Find the top rated walking trails in Ottawa, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
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...
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 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 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 Kill Creek Streamway Trail exists in 2 segments: the northern segment begins near Lexington Avenue in De Sort and winds south of 95th along Kill Creek. The southern segment picks up in Kill Creek...
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...
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...
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 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...
Traversing the city of Topeka through a stream valley, the Shunga Trail provides an important connection between residents and community features such as parks, medical facilities, government...
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 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 Riverfront Heritage Trail is located in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri. This downtown trail showcases the city’s heritage, as well as its continuously redeveloping downtown areas. The trail...
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...
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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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...
Soldier Creek Trail is a hiking and biking trail in Topeka, Kansas. The concrete trail mimics the course of the stream, winding for 1.8 miles through residential and recreational areas. The eastern...
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 6th Street Path runs along W. 6th Street—also signed as US 40—in Lawrence. The side path provides safe access to residential and commercial facilities along the busy road. At its western end, 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...
This is a shared use path adjacent to one of Kansas City's major east-west conduits. The concrete path sits on the wide grassy verge of the boulevard, which is named for a former mayor. On the...
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 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...
Pedestrians and cyclists alike can take advantage of these 3.4 miles of smooth asphalt trail for exercise in a calm outdoor setting. The trail sits within a greenway along Coffee Creek and winds...
The Kill Creek Streamway Trail exists in 2 segments: the northern segment begins near Lexington Avenue in De Sort and winds south of 95th along Kill Creek. The southern segment picks up in Kill Creek...
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...
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...
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...
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 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 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 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 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 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...
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 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,...
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 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 Little Mill Creek Trail offers a pleasant, woodsy route through Lenexa, about 14 miles southwest of Kansas City. The trail begins at Blackfish Parkway (along which you can hop on the Blackfish...
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,...
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 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 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 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...
Topeka's Deer Creek Trail follows the eponymous waterway for more than a mile through the eastern part of the city. Just south of where Deer Creek meets Shunganunga Creek, the trail turns west,...
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...
This is a shared use path adjacent to one of Kansas City's major east-west conduits. The concrete path sits on the wide grassy verge of the boulevard, which is named for a former mayor. On the...
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,...
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...
Traversing the city of Topeka through a stream valley, the Shunga Trail provides an important connection between residents and community features such as parks, medical facilities, government...
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...
Soldier Creek Trail is a hiking and biking trail in Topeka, Kansas. The concrete trail mimics the course of the stream, winding for 1.8 miles through residential and recreational areas. The eastern...
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...
Just rode the entire trail with my daughter, Oct 16 and 17. We started in Council Grove and rode East. We were on hardtail mountain bikes.
From Council Grove to Osage City the trail is in absolutely perfect condition. It's wide, (10 -12 feet),smooth, hard and fast. Many times I thought I was riding on pavement. I even locked out my front fork because I didn't need it. All the bridges are new. Guys with road bikes, have fun you'll fly. Congratulation to the Parks Dept for all their work, this portion is as good as it could be.
Then you hit Osage city. Oh boy, time to unlock the fork. From there to Vasser it's pretty rough. You come to HW 31 on the East side of Osage City and your looking at a overgrown weed patch along the junkyard. The sign said it's the trail so we went. There is still a pretty good gravel base so just pick your line and go. Then heading east go through the parking lot at the grain elevator and the trail stops at 5th st. There is no signage. We just kept going straight because there were no " private property" signs. It's all grass no path. Then at 6th street you have to detour to the south on Lakin Street. Ride Lakin east and turn left at Sonic then North back to the trail. It's a very short detour, no big deal.
From here to Vasser, again it's hit and miss. Some sections are OK and others are pretty rough. We were lucky because it hadn't rained in a while and trail was bone dry. There are lots of sections that are just dirt that would very tough if it was muddy. There was one section just as you go over the bridge at HW 75 that was very fine deep loss dirt. It was dry and we still had to ride in the weeds on the shoulder where the ground was hard to get through. If that was muddy, forget about it.
From Vasser east the trail goes back to the " improved" condition.
We got off at HW 368 and went north and camped at Pomona State Park.
Very nice park with facilities. There is also a good restaurant on the left by the motel and golf course. Open all day.
Back on the trail in the morning and through the only tunnel on the trail under HW 268. Like I said from here on the trail is back to the " improved" condition. Not quite as nice as from Council Grove to Osage city but still very good. Just a few more bumps and chatter.
Lot of dead trees down but that was because of the bad wind storm we had the night before. We weren't in a big hurry so we just cleared them ourselves.
I did run into a parks truck doing maintenance and got a lot of good info.
