Shell Rock River Trail

Trail facts:

Length: 13 miles
Surface: Clarksville to Allison (7 miles, asphalt); Clarksville to Shell rock (6 miles, crushed limestone)
Hours: year-round, sunrise to sunset
Fees: none
Counties: Butler
Cities: Shell Rock, Clarksville, Allison
Connecting trails: none
Uses: hiking, nature viewing, biking, cross-country skiing

Courtesy of: Butler County Development Group

Trail description:

The Shell Rock River Trail is now considered a part of the Rolling Prairie Bike Trail, which offers visitors a chance to observe native flora and fauna while experiencing rural Iowa at its best. Much of the trail is lined with prairie grasses.

The existing Shell Rock River Trail is still crushed limestone surface from Shell Rock to one mile east of Clarksville (5.5 miles). The trail from Clarksville to Allison, called the Rolling Prairie Trail, is blacktop surface and connects with Heery Woods State Park in Clarksville and Wilder Park in Allison.

Plans are in the works to install bicycle lanes along C33 west of Clarksville to connect the trail to Shell Rock. In 2007 blacktop and bike lanes will be added to the trail.

The Butler County Conservation Board is collaborating with the Franklin County Conservation Board, the Iowa Trails Council and the railroad on purchasing the railroad right-of-way between Allison and Coulter, which would add an additional 32 miles.

Trail overview:

• Trail overview map
• Local amenities

Trailhead maps on this site:

• None available at this time

Resources from other sites:

• Butler County, Iowa
  This website has great links to things to do and see in Butler County. There's information on local parks and campgrounds, as well as county events, business websites and more.
• Rolling Prairie Tri-County Trail System
  This website explains the proposed trail that will cross central and northeast Iowa.

Trail managers
*Butler County Conservation Board: 319-278-4237

Local tourism info
*Butler County Development Group, (319) 267-2858, http://www.butlercountyiowa.com