Conservation board directors and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation estimate that more than 3,000 people use this trail each week.

[8] The trail is a major component of a planned pair of 100-mile (160 km) loops that will meet near Des Moines.

[1][9] The High Trestle Trail follows the route of a former Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) freight line between Woodward and Ankeny, Iowa.

The lowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), which had organized other rail-trail projects in Iowa, bought the 439 acres (178 ha) corridor from UPRR in 2005.

[8][11] The 13-story-high (40-meter) and nearly half-mile-long (770-meter) trestle bridge provides scenic views of the Des Moines River Valley[12] and is located near mining shafts that were worked by Italian immigrant families and others who settled nearby.

Between the removal of the original decking and the construction of its replacement, the single-file line of unconnected concrete piers was informally known as "Iowa's Stonehenge".

[10] On April 2, 2015, the BBC showcased the High Trestle Trail Bridge as part of a globe-spanning collection of eight eye-catching footbridges.