Gray's Lake–MacRae Park Pond, 8 sights is a 13.3-mile out-and-back in Water Works Park near Windsor Heights, IA. The route passes Gray's Lake, Gray's Lake Park Beach and Gray's Lake Park Beach before reaching MacRae Park Pond at the turnaround, 6.6 miles in. It is mostly level, with 245 ft of elevation gain, and mostly paved. It scores 0/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi784 – 958 ft14.8 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 41.60025, -93.68272
Nearest town Windsor Heights, IA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Gray's Lake–MacRae Park Pond, 8 sights
13.3 mi · ▲ 245 ft · 4 hr 33 min
Elevation 784–959 ft
Out & Back · Water Works Park
Trailhead: 41.60025, -93.68272
Weather Sep 22: Overcast, high 58°F / low 55° · precip 23% · wind 8 mph · sunrise 7:03 AM · sunset 7:14 PM
Transit-accessible: University Ave & 48th St stop 26 m from the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading W.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading W.
- 0.5 miTurn left onto Waveland Trail, heading S.
- 1.3 miContinue straight onto Walnut Creek Trail, heading S.
- 0.2 miTurn left, heading S.
- 0.6 miTurn left onto J11 Mountain Bike Trail, heading E.
- 350 ftTurn left onto Walnut Creek Trail, heading SE.
- 500 ftBear right onto J11 Mountain Bike Trail, heading SE.
- 100 ftBear left onto Walnut Creek Trail, heading E.
- 0.6 miBear right onto Bill Riley Trail, heading SE.
- 0.6 miTurn right, heading E.
- 1.8 miPass Gray's Lake.
- 50 ftPass Gray's Lake Park Beach.
- 0.1 miTurn left onto Kruidenier Trail, heading E.
- 0.2 miPass Gray's Lake Park Beach.
- 0.2 miTurn right onto Meredith Trail, heading N.
- 0.2 miTurn right, heading E.
- 0.2 miPass MacRae Park Pond.
- 0.1 miTurn right onto MacRae Park Trail, heading E.
- 450 ftReach Gray's Lake, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 400 ftTurn left onto Meredith Trail, heading E.
- 0.3 miTurn right, heading E.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading E.
- 0.2 miTurn left onto Kruidenier Trail, heading NW.
- 0.4 miTurn right onto Meredith to Bill Riley Trail, heading W.
- 0.9 miTurn right onto Bill Riley Trail, heading W.
- 0.1 miTurn left, heading W.
- 0.4 miTurn left, heading W.
- 1.1 miBear left onto Walnut Creek Trail, heading W.
- 0.6 miBear right onto J11 Mountain Bike Trail, heading NW.
- 100 ftBear left onto Walnut Creek Trail, heading NW.
- 450 ftTurn right onto J11 Mountain Bike Trail, heading W.
- 400 ftTurn right onto Walnut Creek Trail, heading NW.
- 0.8 miContinue straight onto Waveland Trail, heading SW.
- 1.3 miTurn right, heading N.
- 0.5 miTurn right, heading N.
- 50 ftArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
71% paved9% dirt20% unspecified
Weather
OvercastTemperature 58°F55°
Precip23%Wind8 mphUV1Humidity93%
Rained 0.2″ yesterday (0.8″ over the last week)
Hourly temperatureRain chance
65°50°
Sunrise 7:03 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PMSunset 7:14 PM
Wed
65°53°
Thu
67°53°
20%
Fri
62°59°
37%
Sat
61°58°
62%
Sun
71°56°
27%
Mon
72°53°
27%
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.2 mi in (~4 min). Leave by 6:50 PM for the 7:14 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:33 PM — 9 min before dark.
Good to know
- Transit-accessible: University Ave & 48th St stop 26 m from the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from this trailhead
- Around the Block–Dirty Connector Mountain Bike Trail, 4 sights 6.6 mi · ▲ 135 ft
- Walker Johnston Fishing Pond–Colby Woods Trail, 4 sights 10.4 mi · ▲ 217 ft
- Waveland Trail 2.7 mi · ▲ 111 ft
- Waveland Trail 2.8 mi · ▲ 136 ft
Get outside more
A wild hike near Windsor Heights, emailed to you once a week.
Hikes near Windsor Heights, Iowa