Explore the best rated trails in Parsons, KS. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Ruby Jack Trail and Southwind Rail Trail. With more than 8 trails covering 84 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 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...
Opened in 2015, the Missouri Pacific Recreational Trail (or Mo-Pac Trail) is a half-mile multi-use pathway located in Iola, Kansas. While short, the trail nonetheless provides valuable connections: it...
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 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...
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,...
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...
Opened in 2015, the Missouri Pacific Recreational Trail (or Mo-Pac Trail) is a half-mile multi-use pathway located in Iola, Kansas. While short, the trail nonetheless provides valuable connections: it...
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 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...
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 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 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...
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...
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....
Opened in 2015, the Missouri Pacific Recreational Trail (or Mo-Pac Trail) is a half-mile multi-use pathway located in Iola, Kansas. While short, the trail nonetheless provides valuable connections: it...
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 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...
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...
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 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,...
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!
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
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!
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.
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.
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!
Had a great ride yesterday on the trail. Met nice folks along the way. Trail is well maintained. If the state could do something about the 23 mph SSW headwind, that would be nice. :)
Plenty of place to stop and enjoy the prairie.
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!!
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..
After riding the Katy three times a buddy and I found out about this trail. I like it better even though it is much shorter. Rode it the first weekend of October. It was in GREAT shape. Whoever is in charge of maintaining it does a excellent job. Started in Humboldt and rode to Ottowa on a Saturday and rode back on Sunday. About 57 miles each way. Garnett is really the only place to get food halfway. Perfect weather when we went. I think there is a trail to Witchita from Ottowa. Will be looking for info on that and incorporate that with the next Prairie Spiirit ride
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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