Explore the best rated trails in Independence, KS. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Pathfinder Parkway and Southwind Rail Trail. With more than 3 trails covering 17 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Southwind Rail Trail opened in 2013 for recreation and active transportation use on a converted railroad corridor stretching between the small southeast Kansas cities of Iola and Humboldt. The...
Pathfinder Parkway meanders through eastern Bartlesville, connecting several parks, schools, and the Eastland Shopping Center. The trail follows the Caney River and Turkey Creek, and a highlight of...
The Southwind Rail Trail opened in 2013 for recreation and active transportation use on a converted railroad corridor stretching between the small southeast Kansas cities of Iola and Humboldt. The...
This collection of trails was built of the site of a former cement plant and quarry along the banks of Elm Creek in Iola, Kansas. There are over 2.25 miles of gravel rail-trails occupying the railbeds...
Pathfinder Parkway meanders through eastern Bartlesville, connecting several parks, schools, and the Eastland Shopping Center. The trail follows the Caney River and Turkey Creek, and a highlight of...
Pathfinder Parkway meanders through eastern Bartlesville, connecting several parks, schools, and the Eastland Shopping Center. The trail follows the Caney River and Turkey Creek, and a highlight of...
The Southwind Rail Trail opened in 2013 for recreation and active transportation use on a converted railroad corridor stretching between the small southeast Kansas cities of Iola and Humboldt. The...
This collection of trails was built of the site of a former cement plant and quarry along the banks of Elm Creek in Iola, Kansas. There are over 2.25 miles of gravel rail-trails occupying the railbeds...
Late March ride so weather was still a bit cool but sunny. Surface was fine for just about any bike. Most of the trail was bordered close in with trees (cedar) so not a lot of vistas. Nearly a straight shot all the way. Well preserved railroad bridge just south of Iola. Trail just ends on Humboldt end at the north edge of town. Not a lot in Humboldt but it would be nice if the trail went a half mile farther and dropped you off at Bridge St. Would make for a leisurely ride to grab lunch and return
Started the trail at Riverside Park in Iola on the north end of the trail where the Prairie Spirit Trail ends. This is a nicely done trail with compacted finely crush stone surface. It is a wide trail allowing two to ride abreast with ease. As with all railtrails it is flat and straight. There a few old train signal towers along the trail. We didn’t ride the full length. Noted all the trail are some mileage markers, in this section they are numbered in the low 100’s. Not sure the origin point in the north for the mileages.
Not realizing that the Prairie Spirit Trail stopped in Iola and transitioned into the Southwind Rail Trail from that point to Humboldt, I was surprised to see the Southwind sign after biking down from Welda. What a pleasant surprise it was. The trail is in excellent condition, packed down with minimal debris/rocks, and made for a reasonably smooth ride. More shade was provided by foliage than I expected, which helped keep me cool on a boiler of a day. Not sure who to thank for maintaining this trail so well, yet I hope they read this - I'm grateful.
I rode 5 miles of the trail from Jo Allyn park and it was beautiful. They had recently mowed along the edges of the trail, it had nice signage for the most part and benches for resting at nice intervals. It appears to be a well-kept trail. There were quite a few walkers, joggers and bicyclists out today (even though it was late morning on a Tuesday) and I never felt that it was unsafe. I am a woman and took my 9 year old son. There are some rolling hills but nothing crazy. The majority of our ride was through the woods, so was shaded and pleasant.
North section sketchy and waste tremendous facility smells. Women do not ride alone. Tree root damage to this part. Hit gravel patch at 15 mph with no warnjng. South section safer but all hills.
First time riding this trail. Well maintained, very quiet trail. Rode Humboldt to Iola today, and only saw one other rider the whole time.
Road this trail from Iola to Humboldt on a fall afternoon in 2018.Very well kept and actually met the individual who takes great pride in keeping up the trail.There are still many railroad features along the trail and the crushed surface is well maintained.Both Iola and Humboldt have several new restaurants and accommodations being renovated which makes staying in the area quite enjoyable
Rode this trail from Iola to Humbolt and back, and then stumble on the single track trail outside of Iola. That was really nice too! We camped in Humbolt and that was disappointing with the noise from a local plant and the bathrooms were quite dirty.
Husband and I rode this trail in July on a cooler day. Started at Jo Allyn Lowe Park where there is a nice parking lot. We rode to Johnstone park and back which we guessed to be around 18 miles round trip. The trail is beautiful and clean. Encountered quite a few joggers and a few cyclists. Our favorite part was the suspension bridge, but the entire length of trail that we rode we loved. We were already planning our next ride there before we left.
The Lehigh Trail, at the south edge of Iola, KS has something for everyone. The main trail offers a hard-packed limestone screening surface, firm enough for hiking, biking, wheel chairs, and strollers, and is an excellent surface for the casual hiker/biker. For those who want something more challenging, there are single-track trails over rocks, through wooded areas, through tall grass, and along the edge of its namesake rock quarry. Lehigh has it all!
We rode this from Riverside Park south for about 3 miles. It is a flat trail that is maintained pretty well. We enjoyed it, but it was right at sundown so we couldn't go any farther..
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