Find the top rated trails in Independence, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Urban Trail System in St. Joseph, MO, is a multi-use trail network that links the city from north to south, providing access for cyclists, walkers, joggers, inline skaters and wheelchair users....
Winding nearly two miles through suburban Olathe, the Mahaffie Creek Trail offers connections to the beautiful Mill Creek Streamway Park, schools and the city's northern neighborhoods. Much of the...
Running from the small town of Weston to the nearby Weston Bend State Park, the Weston Bluffs Trail provides a safe and scenic means for park visitors to visit the quaint town, and for town residents...
The Clinton Parkway Trail parallels Clinton Parkway on the southwest side of Lawrence, Kansas. The trail provides access for nearby residents to a number of community facilities and commercial...
The Riverfront Heritage Trail meanders through Kansas City on both sides of the Kansas–Missouri border. The 15-mile trail links historic neighborhoods, parks and the riverfront. It also serves as the...
Located along the north bank of the Kansas River, the Lawrence Levee Trail runs along the top of the flood-control levee on the outskirts of Lawrence. The trail offers views of nearby farmland and the...
Lackman Road Path begins across from Swarner Park, where you'll find a number of recreational amenities, including sports fields, a playground, fishing pond, and skate park. From there, you head south...
The Rolling Ridge Trail winds through the city of Olathe on the southwestern outskirts of Kansas City. At its northern end, the paved route provides access to Prairie Center Park, a 75-acre...
The Little Blue Trace Trail follows the course of the Little Blue River for 15 miles through the Little Blue Trace Nature Reserve. It stretches south of Interstate 70 at Lee's Summit Road to Blue...
Paralleling Turkey Creek from the Waterfall Park north of Kansas City for nearly four miles south to downtown Kansas City, the Turkey Creek Streamway Trail provides useful connections to a number of...
Though it exists in three disconnected sections, the Prairie Star Parkway Path is an excellent resource for the western side of the suburban community of Lenexa. The asphalt trail is a sidepath to the...
The Gardner Road Trail parallels S. Gardner Road on the southern side of Gardner, Kansas. The sidepath travels through a low density suburban community and connects residences with parks and religious...
The Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park travels 47.5 miles through woodlands, wetlands, and bucolic fields nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks. At either end are two towns full of charm and...
The Eastbrooke Trail forms a useful link between the city of Olathe's 133rd Street Path and the lengthy regional backbone, the Indian Creek Bike/Hike Trail. This paved, short trail serves as a nice...
Although short, this paved half-mile trail provides connections to three parks, as well as a unique attraction in northern Independence. On the northern end of the trail sits Mill Creek Park, which...
The Monticello Road Path offers a paved north-south route through Shawnee on the western outskirts of Kansas City. It connects shopping areas, housing subdivisions and schools. At the north end of...
The Nall Avenue Path is a paved sidepath along Nall Avenue, its namesake. The path offers connections to the residents of the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, providing access to apartments,...
Note: A portion of the trail between Troost and Woodland Avenues has been closed since 2012 due to the presence of a small sinkhole. Trail users should take 85th Street as a detour. Refer to the...
Nestled within the suburban landscape outside Platte City, the Prairie Creek Greenway offers an escape into nature as it runs through fields and forests and across the titular creek. The trail gives...
Note: The eastern third of the trail, from the access point at Horizons Parkway to the end of the trail, is currently closed (as of June 2016) due to bridge construction. Check the City of Riverside's...
The four disconnected sections of the 133rd Street Path run though the communities of Olathe, Overland Park and Leawood outside Kansas City. The trail parallels sections of 133rd and 132nd Streets,...
The Haskell Rail-Trail, billed as the ‘first operational rail-trail in Kansas’, spans the eastern edge of the campus of Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence. In the north, the trail connects...
The 143rd Street Path is a sidepath along W. 143rd Street in Overland Park. The trail offers access to the surrounding residential communities as well as nearby schools, religious faclities and...
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The Rock Creek Trail links Country Club Park and Rotary Park on the west side of Independence. It offers nice views of the tree-lined creek that it follows and crosses several times. Between the...
The Little Blue Trace Trail follows the course of the Little Blue River for 15 miles through the Little Blue Trace Nature Reserve. It stretches south of Interstate 70 at Lee's Summit Road to Blue...
The paved Line Creek Trail follows a wooded creek from Kansas City's Platte Brooke North neighborhood through Frank Vaydik Park (formerly Line Creek Park). The trail provides many helpful connections,...
Paralleling Blackbob Road through the community of Olathe, just outside of Kansas City, the Blackbob Road Trail is a great opportunity for local trail users. The path connects nearby homes to schools,...
