Explore the best rated trails in Kansas City, KS. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Burroughs Creek Trail and Linear Park and Kill Creek Streamway Trail . With more than 63 trails covering 483 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.
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The 159th Street Path unsurprisingly parallels W. 159th St. in Olathe. The trail provides access to commercial, industrial and residential facilities, as well as Chisholm Trail Middle School and the...
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...
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,...
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,...
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...
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 Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park travels just over 46 miles through woodlands, wetlands, and bucolic fields nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks. At either end are two towns full of...
The St. Joseph Riverwalk, sometimes referred to as the Riverfront Trail, hugs the eastern bank of the Missouri River in this northwestern Missouri community. The paved pathway spans just over two...
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...
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...
Blackfish Parkway Trail lies in the southwestern corner of Shawnee, a suburb of Kansas City. Although the trail follows a major roadway, much of the route is lined with mature trees and nice homes....
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The Urban Trail system in St. Joseph is a suburban jewel, with lush, green scenery along most of its route. The system branches off in several directions, offering a number of customizable routes for...
The Tomahawk Creek Trail follows its namesake waterway through the Kansas City suburbs of Overland Park and Leawood. The trail provides access for the thousands of nearby residents to a number 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,...
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...
The Line Creek Trail is about all you can ask for as a trail lover. This beautifully paved 8-mile trail winds serenely through Platte County and has a little bit of everything for everyone. Traveling...
The Gary L. Haller Trail lies within scenic Mill Creek Streamway Park. Although the trail was not built on a former railroad, it parallels an active rail line for about 6 miles of its length at its...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
The St. Joseph Riverwalk, sometimes referred to as the Riverfront Trail, hugs the eastern bank of the Missouri River in this northwestern Missouri community. The paved pathway spans just over two...
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...
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...
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 Gary L. Haller Trail lies within scenic Mill Creek Streamway Park. Although the trail was not built on a former railroad, it parallels an active rail line for about 6 miles of its length at its...
The Southern Platte Trail is a hard surface, shared use path in the Kansas City metro area, Missouri. The trail begins in the City of Parkville, and then sandwiches SR 45 as it heads east into Kansas...
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,...
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...
Inside of Lee's Summit's Community Park, the Legacy Park Trail is a family oriented destination with an abundance of activities available. Sitting on 692 acres, the park host many youth sports games,...
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,...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
Passing through the suburban community of Olathe, the W. Santa Fe Street Path is a sidepath that parallels W. Santa Fe Street. The path connects residential neighborhoods, commercial centers,...
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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...
Inside of Lee's Summit's Community Park, the Legacy Park Trail is a family oriented destination with an abundance of activities available. Sitting on 692 acres, the park host many youth sports games,...
The Southern Platte Trail is a hard surface, shared use path in the Kansas City metro area, Missouri. The trail begins in the City of Parkville, and then sandwiches SR 45 as it heads east into Kansas...
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...
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...
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...
The Prairie Spirit Trail in Kansas is hard-packed limestone and suitable for bicycles as well as wheelchairs. Some of the trail is asphalt (within city limits), which allows for inline skaters. The...
The Tomahawk Creek Trail follows its namesake waterway through the Kansas City suburbs of Overland Park and Leawood. The trail provides access for the thousands of nearby residents to a number of...
The Urban Trail system in St. Joseph is a suburban jewel, with lush, green scenery along most of its route. The system branches off in several directions, offering a number of customizable routes for...
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 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...
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,...
Blackfish Parkway Trail lies in the southwestern corner of Shawnee, a suburb of Kansas City. Although the trail follows a major roadway, much of the route is lined with mature trees and nice homes....
The Gardner Greenway Corridor is a paved trail connecting Winwood Park and Brookside Park in Gardner, Kansas. The trail runs through open space alongside dense woodlands within the two parks. The...
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 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...
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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 159th Street Path unsurprisingly parallels W. 159th St. in Olathe. The trail provides access to commercial, industrial and residential facilities, as well as Chisholm Trail Middle School and the...
The St. Joseph Riverwalk, sometimes referred to as the Riverfront Trail, hugs the eastern bank of the Missouri River in this northwestern Missouri community. The paved pathway spans just over two...
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The Brush Creek Trail offers a serene and scenic walking and biking experience in southeast Kansas City. The concrete greenway occupies both the north and south banks of Brush Creek, which was...
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...
Today we rode the Flint Hills Trail from Osawatomie to Ottawa and back. We had a great time and this trail is highly recommended! The trail is a "Rails to Trails" route that follows the Marais des Cygnes river, so it is predominately flat. The gravel surface is packed very light chip, so almost any type of bike will work (we rode gravel bikes). In a few places, the recent heavy rains washed away the light chip top coat and exposed the more coarse RR bed gravel below, but it is not a problem. We did not see any of the thorns etc. mentioned above in posts from previous years. The trail head is a little hard to find, and Google maps did not help. If you find the Osawatomie elementary school and then proceed down that same road about 3/4 mile further, the trail head (with some parking) is on your right. Leaving on the trail from Osawatomie, the first 6 miles are completely shaded by trees arching over the trail. After that the trail is about 1/2 shaded and 1/2 open meadows - so this is a great trail for warm summer days (and should be beautiful in the fall). There are many bridges, views of the river and wide open farmland to see along the way. Today, at 9 miles in, there was about 200 yd where water covered the trail from the big overnight thunderstorms, but this is not normal. There are no drinking water stops along the way - so bring at least 2 good sized bottles per person. There are however farm houses all along, so if you really needed help in an emergency, it is not far away. Ottawa is about 18 miles from Osawatomie and you will know that you are close when you pass under the I-35 bridge (about 2 miles to go). If you want lunch, turn left off the trail at 7th street (it is well marked), go ~1 mile south on 7th and you will hit Main street. Subway is 2 blocks to your left (9th street) on Main, or you can go to downtown and have a variety of food choices. We had a really nice ride today and hope that you can ride this trail soon too!
