Original RRVT The RRVT trail between Waukee and Yale runs along the rail line established in 1881 as a narrow-gauge line of the
Des Moines Western Railroad, which became part of the
Wabash Railroad, and later, the
Milwaukee Road, who took over the line and converted it to standard gauge. Passenger service ended along the line in 1952. In 1982, the
Chicago & North Western purchased the line. Freight service continued along the line until 1987. In 1987, the Central Iowa Energy Cooperative (CIECO), an affiliate of the Central Iowa Power Company, purchased the line and hundreds of acres of land located south of
Panora, Iowa. CIECO intended to build a coal-fired power plant on the land it had acquired south of Panora, near the railroad line. However, plans for this power plant were abandoned. Much of the land that was to have been the site of the power plant was placed in the Lennon Mill Wildlife Area south of Panora. In late 1987, CIECO, Iowa Trails, and the Conservation Boards of Dallas and Guthrie Counties agreed to develop the railroad line as a recreational trail. On October 7, 1989, the first section of the Raccoon River Valley Trail opened. In 1990, of this paved trail were opened between
Waukee, and
Yale. North of Yale, the RRVT lies along an old
Union Pacific Railroad line which was abandoned in the late 1990s. In 2024, the bridge over the
North Raccoon River on the east side of Adel was resurfaced and widened from 10 feet to 12 feet which allows emergency vehicles and maintenance equipment better access to the trail. On May 12, 2025, the bridge over the North Raccoon River on the east side of Adel was set on fire which caused the 2025 Raccoon Ride route to be detoured onto Highway 6 eastward for from west of the North Raccoon River to Prospect Avenue where the Baccoon Ride route travels northward to the Raccoon River Valley Trail and the Baccoon Ride route resumes eastward on the Raccoon River Valley Trail. The bridge will remain closed until at least May 2026 with the estimated damage to the bridge is approximately $896,000 according to Dallas County Conservation. On April 8, 2024, Waukee officials discussed a Hickman Road Pedestrian Crossing study which would involve constructing a
tunnel for pedestrians and bicyclists under Hickman Road at 10th Street near the RRVT
trailhead in Waukee and a
bridge or overpass for pedestrians and bicyclists at Warrior Lane over Hickman Road.
North Loop The North Loop is an additional paved branch from
Herndon through
Perry to
Waukee. This paved branch follows the old
Union Pacific Railroad line which was abandoned in late 2005. From
Herndon, it travels through
Jamaica and then northern
Dallas County to
Dawson,
Perry,
Minburn,
Dallas Center, and then to
Waukee. On May 14, 2011, the six mile (10 km) concrete segment from
Dawson to
Perry opened for use. A six-mile (10 km) concrete segment from
Waukee to
Dallas Center opened for use on October 15, 2011 In downtown Perry at noon on Saturday, June 1, 2013, the grand opening of the new 33 mile "north loop" occurred with Chuck Offenburger as Master of Ceremonies and a keynote speech by Kevin Cooney. ==Connections to other trails==