Sauk Rail Trail

There are several towns along the trail. At each town you will find a place to stop and get something to eat / drink or to cool off or warm up depending on the season.

Two of the towns, Carroll and Lake View have campgrounds right on the trail. At Swan Lake the trail literally runs right next to the campground.

If camping isn't in your plans, both Carroll and Lake View have hotels to stay at. Carroll has several to choose from like a Super 8 and Days Inn. Lake View has a new Boulders Inn and Suites right on the lake.

The Sauk Rail Trail is a 33 mile long multi-use recreational trail that was completed in 1998. The trail is managed by both the Sac and Carroll County Conservation Boards. It is the first recreational trail in the state of Iowa to connect two state parks. It begins in Lake View near Blackhawk Lake State Park and winds through the countryside of Sac and Carroll counties, ending in Swan Lake State Park south of Carroll.

There are several rest stops along the way, benches, bars and restaurants. The trail surface is concrete from Lake View to Maple River and asphalt from Maple River Junction to Swan Lake in Carroll. It is an excellent place for biking, walking, jogging and in-line skating and is open for snowmobiling and cross-county skiing during the winter, and portions of the trail are open for hunting during the appropriate seasons. Check with the SCCB for details on hunting on the Sauk Rail Trail.

The part of the trail around Swan Lake is particularly hilly. A more level section of trail runs from Maple River to Lake View along an old rail bed. This section goes through the Hazelbrush Wildlife Area, an 80-acre county park.

Fees: user fees are required for those ages 18 and up, $1.00/day or $15.00/year; trail passes can be found at the Carroll County Conservation Board, Sac County Conservation Board and trailheads, there are several of those along the way.
Counties: Sac and Carroll

The trail will be closed the last week in May 2010 because they are going to replace the trail under the bridge at Holihan's Access. They are going to fix the problem under the trail and put more drainage & concrete down.

The trail in that area used to consist of crushed limestone and it is now being converted to concrete, the entire trail will be hard surfaced in the next two months.

The trail has reached Breda and is on it's way to Carnarvon. July 15, 2010

Maple River