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Print Friendly MapThe southern terminus of the Frisco Greenway Trail is tucked into an unassuming neighborhood in Joplin. From there, the gravel trail winds northward along the former St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, from whence it gets its name.
At the trailhead, users will find a gravel parking lot and portable toilet. There is no drinkable water along the trail or at either trail end, so make sure to bring a filled bottle with you. Before beginning the journey, it may be worth a short side trip over to Landreth Park, which lies five blocks west of the southern end of the trail; in the park, you’ll find drinking water, restrooms, picnic tables, and other amenities.
After 0.8 mile, you can turn right onto a paved spur that runs along Turkey Creek for a 1.4-mile stretch through rural neighborhoods and farms.
The greenway is covered in lush foliage, and, on most days, you will pass local residents enjoying the cool, shaded corridor for strolls and jogs. As you make the trip from Joplin to Webb City, you will cross several small roads. A couple of these crossings are marked with wooden trail signage, which ensures that passing drivers take note and slow down for trail users. Traffic is light in this area, but make sure to stop and check that no cars are coming before crossing roads.
The trail’s northern terminus in Webb City does not have restroom or water facilities and is not marked with signage. However, it does have an easily accessible, off-road gravel area for you to pull a vehicle into and load up or off.
You will notice that both communities of Webb City and Joplin are experiencing a good bit of commercial and residential growth around the trail, and there are plans to extend the Frisco Greenway Trail from either end.
To reach the Joplin trailhead from Bus. I-44/MO 66/E. 7th St. westbound, turn right onto S. Main St., heading north for five blocks. Turn right onto Second St., which soon becomes E. Broadway St. Take E. Broadway St. for 0.5 mile and take a left onto N. Division Ave. Travel four blocks and then take a right onto E. North St. Take your first left into the parking lot for the Frisco Greenway trailhead.
To reach the Webb City trailhead from Bus. I-49/E. MacArthur Drive/MO 171 westbound, take a right onto S. Madison St. Travel north for five blocks and turn left onto W. Broadway St. Before the end of the block (just before reaching S. Cedar Avenue), you will see the gravel pull-off area and the beginning of the trail on your left.
We parked at the trail head on St. Louis street which is a gravel lot with portapotty and rode south which was packed gravel with some up hill and down hill area near the creek. This area makes you feel like you are way out in the country with woods on both sides. We did see a rider on horseback and pedestrians. The trail head at the south end had a larger paved parking lot but from a quick look I am not sure how safe that neighborhood’s is. Riding north towards web city the terrain was flat and the gravel was smoother but there was a lot of housing development on both sides so not much of a country feel at most intersections cars stopped to let us cross which was nice.
A friend suggested riding in Joplin so searched TrailLink to see what we could find. Took a friend, his wife and son up from NW Arkansas on October 10 to explore. The trail reminded us of the Katy Trail with the gravel surface so that started the day just right. With the notes from your site and our GPS navigation, found the trailhead pretty easily. Early morning coolness made this a fun adventure overall. The two things that my riding partners both suggested would make this easier for others would be to see about more signage around the end of the trail about 4 plus miles in as the trail just kind of stopped with out much to identify if we should keep going or turn around. Some nice pedestrians told us we were at the end and were so nice that it really helped us to finish on a positive note then turn around. There was one major street crossing that did not have any lights or devices to have traffic stop for slower riders or children. We had an 8 year old with us so that was a safety concern thta could be easily added. We may be spoiled by all the work in NW Arkansas trails for the local Greenway. Overall, a great morning start before heading over to the Ruby Jack trail.
Well mantener and friendly people along the trail - walking, running, and biking.
The wife and I have just started walking, as a means of much needed exercise. I am a former powerlifter and she was once an athlete, in golden years past. We have been walking by Shoal Creek, a great walk, and it is nearer to our house, but once we walked this trail we both fell in love. Great walk. Even when it is busy, there are quiet moments to see nature and wildlife. Most people you pass say hello, nod, or let you pet their dog. That may just be the people of Joplin, but still it is an incredibly beautiful, friendly, and surprisingly strenuous walk. We are gonna do the whole thing soon, and once we do she says we are going to mountain bike the whole thing. What a great natural spot to escape to. Joplin is blessed with such beautiful natural settings.
Hard to find the beginning of the trail from the maps but found it started by the coffee shop! The port a potty was actually in the middle of the trail....use it because there isn’t one at the end in Joplin! Will definitely ride it again. Nice tree canopy coverage in much of the trail!
The Frisco Greenway is within a mile of my house. It is supported by local volunteers and donations. The surface is hard packed gravel that is appropriate for runners and hybrid bikes. It is well traveled during the daylight and has very few road crossings. There are some connecting paved bike paths (extra wide sidewalks) at about the midpoint of the trail. There is no water on the trail, but there is a porta-potty at the mid point and the south end.
We parked one car in Joplin off North st at the beginning of trail and was able to get nice shaded parking spot and there is a porta potty in this lot. We then hoped in other car and drove to web city near broadway which was difficult to find the trail at first but ended up parking under some shade in the skating rink parking lot and walking towards broadway and cedar and saw the old rail road tracks across the road and saw the trail and began following it. It was me and my wife along with our three year old daughter. Well majority of the trail is shaded really nicely except for about just over half mile stretch when you get near Zora there is absolutely no shade and is burning hot on this stretch but other then this the entire rest of trail is nice and shaded even during hottest part of day. We started just after 3 PM and with out three year old walking herself majority of the way we finished around 4:45 PM but also between Zora and the Joplin starting point were we parked we came across a bridge were we spent some time playing in the water as well. The entire trail is all gravel and overall was an enjoyable afternoon. Would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun walk and without kids could probably be done closer to an hour.
This trail through Joplin and Webb City has access points along its length. There are a couple of paved sections, but fine, graded gravel is well kept within the 'green tunnel' of trees most of the way. Deer, groundhogs, upland and aquatic birds can be found often, especially along the southern portions of the trail (near Turkey Creek, and among the sloping hills). Nearby rail is still active at the southern end, giving nostalgic calls, and occasionally views of parked rail cars on a siding that used to be the rail of this rail-to-trail.
My wife and I rode a section of this trail from the Zora St/N. St.Louis Ave lot. A lady we met on the trail advised us to not park at the N. Division lot due to vandalism of vehicles in that lot. Another person also said there are homeless people camping out along the trail in that area. We parked at the Zora St. lot and only rode a little over a mile and turned around. It was a beautiful ride.
I took my bike and a kiddie trailer to test out the trail before trying it with my grandson. Started in Webb City and rode the trail to Joplin and back. Very doable with a child! Well maintained trail. There were a couple road crossings, but just remember what you learned in kindergarten, look both ways before you cross the road (and allow extra time with a trailer). :) My son started at the parking area just off Zora with his son and rode to the creek for a picnic and some rock throwing time. It was perfect for an 18 month old and his first bike outing. We will be doing this trail again!
I started out using the Frisco Greenway trail to get into cycling. Its now a daily part of my 15+ mile ride. I would recommend this trail to anyone and everyone, just be careful crossing Hwy 171.
When Get Off Of Work I Like Ride My Bike Down the Trail starting in joplin And ending in webb city i just love this trail
"The main trail is very flat, but when you cross the bridge just southwest of st zora there are dirt trails that are very fast and fun (entrances on right side of trail)"
"Peddled my Tri-Cruiser on this Trail Aug 15,2006 mid-afternoon. Trail in fine shape with bollards wide apart to allow my 41 inch Tadpole Trike through. Country, residential & swimming hole scenery."
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