Wabash Trace Nature Trail
a draw to southwest Iowa

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This article was written and posted on INHF's website in November 1999.

The Wabash Trace Nature Trail has a positive economic impact on southwest Iowa. According to a recent survey, 80% of trail users traveling over 30 miles said the trail was "very important" in their choice of visiting southwest Iowa.

An average trail user spends $220 per year on a combination of trail passes, bike repair, food, entertainment, and shopping. Users average another $819 on bike equipment and related gear used on the Wabash Trace. Iowa residents make 46 annual visits to the trail, while nonresidents make 18.

The trail survey, conducted by Central Surveys, Inc. of Shenandoah, was distributed to more than 200 Wabash Trace Nature Trail users.

"The purpose of the survey was to determine the overall satisfaction of the trail by the people who use it," said Lisa Hein, Trails and Greenways Director for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. INHF and local volunteers spent over a decade planning and constructing the Wabash Trace Nature Trail.

"We wanted to gauge the general economic impacts of the trail to the region. While some of the information gathered confirmed what we already knew, we did gain new insights in other areas. For example, we didn't know that Iowans travel an average of 13 miles to get to the trail and out-of-state residents travel an average of 51 miles."

"It was also good to learn that individual trail users spend an average of $8.41 per visit," Hein continued. "We have conservatively estimated that there are at least 50,000 visits to the trail annually, which means that the trail brings in at least $420,000 to the local economy each year, and this estimate does not include expenditures for durable goods like bicycles and equipment that has been spent by users."

Of the survey respondents, 50% were from Iowa, 45% from Nebraska, and 5% from other states. Almost 90% of respondents said biking is their main use for the trail.

The trail's highest satisfaction ratings were in reference to availability of parking, level of trail fees, availability of benches, and safety of road crossings. More than 60% of the respondents rated their trail experience as excellent, 34% as good, and 3% as fair. Users were somewhat dissatisfied at the availability of water and restrooms.

"This is one of the finest trails around. People who use it are courteous and friendly. It is a good attraction for the Council Bluffs area," one survey respondent said.

Seventy-one percent of respondents living outside Iowa first heard about the trail from family or a friend. Every respondent to the survey would recommend the trail to a friend.

"Clearly word-of-mouth has been an effective advertisement for this trail," added Hein. "But the economic benefits could be even greater if trail communities coordinated a marketing effort for this unique resource, as is done in other states."

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom,director of communications, or call (515) 288-1846.