Missouri River At Lake Manawa

I have been watching the Missouri River slowly recede back into its banks. Though the flood waters were contained by the levee, this is the second time this year and the third time in the last 3 years the river has flooded.

Of particular interest to me and dirt riders has been the mountain bike trails at Lake Manawa SP.

The trails were rideable except for the ditch at the black pipe, when the June floods hit. This year was the highest I have seen since I have been riding there. It the photo above, note the stain on the blue trail marker - that was the high-water mark. In the distance you can see a utility pole across the trail. The flood waters floated the pole from the parking lot to its current location.

Most of the parking lot was under water. Those of you that are familiar with the parking lot - you will notice the utility poles are missing or have moved.

I have not been out on the trails here to check them out. Because of what I had seen, I have been spending time riding paved trails or the Wabash Trace. I expect that West Sidewinder it high and dry. One of these days I will wander out and check them out. As long as if it stays in its banks, eventually we should be able to get back on the trails. For now, just consider the mountain bike trails at Lake Manawa are CLOSED.

The high waters are not just a problem here in Iowa/Nebraska. Word is that the Corps of Engineers will be continuing releasing waste from the reservoirs. The third photo is of the Missouri River at the river board ramps - Lake Manawa SP. The docking is still sitting in the parking lot. As you can see, the river is very high.

It looks like the river will be high for most of the year. And the dirt trails have not been the only trails effected.

I had heard that the Iowa Rivrfront Trails was flooding under the Harrahs parking garage. Last report, the trail is passable with a detour. You just will not be riding right next to the river.

That is not the case for the section of the Iowa Riverfront Trail near the Western Historic Trails Center. There is a low spot in the trail that is still underwater. The final photo in this posting is of that trail. You can see the high-water mark on the pavement. There is a signed detour that takes riders on the gravel levee access road. The detour meets up back after the flooded area. I have not ridden this detour because I have been riding my road bike on the paved trails.

For a comparison - checkout the blog posting from Tuesday, July 6th. The water IS receding - slowly. Since my road bike is in the shops for adjustments, I may have to take the hybrid for a ride to checkout the rest of the Iowa Riverfront Trail.


For those of you interested in my personal riding - yesterday I hit the 700 mile mark for the year - 200 miles on the new road bike. While not good compared with the 1500+ miles last year by this time, I am please, with the weather and what Ihave been though this year.

Keep on Pedaling!