That bad portion through Osage City is waiting on some bonds for funding and that eventually the trail is going to have bathroom facilities, water and mile markers just like the Katy. They already have mile markers from Ottawa to Osawatomie.
Anyway heading east we ran into a big detour at Iowa rd. The trail is closed there or should I say non existent. You have to take the detour which is well marked and takes you out on the country gravel roads. The roads aren't bad. It's not the " big" gravel you think of when you hear " gravel road" but fine crushed gravel very similar to what's on the trail. The detour is about 3.5 miles and you get back on the trail at Louisiana Ter. At this point your about a mile West of Ottawa.
From Ottawa to Osawatomie the trail is in great shape but some of the bridges haven't been replace or updated yet. There are about four or five with no railings. Most aren't very high but one is about 30'. I just mention this in case someone is taking some young kids. On that big one I don't know why they couldn't a least put in a couple posts and at least string some cables just so there is some protection.
The trail now does go all the way to the Karl E Cole baseball complexe and ends there in nice big parking lot.
I hope this update was useful. Reading older posts when I was researching this trip I was expecting the worse but i can tell you that we had a great time and the trail is in great shape with that one section and detour as the exceptions.
Carl Spahn with daughter Madison
Kansas City, Mo.
Rode the trail starting in Osawatamie. Trail was in great shape, though some parts had a lot of leaf coverage. Despite this, no issues with surfaces or slippage. Such a peaceful trail to ride. And it flows super fast.
Rode from 119th and Northview to SM park. Path is fairly well maintained but has the usual bumps in the asphalt that are common along creek trails here. There are some hills as the path gets out of the creek bottom in some areas. There is a nice canopy along most of it with several turn outs to local parks. Once inside SM park, you can cruise the roads and paved trails there.
Very nice trail, populated with walkers and bikers on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Almost completely shady and very smooth concrete. The description shows the trail going from 11th street to 23rd, but it actually extends an additional mile south to 28th Street. Eventually it will connect with other trails on both its north and south terminals to become part of the Lawrence Loop. As of today, there is well placed signage indicating a two block zig zag at the south end where it reconnects with the South Lawrence Trafficway trail.
40 miles of outstanding trail. Rapid improvement of Flint Hills nature trail due to its designation as a state park. From Osage city to Allen the trail is 20 feet wide of crushed lime stone. From Allen to Council Grove 15 feet wide crushed lime stone with rock formations and fossils on both sides. Bathrooms,food, and water in Osage city, Allen, and Council Grove. Camping available in multiple sites along the way.
Started by renting a bike from Bicycle Shack they set me up with a great bike. Then hit the trail. It a great trail little tricky got miss directed a few time. Love riding along the water. Did see a deer.
This trail is perfect for older, beginner bicycle riders, which my wife and I are. The park is also lovely.
We rode entire trail, trail info Windsor,Leeton has flush toilets. Medford has nice pit toilet. Chilhowee and pleasant hill has port a potty’s Windsor , Leeton and Medford has water at trailheads. Windsor lots of food choices. Leeton a cafe. Chilhowee was supposed to have a little store but we didn’t stop so can’t confirm Good level trail, except for some wash outs and some cracks trail was food. A little vegetation creeping up. Medford to pleasant hill there is no support or supplier so be prepared. On the up side you are out with no traffic Hope this helps you plan¿¿¿¿
Having already biked from Ottawa to Welda, I went from Welda to Humboldt round-trip so as to complete the last remaining segment of the trail. Technically, the section from Iola to Humboldt is the Southwind Trail Trail, however it functionally is an extension of the Prairie Spirit. Regardless, I remain impressed with the condition quality of today's 26 mile section. The trail was packed down with minimal loose gravel, so as to allow for a surprisingly smooth ride. Simply excellent condition. Considerably more tree cover than I expected as well, which was quite welcome on a hot day. Several sections had foliage covering the trail to create a tunnel effect, which was a treat. If you have the opportunity, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a trip on this very well-maintained rail trail.
Not realizing that the Prairie Spirit Trail stopped in Iola and transitioned into the Southwind Rail Trail from that point to Humboldt, I was surprised to see the Southwind sign after biking down from Welda. What a pleasant surprise it was. The trail is in excellent condition, packed down with minimal debris/rocks, and made for a reasonably smooth ride. More shade was provided by foliage than I expected, which helped keep me cool on a boiler of a day. Not sure who to thank for maintaining this trail so well, yet I hope they read this - I'm grateful.
On the trail at 127th by 8:00 am riding to nall ave...on the way back 8:50 am the trail was very busy with walkers, runners and cyclists. Many cyclist flying by little kids with no trail manners. Normally we find this trail very nice to ride! Enjoyable easy ride.
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