Discover the Thrill of Prairie Rock Trails

Your Ultimate Guide to Mason City’s New Mountain Biking Adventure

You heard about new mountain bike trails in Mason City and now you want to check them out? Excellent! Here’s a guide as you begin your decent into being a crazy person that plays bikes in the trees for fun. If you’re already that person, then welcome – you’re among friends here.

A couple basics before getting too far. You’ll need a bike capable of riding on single track mountain bike trails – hardtail mountain bikes, full suspension and even fat tire bikes will all work. Can you ride these trails on your grandpa’s old 1960’s Schwinn? Sure, but you can also eat paint chips. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. You will also need a bicycle helmet no more than 3 to 5 years old. You get one brain, protect it. Equally important is to have hydration and carry your phone in case of emergency.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s get to the main dish.

NEW TRAILS

The Rapids
Perfect for beginners with optional features like log/bridge skinnies, an extremely short loop that can be easily repeated, and a wide dirt path where the penalty for error is low. It also features an optional stairstep drop and a rock jump that can be easily ridden in either direction. The Rapids can be accessed from the Winnebago River kayak launch point off of 12th Street NE. If you’re feeling adventurous, try dropping in from the dead end on 10th Street NE.

Evans Preserve
Described by cyclists as an adult playground, this trail features seven progressive jump/tech lines. Each of the jump lines are easily repeatable and each progression offers new obstacles like table tops, knuckle jumps and gap jumps. The two technical lines feature steep drops followed by rock garden navigation. The outer loop has a great cross country feel with many rollers and berms flowing through trees. The outer loop can be ridden in either direction. The inner loop from the eastern hub features a jump line with an optional stone drop and an observation point where you can rest. The inner loop is also easily repeatable. While the inner loop can be ridden both directions, the preferred direction seems to be in a counter clockwise pathing. Evans Preserve is great for intermediate to advanced riders.

Riverhawk
A linear multi-directional trail with a great cross country feel and flow through trees. (Hit at speed for an extra thrilling ride!) Jumps can be performed in a couple of different areas, or you can simply roll over them. The trail is just under a mile long and has two access points. Enter from the west on Illinois Avenue near MCHS softball field or from the south on 4th Street by the Mason City High School parking lot.

Little Riverhawk
Excellent for beginners as the dirt trail is wide and the penalty for failure is relatively low. It features a short square loop with many rollers and weaving through trees along the south side of the property. It has dual inner pump tracks as well. The trail is located behind Lincoln Intermediate School on the large field at the corner of 18th Street SE and South Massachusetts Avenue.


SUGGESTED RIDE

For the best tour of the new trails, start at Zerbles Trailhead/City Dog Park parking lot. The future Mason City Bike Park is being constructed just north of this area! From the parking lot, get on the River City Green Belt Trail (just south of the car wash off 12th Street NE) and head south along the Winnebago River. Shortly you will come across The Rapids on your right. Continue south on the paved trail and follow the river as it turns east. After going under a bridge but before East Park, turn north on the footbridge crossing the Winnebago River. After going past the Mason City Aquatic Center, turn east on Birch Drive and continue until you cross a railroad track. From the trail, you’ll see Evans Preserve to your left. Continue east on Birch Drive until you reach Illinois Avenue and then turn south, using the sidewalk on the east side of the road. Almost immediately after crossing the bridge you will arrive at the west entrance of Riverhawk Trail on the left side.

Easily follow the route with GPS by clicking HERE.

EXPLORE MORE
If you have the time and endurance, it’s easy to catch another 15 to 20 miles on city side pathways and more MTB trails at Lime Creek Nature Center.

The city side trails are relatively easy to navigate and are multi-directional with clear pathing. They are a cross-country style of trail with many sections that involve punchy climbs, log features, skinnies, A frames and many optional rocky routes/drops.

If you’re interested in riding into Lime Creek Nature Center, it’s advised that you have a guide. Even with all trails added to Trailforks, it’s easy to get lost. There are many entrances to trails that are easily missed. Some sections have a preferred direction to ride (though can be done either direction if you are crazy enough). Many sections can splinter off and getting lost is a real thing.

Visiting? Need a guide?
If you’re looking to find a friend, there are a few options. The best is to post in the North Iowa Human Powered Trails Facebook group that you are visiting. Lots of us are out riding the trails anyway and quite a few of us are comfortable playing tour guide. Another good option is to join the Wayne’s weekly shop mountain bike ride. We often ride city side and into Lime Creek. That event is every Tuesday at 6:30 PM starting at Zerble’s Trailhead. >> RIDE WITH US

Written by Wayne’s Ski and Cycle Service Advisor Abraham Wolf with revisions by Visit Mason City. Abe has been a mountain biking enthusiast for the past 7 years. He is a volunteer with North Iowa Human Powered Trails and the Mason City Mountain Bike Club. When he isn’t at work at Wayne’s Ski & Cycle as Service Advisor, he can often be found crashing bikes on the trails – likely from trying to send it a little too hard.