Maurer Road Path parallels its namesake roadway for just over a mile in the city of Shawnee on the outskirts of Kansas City. The north-south route connects residential and shopping areas and, at its...
The Riverfront Heritage Trail meanders through Kansas City on both sides of the Kansas–Missouri border. The 15-mile trail links historic neighborhoods, parks and the riverfront. It also serves as the...
The Armourdale Levee Trail offers an unpaved route (hybrids or mountain bikes are recommended) of just over a mile through Kansas City, Kansas, along a Kansas River levee. Opening in 2014, the trail...
The Urban Trail System in St. Joseph, MO, is a multi-use trail network that links the city from north to south, providing access for cyclists, walkers, joggers, inline skaters and wheelchair users....
Winding nearly two miles through suburban Olathe, the Mahaffie Creek Trail offers connections to the beautiful Mill Creek Streamway Park, schools and the city's northern neighborhoods. Much of the...
Note: A portion of the trail between Troost and Woodland Avenues has been closed since 2012 due to the presence of a small sinkhole. Trail users should take 85th Street as a detour. Refer to the...
The Switzer Road Trail parallels Switzer Road in Overland Park. The sidepath connects to the 133rd Street Path, 143rd Street Path, 151st Street Path and Tomahawk Creek Trail, making it an important...
Nestled within the suburban landscape outside Platte City, the Prairie Creek Greenway offers an escape into nature as it runs through fields and forests and across the titular creek. The trail gives...
The Indian Creek Bike/Hike Trail links two states, four communities and a multitude of parks along Indian Creek. The trail provides numerous connections to the surrounding areas, making it an...
The Center Street Trail is little more than a sidepath paralleling N. Center Street in the community of Gardner. The trail provides recreation and transportation opportunities to the residents of...
The Gardner Road Trail parallels S. Gardner Road on the southern side of Gardner, Kansas. The sidepath travels through a low density suburban community and connects residences with parks and religious...
The Olathe Heritage Trail provides an off-road connection between two popular local parks, making this a surprisingly useful and rather scenic trail considering its length and suburban...
The Clinton Parkway Trail parallels Clinton Parkway on the southwest side of Lawrence, Kansas. The trail provides access for nearby residents to a number of community facilities and commercial...
The Armourdale Levee Trail offers an unpaved route (hybrids or mountain bikes are recommended) of just over a mile through Kansas City, Kansas, along a Kansas River levee. Opening in 2014, the trail...
Paralleling W. Madison Street, the Madison Street Trail is a sidepath that provides access between nearby residences and public facilities. Gardner Edgerton High School is located near the western end...
The Olathe Heritage Trail provides an off-road connection between two popular local parks, making this a surprisingly useful and rather scenic trail considering its length and suburban...
Although only a mile long, the 79th Street Path connects important recreational amenities in Lenexa, a southwestern suburb of Kansas City. The paved, east-west route parallels its namesake roadway...
Watkins Mill State Park, located on the outskirts of Kansas City, is a forested area featuring a 100-acre lake. Here, whitetail deer, wild turkeys and other birds and wildlife are abundant. A walking...
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The MoPac Trail begins in Pleasant Hill's charming downtown area and heads northwest towards Pleasant Hill Lake and the outskirts of Kansas City. The rail-trail is named for the former Missouri...
The Nall Avenue Path is a paved sidepath along Nall Avenue, its namesake. The path offers connections to the residents of the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, providing access to apartments,...
As a side path to a busy thoroughfare, the 20th Street Trafficway Path provides both an excellent recreational opportunity for the surrounding communities and a safe commuting alternative for...
The Indian Creek Bike/Hike Trail links two states, four communities and a multitude of parks along Indian Creek. The trail provides numerous connections to the surrounding areas, making it an...
Though it exists in three disconnected sections, the Prairie Star Parkway Path is an excellent resource for the western side of the suburban community of Lenexa. The asphalt trail is a sidepath to the...
The Shawnee Mission Parkway Trail runs for 2 miles along the south side of the roadway. While not scenic, the paved route offers connections to restaurants, shops, and offices in Merriam, a...
The Blue River Parkway Trail winds along both banks of its namesake river on the southern outskirts of Kansas City. The paved route begins in Minor Park and heads north, passing Alex George Lake and...
As you might imagine, the 151st Street Path is a sidepath along 151st Street though Olathe and Overland Park outside Kansas City. The path provides access to commercial centers, schools, parks,...
Midland Drive Path offers a paved mile-long east-west route paralleling the southern side of its namesake roadway through the city of Shawnee. Views are a mix of commercial and residential...
The Rock Creek Trail links Country Club Park and Rotary Park on the west side of Independence. It offers nice views of the tree-lined creek that it follows and crosses several times. Between the...
