High Trestle Trail Bridge

The bridge stands on the line of a former railroad that once crossed the Des Moines River valley here. When the rail line was abandoned, the corridor was preserved and converted into the High Trestle Trail, part of a nationwide movement to turn disused railways into public trails for walking and cycling. The old high crossing over the river valley was the trail's great challenge and its great opportunity.

Rather than build a purely functional span, the project's partners commissioned an artist to reimagine the crossing. The result rebuilt the trestle as both a bridge and a sculpture, keeping the thrill of a high railroad crossing while adding a layer of design that turned it into one of the most photographed places in Iowa.

The bridge's signature feature is a series of steel frames set along its length, each rotated slightly from the last, so that as you move through them they seem to spiral around you. The design was inspired by the coal-mining history of the valley below, evoking the timbers and shafts of the old mines that once ran beneath this land. Walking or riding through the frames is a strange and lovely experience, a slow turning of the view.

After dark the artistry deepens. Blue lighting comes on along the bridge, and the glowing structure floats above the dark valley like something out of a dream. Many visitors deliberately time their crossing for dusk to catch the transition, and the night lighting has made the bridge a beloved evening outing.

From high on the bridge, the Des Moines River winds through a broad, wooded valley far below, a green corridor cutting through the surrounding farmland. The height gives a rare bird's-eye view of the river country, and the long approach along the flat, tree-lined trail builds to the sudden openness of the crossing.

The trail links a chain of small central Iowa towns, so a visit can be a short out-and-back to the bridge or a longer ride connecting the communities along the way. Either way, the flat, paved path makes it welcoming to families, casual cyclists, and evening strollers alike.

The bridge crosses the country north of Des Moines, in the heart of Iowa's rich farm belt, where the Des Moines River threads through corn and soybean fields on its way toward the capital. The valley's coal-mining past, honored in the bridge's design, was a real chapter here, when small mines dotted the river country and supplied the growing state.

This region lies within the historic homelands of the Ioway, for whom the state is named, along with the Meskwaki, the Sauk, and the Dakota, whose peoples lived across the prairies and river valleys of central Iowa long before the railroads and farms. The Des Moines River itself was a route and a home for people here for thousands of years, a long history that underlies the young trail crossing above it.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.