On Monday, August 10, local trails were destroyed in a matter of minutes. A Derecho swept across the state of Iowa, leaving such catastrophic devastation that power is still out, many homes are uninhabitable, and it’s estimated one-third of the state’s crops were lost. This devastation also closed local, county, and state parks and trails in multiple Iowa counties indefinitely as Iowans worked to remove trees from buildings, homes, and streets and wait for power to be restored.

Iowa has limited amounts of public land available for recreation, some of the lowest numbers per capita in the nation. Even so, Iowa has worked diligently to utilize limited public land for recreational pursuits like trails. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowans were getting outdoors and using trails (both dirt and paved) in unprecedented numbers.

Linn County, Iowa’s second-largest county and home to over 226,000 people and IMBA Chapter Linn Area Mountain Bike Association (LAMBA), was particularly hard hit. All of LAMBA’s trail systems sustained extensive damage, some of which is yet unknown as it’s still not safe to be in the parks.

LAMBA trail steward Wes Porter commented, “The damage to our trails is hard to describe and pictures just don’t show the devastation. The tree canopy is mostly gone. Large trees are blown over and their roots leave holes the sizes of cars. The recovery process will be challenging due to the amount of debris on the ground as even finding the trail is difficult.”

The road to recovery will take months and years, and outside help is arriving to assist with humanitarian needs. The access to open spaces and trails will take longer as volunteers are fatigued, working on their own homes and neighborhoods. To complicate things further, there’s an ongoing pandemic and the nature of the tree removal from many trails is well beyond the scope of trail volunteers.

Michelle Barker, of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, has observed the increase in trail use in 2020 and understands the effects trail closures will have on Iowans.

“To lose trail access during a good year is devastating, to lose trail access during a pandemic, when trails are one of the very few amenities available, is catastrophic for the mental health and physical well-being of our residents. While trails are a small luxury in the grand scheme of Iowa’s devastation, the closures will have a significant impact on our state.”

Our thoughts are with our fellow mountain bikers, trail builders, volunteers, and all of those impacted across Iowa by the Derecho. We know the mountain bike community supports each other - here are ways you can help in Iowa and Linn County:

Join or donate to LAMBA

International Mountain Bicycling Association

Fundraising Campaigns

Linn Area MTB Assoc. (LAMBA) Derecho Relief Fundraiser