The 95th Street Path is a paved, half-mile route through Lenexa, part of the Kansas City metro area. The trail is separated from the roadway by a wide grassy median and is surrounded by residences on...
The Haskell Rail-Trail, billed as the ‘first operational rail-trail in Kansas’, spans the eastern edge of the campus of Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence. In the north, the trail connects...
Note: The eastern third of the trail, from the access point at Horizons Parkway to the end of the trail, is currently closed (as of June 2016) due to bridge construction. Check the City of Riverside's...
The Clinton Parkway Trail parallels Clinton Parkway on the southwest side of Lawrence, Kansas. The trail provides access for nearby residents to a number of community facilities and commercial...
Winding nearly two miles through suburban Olathe, the Mahaffie Creek Trail offers connections to the beautiful Mill Creek Streamway Park, schools and the city's northern neighborhoods. Much of the...
The fairly remote paved running path consisted of small rolling hills and low traffic. At 5:45 on a weekday we passed only four people on our out and back from the south parking lot. We ran about 3.25 miles of the path and it was well maintained and quiet. the south trailhead had a port-o-potty and convenient parking right off of N highway south of Platte City. There were some decent hills in the mix of you are looking to do hill repeats.
Plenty of shade, a little forest, a little city, a nice stream to ride alongside. Benches and parks if you want to stop and rest or let the kids play. Pretty flat. Super relaxing. I love it.
It's not 10 miles though. Not sure where they got that number. Riding it round trip, 75th St. to the end and back to 75th is more like 7.5-8 miles. Still a great ride.
Not a lot of bathrooms on the trail, but you ride right by a Sonic on the north end, a Wendy's on the south end, and there's a Phillips 66 just up from where you cross 67th St.
I rode the part of the trail from Pickett Road to the Noyes parkway by the rec center and back. The ride was very enjoyable and staff at Rec center was very friendly allowed me to get some water and fill my bottles. great section for new riders.
We rode from the Medford Trailhead west for about 8 miles and back on 6/26/17. The trail was in fantastic shape and we enjoyed riding past Rock Island Lake where the locomotives used to refill their boilers.
We got caught in a torrential downpour for the last 3+ miles on our way back to the car. Although it didn't make for the best ending to a great ride, we were very impressed at how the trail maintained its integrity during such heavy rain.
We can't wait to go back and ride other sections of this trail.
I have ridden this trail a lot. It crosses many streets so you have to be very careful when riding it. Also there are numerous businesses that have driveways exiting onto 151st St and drivers have a tendency to only look eastward for oncoming traffick. I have had a few motorists come very close to hitting me when I was riding east on the path because the motorist didn't pay attention to bikes on trail.
Rode this and enjoyed even though there are several steep grades. Flowers in bloom and cows in the pasture to see. Many families out and dog walkers so be considerate.
We rode the Western 10 miles out of Pleasant Hill and found the trail to be in excellent condition. The scenery is excellent and the getting out of the city/suburban setting is really there. Great job Missouri!
Kids really loved it! Lack of bathrooms is an issue if you have kids though
I ride fairly regularly, rode one longer ride from Pleasant Hill to Windsor then on to Sedalia on the Katy. PH to Windsor was about 46 miles, total to Sedalia was about 70 to the Amtrak station.
There was about a 6 mile stretch near Chilhowee that had larger rocks, was a bit of a pain. I've heard they have rectified that, now smaller rock, but haven't ridden that far again to verify.
Other than that small stretch, a great trail. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is the relative lack of water and restrooms. The Katy has nice water stops in many areas. Not much water on the Rock Island, and it's pretty far from Pleasant Hill until you get to a store, i.e. Chilhowee or Leeton. Make sure to take water with you.
Pleasant Hill PD was very kind, let me park my car overnight in their lot. I took the Amtrak back home from Sedalia to Lee's Summit, then caught an Uber to PH the next day to retrieve my car.
I was in town on business and sought out a nice running path/trail. This one is perfect. I parked at the Lifeway Christian book store and started my run from the trailhead just behind the store. This site lists it as 3 miles, but it is longer than that now since they've added quite a bit of trail to the east past where the map shows it ends. Expect some decent hills and a couple of major roads to cross, but this white concrete trail is as smooth as can be for biking, running, rollerblading, etc. I'll be back every time I'm in town.
This is probably my favorite trail in the KC metro because it feels like you're stepping into a hidden world. You descend the steps from 87th Street and suddenly you're on this winding path through people's gardens and the smell of lilacs. The trail winds through groves of historic trees, a beautiful park, meadows and some shady cliffs. It's not the most strenuous walk around, but for good exertion and a great atmosphere, it's perfect.
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