Thank you for being flexible. The first trail we wanted to hike was too overgrown, the second was just right, and the rest were too wet. So we took to hardened trails and still found plenty to explore in and around the park! See you at Grandview on Saturday, August 9.

We tried the dirt trail, but were picking up mud. So we explored the park on pavement and grass. Weather wasn't too hot because it was breezy and overcast. See you next week when we are back at Fourmile!

As I predicted the trails were muddy; there was even a bit of flooding. So we took the the paved trail and saw the sights from there. Let's hope it's dry on the 22nd at Ewing.

Hot, but not too hot. And very shady! I love a good walk in the woods. Thank you for joining me for a quick loop of North Sycamore. I hope to see you all Saturday the 12th at Denman Woods.

Grandview doesn't have paved trails as a fallback option, but it does have scenic roads, a playground, and trash for us to pick up. Thank you to everyone who helped explore. Let's hope for drier conditions next Tuesday at North Sycamore!

I wish I could have been there. Jina, thank you for leading and sending me photos!

The forecasted 98% chance of rain turned into nothing. Thank you to everyone who showed up! And welcome to the folks who randomly showed up from out of town to check out the trail!

We hiked, biked, and ran, and picked up bags of trash.

Another paved stroll, but the Ashawa Greenway trail turned out really scenic. Check out the Soft Trail Stroll Facebook group to see everyone's photos. Let's help for nice dry trails on Saturday, June 7 for National Trails Day.

Thanks for coming out on a rainy day. As predicted, Sycamore was muddy and we had to walk the Neal Smith Trail. Longer walk than usual, but we got to see things I had not seen in a while. I hope things are dry next Tuesday for Southwoods Park. Don't forget to put National Trails Day, Saturday, June 7 on your calendar.

The new park is hilly! Thank you for exploring it with me. Next week we will be a Sycamore. But we will be back at Fourmile for #NationalTrailsDay on June 7.

Thank you for joining me on this bright, sunny day. Denman Woods was so GREEN! Next week we'll be at the new Fourmile MTB Park. I hope to see you there.

Thank you for checking out the lilacs with me! After a detour due to mud, we used the soft trails to get to the south end of the lilac arboretum, climbed the hill via the paved trail, and wandered through the lilac bushes taking pictures. I hope to see you again at Denman Woods next week!

I honestly didn't think the trail would be firm enough after the recent rain, but (except for a several yard stretch on the low south side) I am glad we did hike instead of bailing to the paved trail. We saw so many flowers! Thank you for coming, and I hope to see you next Tuesday when we'll look at lilacs at Ewing.

That was a lot of fun and we should do it once a year. My favorite way to describe this trail is "You are always going up or down or around a blind corner, and sometimes all three at once." Thank you for walking it with me! I hope to see you all again at Southwoods on Tuesday the 22nd.

Too bad it wasn't sunny, but thank you for joining me as we explored the SE corner of the park, found flowers, and didn't get lost. I hope to see you Saturday the 12th when we go to Banner for the first time!

Thank you for coming out to Southwoods today and helping me search for signs of spring! I'm glad we could also check out the original Rothschild hiking trail. I hope to see you at Grandview next Tuesday!

I'm glad we were able to get on the dirt today. Conditions were good and the weather was near perfect. Thank you for exploring the extra mile of new trail with me and for hauling out all that trash!

Thank you for enjoying the nice weather with me. Look at that blue sky! Melting snow and recent rain made the dirt trails way too gloppy, but we got a nice tour of parts of the park we don't often see. I hope to see you all on Tuesday the 18th at Denman Woods.

Wow! Hard to believe that just last week we had to cancel due to cold temps and wind chill. Today was beautifully sunny with temps in the mid-40s. All that warm sun melted the snow and made our dirt trails muddy. That meant we had to stick to the paved trails, but I'm not complaining! Hope to see everyone on Saturday, March 8 at Ewing Park.

UPDATE MON 2/17 12:36PM: From the National Weather Service Des Moines: “Extreme Cold Watch for tonight/Tuesday converted to a Warning north and Advisory south.”

"Extreme Cold Warning: Take Action! An Extreme Cold Warning is issued when dangerously cold air temperatures or wind chill values are expected or occurring. If you are in an area with an Extreme Cold Warning, avoid going outside. If you have to go outside, dress in layers, cover exposed skin, and make sure at least one other person knows your whereabouts. Update them when you arrive safely at your destination."

Tuesday’s walk at Center is officially canceled.

Wow! That was another cold one! We were smart and modified the route slightly so that we didn't have to walk into the wind on the road at the end. Instead we retraced our path through the woods. Finished with the mileage we intended and didn't freeze our faces! Let's hope it's warmer next week at Center Trails.

Brrrrrr! It was nice and sunny for our stroll through Sycamore. If by “nice” you mean 17°F. On the plus side the ground was frozen solid and we didn’t have to worry about mud. Let’s hope for less cold at Grandview next Tuesday.

Join us at Southwoods Park. This park is just off 35th Street, south of Mills Civic Parkway, in West Des Moines. Meet by 10:00 a.m. in the disc golf course parking lot.

We will walk up the paved trail from the lot to the singletrack and turn counter-clockwise on the green loop. Then we’ll cover most of the blue loop before returning clockwise on the green loop. Finally, we will head around the paved loop at the top of the hill and return to the lot. This route is about 2 miles.

Let’s head to Ewing Park again. Meet by 10:00 a.m. in the Ashley Okland Star Playground parking lot on south side of McKinley, just west of Indianola Avenue.

We’ll hike over to the other side of the soapbox derby track. There we’ll go up Trail 4 and down Trail 1. Then we’ll come back over the track.

Turned out to be a nice day for a stroll. We ended up walking most of Denman's outer loop. A great big group today! Thank you all for coming and I hope to see you Tuesday the 21st at Ewing!

Muddy trails rule was in effect, so we took the paved Bill Riley Trail to Water Works park and back. There was plenty to see: snow dusted trees, rushing creeks, stickers, horses, bridges, and more. I hope to see everyone on Saturday the 11th at Denman Woods!

Thank you for exploring the singletrack at Southwoods Park with me. The new signs they are putting in really help distinguish the trails from the disc golf paths. I look forward to continuing to go back and check the progress. I hope to see everyone next week at Center Trails!

Join us at Sycamore Trails in Johnston as we add the High Life loop. Meet by 10:00 a.m. at the gravel parking lot on the south side of 66th Avenue, just west of the Des Moines River.

The plan is to head south on the high line, do the loop, cut across on the levee, and return north along the river for a 2.3-mile round trip.

Snow! How exciting! The debate about what the prettiest amount of snow is rages on, but we enjoyed what we had. Thank you for showing up and I hope to see you on Saturday the 14th at Sycamore!

Take a break from Thanksgiving prep and get some fresh air with us at Sycamore Trails in Johnston. Meet by 10:00 a.m. at the gravel parking lot on the south side of 66th Avenue, just west of the Des Moines River.

The plan is to go clockwise and include the “Fresh Cut” loop. Our distance will be 1.6 miles.