Explore the best rated trails in Joplin, MO. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Ruby Jack Trail and Bella Vista Lake Trail. With more than 8 trails covering 66 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 Wishing Springs Trail is a crucial link between two popular trails in Bentonville's extensive system. In the south, the trail begins at a junction with the North Bentonville Trail, which branches...
The North Bentonville Trail forms an arc around—you guessed it—the northern part of Bentonville, a growing city in northwest Arkansas. The scenic trail winds through woodlands and along a trickling...
The Watco Trail, named for the short-line railroad operator headquartered in Pittsburg, stretches diagonally through the Kansas city just west of downtown. The trail is open on a portion of the former...
Thom Station Trail sits on an old Frisco railbed in the town of Carl Junction, just 15 minutes north of Joplin, Missouri. It’s a relatively short trail, 2.8 miles roundtrip. The southern half of the...
The Bella Vista Lake Trail forms a loop around Bella Vista Lake in the park of the same name, located along Bentonville's northern edge. Along with this popular paved fitness trail, the park contains...
Completed in 2015, the Razorback Regional Greenway spans a large portion of Northwest Arkansas, connecting the bustling hubs of Bentonville and Fayetteville with the growing suburban communities of...
The 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,...
The 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,...
The Ruby Jack Trail runs for 16 miles between Carthage, MO, and the Kansas state line. The trail links the towns of Carthage, Oronogo, and Carl Junction, traversing farmland, wetland, and woodland....
Thom Station Trail sits on an old Frisco railbed in the town of Carl Junction, just 15 minutes north of Joplin, Missouri. It’s a relatively short trail, 2.8 miles roundtrip. The southern half of the...
The Bella Vista Lake Trail forms a loop around Bella Vista Lake in the park of the same name, located along Bentonville's northern edge. Along with this popular paved fitness trail, the park contains...
The Watco Trail, named for the short-line railroad operator headquartered in Pittsburg, stretches diagonally through the Kansas city just west of downtown. The trail is open on a portion of the former...
The North Bentonville Trail forms an arc around—you guessed it—the northern part of Bentonville, a growing city in northwest Arkansas. The scenic trail winds through woodlands and along a trickling...
Completed in 2015, the Razorback Regional Greenway spans a large portion of Northwest Arkansas, connecting the bustling hubs of Bentonville and Fayetteville with the growing suburban communities of...
The Wishing Springs Trail is a crucial link between two popular trails in Bentonville's extensive system. In the south, the trail begins at a junction with the North Bentonville Trail, which branches...
The North Bentonville Trail forms an arc around—you guessed it—the northern part of Bentonville, a growing city in northwest Arkansas. The scenic trail winds through woodlands and along a trickling...
The Ruby Jack Trail runs for 16 miles between Carthage, MO, and the Kansas state line. The trail links the towns of Carthage, Oronogo, and Carl Junction, traversing farmland, wetland, and woodland....
The 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,...
Thom Station Trail sits on an old Frisco railbed in the town of Carl Junction, just 15 minutes north of Joplin, Missouri. It’s a relatively short trail, 2.8 miles roundtrip. The southern half of the...
The Wishing Springs Trail is a crucial link between two popular trails in Bentonville's extensive system. In the south, the trail begins at a junction with the North Bentonville Trail, which branches...
The Watco Trail, named for the short-line railroad operator headquartered in Pittsburg, stretches diagonally through the Kansas city just west of downtown. The trail is open on a portion of the former...
Completed in 2015, the Razorback Regional Greenway spans a large portion of Northwest Arkansas, connecting the bustling hubs of Bentonville and Fayetteville with the growing suburban communities of...
The Bella Vista Lake Trail forms a loop around Bella Vista Lake in the park of the same name, located along Bentonville's northern edge. Along with this popular paved fitness trail, the park contains...
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!
Rode the southern portion of the trail in May 2019. Started at the "Bike Route Bike Shop"and went south to Kessler Mountain Regional Park and back. Trail is well kept and thought out. One thing I noticed, as a first time visitor to the area, riding south is more intuitive than riding back north. That being said, the trail is well designed and well kept. 4.5 stars! Lastly, after your ride, make sure to stop at HUGO's for a meal! The "Blue Moon Burger" is tasty!
Thx
BN
I was in Arkansas last week, visiting from PA and rode this trail, one of the best trails I have ever ridden. I am on a quest to ride 100 miles in each state and rode 62 miles one day and 40 the next and greatly enjoyed this trail. Going through a couple of towns the way the trail and the road is separated was fantastic.
As visitors, rode some of the Greenway for first time this week. Awesome trail system. We thought the Tulsa OK trails were good but this system has them beaten for standard and variety of users. We rode trikes but the systems available for all grades of mountain bikers was phenomenal.
Only complaint we had, maybe more of a comment, signage could be better in some places. As the system is made up of many trails, it was confusing when trying to go from one to another. Got onto the wrong trail twice because no signage at any trail splits.only reason we didn't give 5 stars.
I ride this trail everyday. There is not a ton of people on it so it's really nice. Not a lot of elevation gain. Perfect for people wanting to get into cycling. I can't wait till JTC can link up CJ to Carthage!
We love riding our bikes on the Razorback Regional Greenway. You can pick and choose different places to park and ride. We enjoy riding with friends whenever we can.
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.
I am fairly new to biking, but this is one of the most amazing trail systems I have ever seen. I have only ridden the northern half so far, and have enjoyed it every time I've gone out. Don't stop branching out. I live in Cave Springs and would love to see a trailhead closer to me where I can jump on. There are some signage issues that need to be dealt with. Especially around the New Hope area. Thanks again for providing an excellent trail.
I live in Springdale and ride four miles from home through city streets to downtown where I catch the Greenway.
At the moment the trail is blocked in two places going north. Signs say the trail is closed at Pleasant Grove Road, but I continued on all the way until where it crosses under I-49. It's blocked there and will be for several months because they are widening I-49 and building the trestles under the highway.
There is a detour shown from Pleasant Grove up over and around I-49 but I'm told it's on city streets and bit hazardous. And up near Bella Vista in the north its closed by more highway construction for the new bypass.
It's called progress and when it opens again it will be possible to traverse then entire path from north to south. It is a fun and picturesque ride. In some fifteen months I've ridden some 3,000+ miles on this system on a recumbent trike. It's a lot of fun.
More and more trails are connecting to the system in the coming years. You just need to be patient. It's only going to get better and better.
We ran a 25k on this trail. Started at Carthage parking lot in the park due to more parking for race participants and entered the trail at trailhead and went to Grant St in Oranogo and back to Carthage. Round trip 15.6 miles. It was small white crushed chat similar to the Frisco Trail in Joplin. Pretty level with only noticeable incline getting on the trail at Carthage Trailhead. A few areas had some grass grown up on the trail but paths were still easy to run thru or ride a bike thru. Scenery past a salvage yard at the start then mostly farm and ranch land. No lose pets. Heard a couple dogs in 2 yards and farm with a loud rooster. Absolutely pleasant Trail experience! If it was paved I would give it a 5. Would love to have a trail similar in our community!!
I started our ride in Carthage with a couple of my grandchildren on mountain bikes. I did not know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. The trail was hard-packed gravel and was very smooth. We only went 3-4 miles west then returned. There are benches set up in several spots to rest. We all enjoyed the ride. I will be using this trail much more often. My wife will also join us on her beach cruiser.
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