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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.
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 Jefferson
- 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
- Greene County slogan: “Home of the Horn of Plenty”
- Most famous son/daughter: American pollster George Gallup, 1972 Olympic gold medalist in archery Doreen Wilber, Des Moines Register chief political columnist David Yepsen
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 Cooper
- Population: 30
- Services for trail users: Trailhead parking, restroom, picnic tables
- Nearest public restroom: Old “Cooper Weigh 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, now CEO of Des Moines Blank Park Zoo
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 Herndon
- 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 in the next two or three years.
- Town slogan: "New life for the ol' junction!"
- Most famous son/daughter: Jerry Kinney, legendary Iowa school band director
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 Yale
- Population: 287
- Services for trail users: Trailhead parking, restroom, bank, restaurant, bar
- Nearest public restroom: Trailhead south end of town
- Don’t miss: The old hotel, which is being completely renovated for eventual re-opening, with rooms available for trail users and others.
- Town slogan: “Not the biggest, but the best”
- Most famous son/daughter:
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 Panora
- 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, and ice cream trailside at P.J.’s Drive-In
- Town slogan: “Come for the fun! Stay for the future.”
- Most famous son/daughter: Kip Janvrin, Olympic decathlete, Drake Relays champion multiple times
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 Linden
- Population: 226
- Services for trail users: Portable toilet trailside, drinking fountain
- Nearest public restroom: Trailside
- Don’t miss: The town was named after its many linden trees
- Most famous son/daughter:
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 Redfield
- Population: 833
- Services for trail users: All, including kayak and canoe service for river floats
- Nearest public restroom: Redfield Depot, businesses
- Don’t miss: Note the roller dam on the Middle Raccoon River, also follow signs to “Hanging Rock Park,” downtown business district undergoing a nice renovation
- Town slogan: “The People Make The Difference”
- Most famous son/daughter: Another decathlete, Rex Harvey
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 Adel
- 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.
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 Waukee
- 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
- Don’t miss: Variety of restaurants in strip malls the trail passes, 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 in 2006: “Wau-ke-ke: Ride the Wave!”
- Most famous son/daughter: Up for discussion
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 AND ON THE “NORTH LOOP” OF THE TRAIL
When the new “north loop” of the Raccoon River Valley Trail is completed in the next two or three years, the communities added to the trail will be Dallas Center, Minburn, Perry, Dawson and Jamaica. We will be adding profiles of those communities here soon. |
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