PERRY, Iowa, September 8, 2009 – The Raccoon River Valley Trail in west central Iowa is celebrating its 20th anniversary this fall, and a special free event on Wednesday evening, September 16, in Perry, will showcase and celebrate the trail’s history, as well as the current extension projects and  future economic development possibilities.

It’s “20 Years of the Raccoon River Valley Trail,” with a special panel discussion by the three trail managers and county conservation directors who have been involved with the RRVT from the beginning — Mike Wallace of Dallas County, Joe Hanner of Guthrie County and Dan Towers of Greene County.

The event will be held at 7 p.m. at the Center for Town/Craft at 1124 Willis Avenue in downtown Perry, across the street from the renovated Carnegie Library. 

It is being held as part of Town/Craft’s “Living Local” exhibit, which opened in August and continues through October 26.  The exhibit features displays by local businesses, producers and organizations on how the idea of “living local” helps positively impact the economic sustainability of small communities.

“We encourage communities all along the RRVT to send representatives, and we hope trail users will attend, too,” said Chuck Offenburger, of Cooper, secretary of the RRVT Association.  “We think it’s going to be a good, quick catch-up and reminder of how this really special trail came to be in the first place.  And we’ll be talking a lot about all the changes that are happening on it right now, and will be happening even faster in the next two years.”

The first section of the Raccoon River Valley Trail opened on October 7, 1989, with a 34-mile route completed in 1990 from Waukee to Yale. A 12-mile addition from Jefferson south to Herndon was completed in 1997.  Then in 1999, a five-mile extension was completed east from Waukee to connect with the Green Belt Trail in the Des Moines suburb of Clive, and another five miles of trail was completed to link Herndon and Yale in northern Guthrie County.

The 56-mile-long hard-surfaced RRVT now crosses three counties and nine communities, and it also connects to the trail system that runs on into the Des Moines metro area.  Hence, it is possible to ride a bicycle on a paved trail from Jefferson all the way to the Des Moines River in downtown Des Moines – a total distance of 70 miles.

A 33-mile “North Loop” addition to the RRVT is under construction now, and will soon bring the trail’s total miles to 89 — making it one of the longest hard-surfaced rec trails in the nation.  It will then extend across four counties and 15 communities.

The RRVT is already recognized as “becoming one of the best recreational trails in America,” and in its 20 years has inspired all kinds of business and tourism development.  In its 56-mile-long year, its infrastructure value was estimated at $11.2 million.  The new “North Loop” will push the value to well over $20 million.  Meanwhile, the number of annual trail users is expected to grow from about 125,000 now to three or four times that in the next three to five years.

“What that really means,” said Offenburger, “is that our current and new trail communities have about another 18 months to two years to have their acts completely together and operating.  If we present a great line-up of all kinds of amenities in our towns, we’ll see more tourism than we’ve ever known before, and that means economic prosperity.  This is an opportunity that towns just cannot let pass.  The program on September 16 will help provide the information everybody needs to get things in gear.”

Another event celebrating the 20 years of the trail will be the annual RRVT Fall Festival, which is set for Saturday, October 3.  There will be special activities in all the trail towns that day, as a sort of “thank you” to trail users for another great season.  More information about the Fall Festival events will be posted on this Internet site.