In terms of planning your route, why not find a place you like in downtown DM and plan a bunch of day trips along the paths? There is a lot to do in the city and the paths do interconnect there.

In terms of the route you chose, the Chichaqua Valley Trail (the bit you have from Baxter to Bondurant) is pretty and has good tree cover. You'll find that is not always the case.

The prettiest trail IMO is the Neal Smith which snakes around Saylorville Lake (and runs from downtown along the DM river):

https://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Porta...prove_sign.pdf

It's not on your current route but it's worth riding. I posted a number of pics from DM trails in post #5 above; most of them are from the Neal Smith trail. It has good water views, rollers, tree cover, and tall grass restoration. This will give you some idea of what the trail looks closer into the city.