fitting that the community that hosts the world-famous Jingle Cross Cyclocross Races, including the World Cup, should have a permanent cyclocross course. Completed in 2017, the course hosts races, organized training events, and riders of all kinds any other time it is open. If you’re heading to town for participating in one of the cyclocross events held in the summer and fall, this would be the perfect training or warmup stop. Open July 1 through winter, until spring thaw begins.
Wanting to get out on gravel but not feeling like dealing with a bunch of hills? This is the route for you! This route manages to find and string together some of the most flat-like-a-pancake roads Johnson County has to offer. Be warned, however: there’s a total of 3 miles of B road on this route — minimally maintained dirt roads that are lots of fun in good weather and that can get impassably sloppy in wet conditions. You might want to choose another adventure if you’re heading out after any significant precipitation.
This friendly loop takes you past the 1883 Secrest Octagonal Barn, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The barn is part of a private farmstead just west of the town of Downy, and its unique shape has helped it withstand the storms and winds of the prairie over all those decades. You’ll pedal past this red-painted landmark not quite halfway through this route. About 18 miles into your ride, you’ll arrive at a one-mile stretch of B road, minimally maintained dirt road. Given the regular rectangles of roads in this part of the county, it’s easy to navigate a mile north or south to circumvent that stretch in muddy conditions…or you might end up taking your bicycle for a walk. Choose wisely!
One of the premier mountain biking destinations in Iowa is located in the midst of hardwood forest along the Coralville Lake, just north of Iowa City and between North Liberty and Solon. The Sugar Bottom mountain bike trail system, in the Sugar Bottom Recreation Area, includes roughly 12 miles and 1,400 climbing feet of outstanding hand-built trails. The one-way trails range from beginner to expert and are configured in a stacked loop system. You can enjoy a green ride on a continuous loop through the whole system, or check out the blues and blacks that loop off of the main trail. Along the way, you might hear the calls of barred owls, startle a group of deer or turkeys, or see an osprey working on its nest.
Races are held at the trail system several times a year and draw riders from across the Midwest.
Trail status is updated here and via signage at the trails; fines are imposed for riding closed trails.
Camping is available at the Sugar Bottom Recreation Area, along with disc golf, a beach area, playground, barrier-free asphalt trail, nearby boat access, and more. There is plenty to do between mountain bike rides!
This urban single track is a newer addition to the cycling amenities in Johnson County. Starting at the Tom Harken Trailhead, the trails meander and flow through a wooded area along Clear Creek; the east and west trail sections are split by Camp Cardinal Boulevard with a connector passing under the street. Featuring mostly green/beginner difficulty level trails and some pump track-like sections, these are fun trails for riders of all types, from kids starting out to the expert looking to squeeze in some convenient training miles. You’ll find lots of solid wooden bridges over water features and wetlands, sandy soil that tends to drain well after rain, and many urban deer that call these woods home.
In the winter, local riders chip in with snowshoeing to groom snowy trails for fat biking.
