2026 RAGBRAI Route Will Be Hilly, Shortest Ever

Iowa's most iconic bike ride has announced the latest route.

RAGBRAI, also known as the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, has announced their route for the 2026 RAGBRAI race.

You may notice something a bit different about it.

According to RAGBRAI, this will be the ride's shortest route ever and 10th hilliest.

The route will cover 391.4 miles and 16,027 feet of climb. It will be July 18th-26th. It will start in Owana in the Loess Hills, travel through Harlan, Guthrie Center, Boone, Marshalltown, Independence, and Dyersville before ending in Dubuque.

Day 1, to Harlan, will be 58.5 miles. Day 2 to Guthrie Center will be the hilliest day of the week, at 3,554 feet and 53.9 miles. Day 3 to Boone will be 59.5 miles. Day 4 to Marshalltown will be 62.2 miles. Day 5 to Independence will be the longest riding day, at 81.4 miles. Day 6 to Dyersville will be 42.2 miles and the last day to Dubuque will be 33.7 miles.

If you want to ride RAGBRAI, now through February 28th, registration for a weeklong rider is $250, with the price tag going up from there. A day-pass rider is currently $45 per day, with that cost going up too as the race gets closer.

Last year, the 2025 RAGBRAI route was the first to ever dip out of Iowa. On the 2nd day, it cut up into Minnesota for 15 miles before coming back into Iowa. That idea came from Tour de France's starting location switch-up, which have been Denmark, Spain, and Italy.

You can get details on vehicle registration, what riders need to know, and more on RAGBRAI's website.