Experts agree that regular exercise is essential for maintaining a healthy weight, strengthening the cardiovascular system, and reducing the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, stroke, and even certain cancers. Exercise can boost mental health by reducing stress and anxiety, improving sleep quality, increasing energy, and enhancing cognitive function.
Dubuque and Dubuque County have numerous outdoor walking and hiking trails ranging from simple to challenging, from riverside to bluff top, and from short jaunts to a committed day hike – and all are available, awaiting those who want to exercise in the natural beauty of the Driftless Area. Let’s look at 12 of the many trails the Dubuque Area has to offer.
Bergfeld Recreation Area – 7600 Chavenelle Rd.
Bergfeld Recreation Area features a 30-acre park with an easy, paved 0.8 mile walking trail that winds around a fishing pond and a 1.9-mile walking trail leading from Bergfeld to Middle Road. The park also offers a picnic shelter, playground equipment, two fishing piers, and restroom facilities. Check out the1872 bridge approach span that once crossed Dubuque’s marsh land leading to the Mississippi River railroad bridge.
John Deere Marsh – 18882 Riverside Rd.
The John Deere Marsh Trail is located between the back of the John Deere Factory and the Mississippi River. The easy, 1.5-mile crushed limestone trail heads straight to the river, past a beaver dam, an eagle nest, and brightly colored wildflowers. The end of the trail offers up-close views of the main river channel. A small, one lane boat ramp is available for kayaks and canoes to access the Mississippi River.
Little Maquoketa River Mounds -18062 Walking Way
The Little Maquoketa River Mounds is a 41-acre preserve, featuring 32 ancient burial mounds. Located south of Sageville and two miles north of Dubuque, in Dubuque County, the preserve was dedicated as an archaeological and geological state preserve in 1981. The preserve contains a stepped, .25-mile trail that climbs a 200-foot steep bluff to the burial and ceremonial mounds overlooking the Little Maquoketa River. The trail is short, but challenging.
Trolley Line Trail/Eagle Point Park – 2601 Shiras Ave.
This 0.57-mile asphalt and concrete trail is built on the same route that a streetcar once travelled carrying passengers to the park. The trail connects 164-acre Eagle Point Park and the Mathias Ham House and runs through densely wooded landscape as it climbs up toward the limestone bluffs above Lock and Dam No. 11 and Mississippi River.
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