Great Western Trail

Martensdale to Des Moines – 16.5 Miles

This 16.5 mile recreational trail begins near Water Works Park in Des Moines and ends in the Warren County town of Martensdale.

Parking is available at the trailhead on Valley Drive/George Flagg Pkwy. near Park Avenue. The trail has a asphalt surface. The Great Western Trail opened in 1992, a hundred years after its establishment as a rail line from Des Moines to St. Joseph, Missouri.

It is named for the Chicago Great Western Company whose trains operated on this line from 1892 to 1968.