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Plans For Five County Trail Kicking Into High Gear

March 05, 2025 Steve Schwaller

(Spencer)– The Spencer City Council Monday evening heard an update on efforts to build a trail connecting five counties in the region. Kathy Fueston, a trails advocate in Clay county, says the initial talks got underway in 2013…

“At that time I invited the counties of Carroll, Sac, BV, Clay and Dickinson all to have representatives. We decided that Storm Lake was a central location. We met in the City Council office there. We had about 30 people in attendance and we collaborated together on how to make this five county trail become reality.”

Since then, Fueston says 13 miles of trail between Sac City and Carroll have been completed, in addition to a trail from Spencer north to the Dickinson county line, with construction on the first phase from Dickinson County south to Clay county to get underway this summer. Fueston says now they’re looking at the segment from Spencer through Storm Lake to Early. She says the proposed route would run along Highway 71. Meanwhile Fueston says planning along other segments of the five county trail continues as well…

“Monday night I met with the group in Sac City. They’re working on a trail from Sac City to Lakeview. They’ve got their city support and city funding and county support and funding in place and they’re working on grants.”

Fueston says the five county trail has also received support from Iowa D.O.T commissioners…

“They are so excited because not only does it encompass a lot of bike riding and now with e-bikes, everybody can ride a bike. But it also encompasses about 20 lakes so that in of itself makes it a huge tourism component.”

She says the goal is to have a 220 mile trail that would extend all the way from Lake Park to Des Moines. She says another meeting of the five county group is set for March 18th in Storm Lake. Fueston adds they plan to hold an open house on the segment from Clay county to the Dickinson county line in late April or early May.

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