Iowa trails · Sauk Rail Trail
Sauk Rail Trail
A 35.0-mile loop in Iowa, with 144 ft of climbing. Reaches Provost Bay and other lake/summit destinations. Managed by County Parish Borough.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 57% of the ascent, between mile 23.3 and mile 35.0. It gives back about 188 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Provost Bay (lake)
- Arrowhead Lake (lake)
- Gun Shot Hill (summit)
- Swan Lake (lake)
- Black Hawk Lake (lake)
Getting there
Sauk Rail Trail access. 42.03939, -94.85572 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:14 a.m., the sun rises at 6:43 a.m. and sets at 7:55 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:23 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 11 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 35.0-mile route takes roughly 13 h 03 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 7:46 p.m. — 9 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Main Loop Trail — 18.6 mi