A western Iowa hiking and biking trail has picked up some more national recognition. Cathy Engstrom of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation says the Wabash Trace Nature Trail has been recognized as the “Trail of the Month” on a national website. It’s recognized by the Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC) for the month of July, and the group has pictures and comments about the trail on its website. Engstrom says it’s not the first time the trail’s been noticed. She says several other national publications have recognized the “Trace”, which is one of Iowa’s longest trails running 63 miles from Council Bluffs to Blanchard near the Missouri border. Engstrom has biked along the trail which runs through the Loess Hills. She says the northern end of the trail is like a shady avenue through trees and the other end is more like an avenue through open prairie. She says “it’s just beautiful from one end to the other.” Engstrom says the Wabash Trace is a big draw to the area. She says the trail draws in thousands of visitors each year and an estimated half-a-million dollars a year for the local economy. Half the visitors come from Iowa and half from out of state, many from Nebraska. To see what the Rails to Trails Conservancy has to say about the trail, surf to: www.railtrails.org .
