The video was a collaboration between the Fort Dodge Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and Travel Iowa. It was filmed in June.

Kerrie Kuiper, executive director of the FDCVB, said the video focuses on three main areas that would be accessible and“relatively safe”during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those areas include: the Lizard Creek Mountain Bike Trail, the Gypsum City OHV Park and fishing along the Des Moines River.

“In the spring (2020), we knew COVID would hit the tourism industry,”Kuiper said.“So we wanted to select three relatively safe activities you could do individually or in a small group. We also knew that people would be looking for natural, outdoor type of activities. We knew these three would have a strong draw to that group.”

Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich narrates the less than two-minute video.

“People have been coming here from out of town and are amazed that we had mountain bike trails or amazed at the opportunity to access water when people think they are just coming to vast farmland. (This is) letting them know there’s a lot more to our region to gain that recreational opportunity — using the land, using the water. That video gets to tell that story," Bemrich said.

The Lizard Creek Mountain Bike Trail has nine miles of single track trail. There’s beginner trails along the Des Moines River. It also includes medium and advanced trails.

“It was a very dedicated group that created the Lizard Creek Mountain Bike Trail,” Kuiper said. ”Those volunteers helped us with the filming of the park as well. The Fort Dodge Mountain Biking Club developed the trails along water access number one,”Bemrich said.

The video highlighting Fort Dodge can be viewed on www.fortdodgecvb.com.