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Iowa trails · Rock Creek Lake Trail

Rock Creek Lake Trail

A 7.6-mile network in Iowa, with 121 ft of climbing. Reaches Rock Creek Lake. Managed by the state.

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Length
7.6 mi
Elevation gain
121 ft
Difficulty
Hard
Max grade
15%
Steepest mile
+90 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
0.7 mi
Shape
network
Bikes
no
Horses
yes
Managed by
State

Elevation profile

848 – 988 ft1234567

The climbing leans toward the middle third: 46% of the ascent falls between mile 2.5 and mile 5.1. It gives back about 501 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Rock Creek Lake Trail

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Rock Creek Lake Trail junction. About 22 min drive (12 mi, 3 of them unpaved) from Newton. 41.74764, -92.86894 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:54 a.m., the sun rises at 7:22 a.m. and sets at 6:32 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:00 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 10 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 7.6-mile route takes roughly 2 h 53 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 10:15 a.m. — 8 h 17 min before sunset.

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