Find the top rated trails in Lawrence, 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.
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 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,...
The Burroughs Creek Trail and Linear Park runs from 11th to 23rd streets along an abandoned rail corridor just west of Haskell Avenue in Lawrence, Kansas. The trail was made possible through the work...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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,...
Lake Shawnee opened in 1939 as a project of the Works Progress Administration and has been providing the residents and visitors of Topeka with a host of recreational opportunities since that time. A...
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...
Situated within Shawnee Mission Park in Lenexa, the SMP Paved Trail offers a pleasant way for park visitors to experience the surrounding beauty without their car. The trail provides access to many of...
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,...
_0_sc.jpg)
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 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...
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....
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 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 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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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 Burroughs Creek Trail and Linear Park runs from 11th to 23rd streets along an abandoned rail corridor just west of Haskell Avenue in Lawrence, Kansas. The trail was made possible through the work...
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...
When complete, the Landon Nature Trail will follow a 40-mile corridor of the former Missouri Pacific Railroad, running between Topeka and an intersection with the 117-mile Flint Hills Nature Trail...
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,...
Although short, the Route 152 Trail is an important connector in Kansas City. The paved pathway begins at Line Creek Trail and heads west, paralleling its namesake roadway across town. Despite its...
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 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,...
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...
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 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 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 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...
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...
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 S. Lawrence Trafficway Trail loosely follows the S. Lawrence Trafficway—also known as State Route 10—on the outskirts of the city of Lawrence. The trail passes by new residential developments,...
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 Flint Hills Nature Trail runs for 117 miles (east-west) across northeast Kansas, linking six counties and dozens of towns between Osawatomie and Herington. The rail-trail is one of the longest in...
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 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 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 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 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,...
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 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.
Loved this trail. We made it from the start to south of Berryton. It's mostly tree shaded and really pretty; very peaceful, especially after you leave city limits. Concrete for a long while -- great for skating; then crushed stone -- some pitted parts here and there but mostly nice and smooth.
I regularly do 40-50 on this trail. The best part is from Admire to Council Grove, both in terms of scenery and trail conditions. East of Admire has a lot of ballast that will slow you down. If you like solitude and scenery, it's the best trail in KS. If you like amenities, not so much. As for thorns, I use tire liners and have never had a single flat.
My son and I did an overnight leaving from Council Grove, camping at Vassar State Park and back to CG the next day. We had excellent weather and plenty of time to accomplish the 50+ miles in each direction. My bike handled the rough terrain well but my son's tires did not like the many thorns. We exhausted his extra tire and my 6 pack of patches. We even broke into my air mattress repair kit. Either go tubeless or make sure your tires can take a beating. Some very rough patches and THORNS! That aside - beautiful landscape and scenery! Say "hi" to the cows! Also, Vassar State Park is a beautiful camping area. Friendly people, too. Also, stop off in Allen and talk to Paul who runs the auto shop - super friendly and will sell you a coke for 50 cents. You can fill up on his free water, too. Stay a spell and let him tell you about his town. You won't be sorry.
We took a ride from the trailhead at Princeton KS, about 17 miles to Garnett KS, where we ate lunch at a restaurant on the town square, and returned that afternoon. This trail has excellent surface condition, good vegetation control, safe bridges, and nice variety of scenery in open space and deep forest cover. Bathrooms and water available at Princeton, Richmond, and Garnett. Its a nice day trip from Kansas City to get out in the country.
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.
Kids really loved it! Lack of bathrooms is an issue if you have kids though
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.
This paved trail is well-maintained, with gorgeous scenery. At the northern end you can keep going to the Kansas River and a view of the Bald Eagles. There are challenging stretches to keep your blood pumping as well as many places to stop and rest or picnic.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
_0_st.jpg)
