Wayfarrow

Rider

Ghost town · Polk County, Iowa

Waukee quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1908, 1:62,500)
Waukee quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1908, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Rider is a ghost town in Polk County, Iowa. It is one of 4 former communities in Polk County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 20th among the 79 Iowa counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Rider as a historical populated place on the Grimes topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 41.6442° N, 93.7697° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleGrimes
Elevation975 ft
Nearest living townUrbandale, IA
Distance to it0.7 miles
GNIS feature ID464717
Coordinates41.64416, -93.76967

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Rider is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Urbandale, IA (population 46,026), about 0.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 975 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Rider?

Rider is in Polk County, Iowa, at 41.6442, -93.7697.

How many ghost towns are in Polk County?

Polk County, Iowa has 4 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.