The Raccoon River Valley Trail Association has released a new video promoting the Raccoon River Valley Trail (RRVT). The opening of the new 33 mile North Loop has enhanced the trail’s character and created new venues for trail users to experience. The Association wanted to generate a unique and dynamic exhibition to broaden the promotion of this 89 mile long trail system to a national audience. The video uses aerial shots done with radio-controlled helicopters, Point-of-View Go Pro footage, the Trail mascot, and “fly in” information graphics to present the story of a local bike team exploring the trail and the towns along the entire trail.
“This video is different. It is the first known video to combine all these elements into a promotional tool for a recreational trail” says Kevin Wilbeck of Des Moines, formerly of Rippey, Association board member and producer of the video. Full Spectrum Productions LLC of Des Moines did the filming and editing while V2Air of Urbandale provided the RC helicopters for the aerial footage.
The project was funded in large part by communities along the trail and from an Iowa Tourism grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The video is available for viewing on the trail website, www.raccoonrivervalleytrail.org or Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/120837393.
About the Raccoon River Valley Trail: The RRVT recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The original 56-mile paved trail was started in 1989 and stretches from Jefferson, Iowa to Waukee, in the Des Moines metro area. A 33 mile North Loop section was opened in 2012 creating the longest paved recreational trail loop (76 miles) in the nation and increasing the total trail mileage to 89 miles.
The RRVT connects to hundreds of miles of paved recreational trails in central Iowa. The trail is equipped with professional signage and emergency location markers. In 2006 the RRVT was named a National Recreational Trail by the National Park Service & U.S. Department of the Interior.
The trail will have many of events this year including the Market-to-Market Relay, the BACCooN Ride, the Pedalers Jamboree music festival, Full Moon rides in Greene County, the Panora Historic Village art fair and others.