Very Scenic trail, very well maintained. Can not wait to see it this fall.
The first half mile of the trail is by far the best, aside from that it’s an easy trail to walk.
This is a lovely trail. I camped at Vassar Lake for a few nights and rode sections out and back each day between Council Grove and Osawatomie. Trail conditions were great for a gravel, mountain or touring bike. There are a few rough bridges, and a few patches of ballast or deep sand, but nothing that will ruin your day. My first morning I followed a coyote following a turkey for the better part of a mile. In Ottawa you can also connect to the Prairie Spirit trail, which is also nice.
This trail is not ready for prime-time.
Unlike the R-Ts that I've done (GAP, Katy, Mickelson), there are no dedicated services such as water (cisterns or pumps), bathrooms or portapotties, no mileage signage, not even signs identifying towns at crossroads. Essentially NO SERVICES. I did count four (I think) benches on the 103 miles we rode. Though I have been told this will change quickly since the State has recently taken over the trail, about a quarter of it is virtually impassable due to inappropriate maintenance, if any. That's from about five miles east of Council Grove on and off to Osage City. 2-4 inch ballast rocks are dumped on the trail without grading or filling, no gravel for miles (just dirt jeep trail), no side rails on unimproved bridges (dangerous), grading done in wet weather where the grader tread tracks have become miles of almost-highway rumble strips and, finally, trash heaps along side the trail.. A terrible riding experience. Add to that an approximate three mile detour just west of Ottawa on yucky gravel county roads (not marked on any - including TrailNet - maps, but clearly a long-term function of the trail).
Now, from Osage City east to Osawatomie is from passable to good enough, mostly on the positive side of that spectrum.
BUT, the people we met were all wonderful, great experiences at every interaction. The Cottage House in Council Grove and the Koch Guesthouse (AirBnB) in Osage City were delightful, and Jeff and Yon at the Ottawa Bike Shop were outstandingly - I mean really - helpful.
If you want to do the Flint Hills R-T, do the eastern half or wait till the state at least fixes the surface on the western side. Otherwise, it can be a miserable experience. Either way, once the trail is fixed, it's still a long way from the standards set by the nearby Katy.
Ron Gossen
I began running along this trail on Friday afternoon on 4/12/2019. The weather was about 52°, sunny, and a bit windy. I found the trail to be difficult to run along. The trail is gravel, but not maintained very well. There was a steady undergrowth about 8” high that blanketed the trail. I found myself dodging bushes and dead, fallen trees lying across the path. In the two miles i ran, there were about three gates. After the fourth, i met a herd of cattle, and that’s when I turned back. Otherwise, the trail is very peaceful. I recommend it for walking or mountain biking. If tou do bike it, be sure to bring an extra tire!
As of summer 2018 the Riverfront Trail is open it's full length from the western trailhead at 9 Highway to the eastern one in EH Young Riverfront park. I ride it regularly, find it to be in excellent shape and quite peaceful.
Starting at the western trailhead the trail is asphalt as it winds through quiet woods in the bottomland next to the Missouri River. As you continue, the trail climbs up to the Quindaro Bend Levee where it becomes pea gravel. The trail travels under Interstate 635 and 169 Highway before dropping down from the levee adjacent to Argosy Casino. From here, the trail becomes concrete and parallels the roads. Traffic into the casino can be heavy at times, so be mindful at road crossings. The trail finally ends just past the casino at EH Young Riverfront Park. Directly across the casino you can also access the Line Creek Trail, which will lead you into downtown Riverside and provide access all the way up to Barry Road, as well as the Briarcliff Linear Trail.
Eventually the Missouri Riverfront Trail is supposed to connect to English Landing Park in downtown Parkville. A concrete path has been poured leading to the park and is rideable, but it's exit (only 50 yards or so shy of English Landing) is currently gated off. I suspect this is due to a railroad right-of-way issue, as the path would need to be perilously close to the busy railroad tracks. Hopefully this connection is finished soon, as it would provide a car-free commuting route between Parkville and Riverside.
I bike the Trolley Track Trail to get from the Country Club Plaza to Waldo frequently. The trail surface is similar to most rail-trails, and it can get quite crowded with walkers and joggers on nice evenings. There are also numerous road crossings, so it's difficult to keep up a decent pace. If you're in a hurry you're better off riding adjacent Brookside Boulevard. Overall this is a decent trail for commuting and leisurely weekend rides, but too short, with too many road crossings to make it any sort of destination.
Nice relaxing ride when it’s dry. Often sections will be closed after heavy rains for trail repair/ maintenance.
Now about 8 miles long, but construction continues. From the west end where the shopping center is, you can cross over I-29 on Old Tiffany SpringsRoad (narrow bridge but not much traffic.) Cross over to the old hotel they’re working on. From there take the walkway through apartment comple, then you’ll come to the new trail. Not officially open, but passable to Amity Road.
You’ll love this trail. It goes along side with the Missouri river. Plenty to see and the people are nice.
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