Communities
The communities you will be experiencing
Following are brief descriptions of the communities on the Raccoon River Valley Trail.
We are now at work putting together detailed lists of businesses, services and attractions in each of the communities, and those will be available here soon..
Population: 4,626
Services for trail users: Trailhead parking, all services available
Nearest public restroom: Jefferson Milwaukee Depot at the trailhead
Don’t miss: An elevator ride up to the viewing deck of the Mahanay Memorial Tower, which has a playing carillon. $2 adults, $1 children 12 and under. And glazed donuts at Bunkers Dunkers Bakery on the square.
Greene County slogan: “Home of the Horn of Plenty,” see mosaic in ground floor of courthouse atrium
Most famous son/daughter: American pollster George Gallup, 1972 Olympic gold medalist in archery Doreen Wilber, political columnist and commentator David Yepsen
Population: 30
Services for trail users: Trailhead parking, shelterhouse, restroom, picnic tables
Nearest public restroom: Cooper Way Station, trailside
Don’t miss: Monument outside Cooper Community Building heralding Johnny Carson as Cooper’s “Honorary 51st Citizen,” decided at time of 1981 centennial celebration
Town slogan: “Everything’s Super in Cooper”
Most famous son/daughter: Terry Rich, former cable TV exec and director of Des Moines Blank Park Zoo, now CEO of the Iowa Lottery
Population: 25
Services for trail users: None so far
Nearest public restroom: Cooper (5 miles north), Yale (5 miles south)
Don’t miss: Standing at the intersection where the current Raccoon River Valley Trail will be crossed by the east-west American Discovery Trail in years to come. That intersection is also where the new “North Loop” of the RRVT will come in from the east.
Town slogan: “New life for the ol’ junction!”
Most famous son/daughter: Jerry Kinney, legendary Iowa school band director
Population: 287
Services for trail users: Trailhead parking, restroom, bank, restaurant, bar
Nearest public restroom: Trailhead south end of town
Don’t miss: An old downtown hotel, which is being renovated by Sarah Brewster, has been moved to the farm where she lives a mile north of Yale. Renovation is continuing and she is considering eventually offering rooms there to trail users and others. Plus, a local committee continues its renovation of the 80-year-old round gymnasium that was used by the basketball teams from old Yale High School; if you can catch anybody there working on it, you’ll be delighted at seeing the interior work.
Town slogan: “Not the biggest, but the best”
Most famous son/daughter: Frank Moore, Class of 1942 at old Yale High School, went on to Yale University, where he wound up teaching. He is the only known person to go Yale to Yale!
Population: 1,175
Services for trail users: Trailhead parking, all services
Nearest public restroom: Businesses, if you buy something
Don’t miss: Guthrie County Historical Village, ice cream trailside at P.J.’s Drive-In, cool business district reachable by spur trail
Town slogan: “Come for the fun! Stay for the future”
Most famous son/daughter: Kip Janvrin, Olympic decathlete, Drake Relays champion
Population: 226
Services for trail users: New shelterhouse trailside, drinking fountain
Nearest public restroom: Portable toilet is trailside
Don’t miss: The town was named after its many linden trees
Town slogan: We haven’t found one yet, so can we suggest one? “It’s Linden, not London!”
Most famous son/daughter: Travis Geopfert, head coach of track & field at the University of Northern Iowa, and an All-American track man during his own student years at UNI
Population: 833
Services for trail users: All, including kayak and canoe service for river floats
Nearest public restroom: Redfield Depot, City Park on the trail, businesses
Don’t miss: Note the roller dam on the Middle Raccoon River, also follow signs to “Hanging Rock Park,” downtown business district has undergone a nice renovation
Town slogan: “The People Make The Difference”
Most famous son/daughter: Another decathlete, Rex Harvey
Population: 3,435
Services for trail users: Trailhead parking, all services
Nearest public restroom: Businesses
Don’t miss: The fabulous Dallas County Courthouse, brick streets on the square, brickyards trailside
Town slogan: “Growing With Pride”
Most famous son/daughter: Nile Kinnick, 1939 Heisman Trophy winner in football for the University of Iowa. Van Harden, co-host for years of the morning show on Des Moines radio station WHO
Population: 8,132, doubled in size in the 1990s and continues to be one of Iowa’s fastest growing towns
Services for trail users: Trailhead parking, all services
Nearest public restroom: Portable toilet at trailhead, northwest corner of town
Don’t miss: Variety of restaurants in strip malls along the trail, the connecting point where the new “North Loop” of the RRVT will exit northwest for Dallas Center
Town slogan: “Waukee – The Key to Good Living,” but we also like their special slogan for RAGBRAI’s overnight stop in 2006: “Wau-ke-ke: Ride the Wave!”
Most famous son/daughter: Hal Manders, major league baseball pitcher in the 1940s for the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs, with his baseball career interrupted by World War II service. In 2008, when Manders was 91 and the oldest living former major leaguer, the City of Waukee announced a special Hal Manders exhibit will be added to the community’s public library.
AND ON THE “NORTH LOOP” OF THE TRAIL
When the new “North Loop” of the Raccoon River Valley Trail is completed, hopefully in 2010, the communities added to the trail will be Dallas Center, Minburn, Perry, Dawson and Jamaica. We will be adding profiles of those communities as the trail reaches them.
