Parsons, KS Walking Trails and Maps

85 Reviews

Looking for the best Walking trails around Parsons?

Find the top rated walking trails in Parsons, 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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Activities
Length
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10 Results
Activities
Length
Surfaces
Type

Frisco Greenway Trail

5.6 mi
State: MO
Asphalt, Gravel

Lehigh Portland Trails

2.25 mi
State: KS
Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel

Prairie Spirit Trail State Park

51.3 mi
State: KS
Asphalt, Crushed Stone

Southwind Rail Trail

6.5 mi
State: KS
Crushed Stone

Ruby Jack Trail

16 mi
State: MO
Crushed Stone, Gravel

Thom Station Trail

1.4 mi
State: MO
Asphalt, Concrete, Gravel

Missouri Pacific Recreational Trail

0.5 mi
State: KS
Concrete

Watco Trail

1 mi
State: KS
Asphalt

Katy Hike/Bike Trail

1.8 mi
State: KS
Asphalt

Pittsburg East-West Connector Trail

1.11 mi
State: KS
Concrete
Trail Image Trail Name States Length Surface Rating
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,...
MO 5.6 mi Asphalt, Gravel
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...
KS 2.25 mi Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel
Spanning 51 miles, the Prairie Spirit Trail State Park runs from Ottawa to Iola, offering plenty of recreation and enjoyment for birdwatchers, cyclists, walkers, joggers and anyone with a desire to...
KS 51.3 mi Asphalt, Crushed Stone
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...
KS 6.5 mi Crushed Stone
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....
MO 16 mi Crushed Stone, Gravel
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...
MO 1.4 mi Asphalt, Concrete, Gravel
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...
KS 0.5 mi Concrete
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...
KS 1 mi Asphalt
A short paved multi-use path, the Katy Hike/Bike Trail follows a section of the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (the "Katy") through Chanute. Starting just north of Katy Park, the trail cuts...
KS 1.8 mi Asphalt
The Pittsburg East-West Connector Trail is a rail-trail that meanders through the City of Pittsburg in Crawford County, Kansas. The paved path connects neighborhoods, a few local businesses, a school,...
KS 1.11 mi Concrete

Recent Trail Reviews

Prairie Spirit Trail State Park

Iola Trailhead to Colony Trailhead and back

September, 2024 by paulz

0n 9/20/24, we rode on mostly crushed stone for a round trip distance of 20 miles. 32 c tires would be suitable. Need to be careful of the many deep ruts in the direction of travel. They will surely ruin your day. The trail was mostly shady. We encountered many branches across the trail. There must have been a severe storm the day before. There were also numerous spider webs across the trail. In the 20 mile trip, we never encountered another person on the trail. Restrooms at Caryle and Colony trailheads. Water at Colony and Iola trailheads.

Prairie Spirit Trail State Park

Coming back!

August, 2024 by dpate

I was traveling in the area and needed to kill a little time and found the Prairie Spirit Trail. I parked in Ottawa and rode south a few miles. I normally don’t ride gravel but this was superb. I turned around and rode back north on the paved trail in town to the end. I was not able to enjoy the entire trail but I will return here now that I’ve discovered it. I give this one five stars! Traveling cyclist Facebook

Prairie Spirit Trail State Park

Ottawa to Princeton - lots of shade

May, 2024 by nanborchardt_tl

Lodging note. There is a new Holiday Inn Express on the Prairie Spirit Trail in Ottawa (just off I-35). They even have a short sidewalk connecting the 30’ between their parking lot and the actual trail. After getting on the main trail south of I-35, the trail is 90% canopied by the trees. In sections it’s just a green tunnel- great for hot sunny days. And rabbits. Lots and lots of rabbits. :o). Even saw a Bobcat run across the trail. out in front of us.

Accordion

Prairie Spirit Trail State Park

Easy, fun ride

April, 2024 by aeboe

Ottawa Trailhead to Richmond. About 27 miles round trip & 272 ft. climb. Quick, easy ride. Well maintained trail with good surface for our hybrid bikes. It was a destination trail for us and glad we made to effort to experience it.

Ruby Jack Trail

Pleasant ride

February, 2024 by wegot2go

Nicely shaded well packed gravel trail. Parked our RV at the Carthage Trailhead in the nearby park. Parking available for cars at the trailhead. Remote trail so bring water and snacks.

Ruby Jack Trail

Nice e-bike ride

August, 2023 by randles.harris

My wife and I rode the Ruby-Jack. It was a good trail for our cruiser e-bikes. There was quite a bit of shade and the chat was packed good in most places. We enjoyed it. The trail still hasn’t been extended to the state line. Actual cleaned out and rideable miles are about thirteen which includes a railroad carryover at Carl Junction. We would recommend this trail and kudos to the the area cyclists club for this trail!!

Southwind Rail Trail

Fun Ride

August, 2023 by rutpup

Trail was very well-maintained, even after a hard rain. Humboldt community was amazing, lunch in Iola at Sharky’s was incredible… Try the beer, battered onion rings:-)

Prairie Spirit Trail State Park

Prairie Spirit from Ottawa to Richmond

May, 2023 by larisonlj

Nice, level, well kept trail of small crushed gravel and about half sun & half shade. We rode from Ottawa 13 miles to Richmond and then back. There are restrooms & water fountains in Princeton & Richmond along with picnic tables & parking as well as a few benches at spots along the trail. We basically had the trail to ourselves, early on as we headed out we saw a couple of cyclists and then a single cyclist…..that was it. Just us and the deer, rabbits, squirrels and birds.

Prairie Spirit Trail State Park

Outstanding and Beautiful ¿

April, 2023 by utpaduke

Today I rode South from Holiday Inn Express corner of I35 and Main St Ottawa, MM61 to MM87 and back¿ for a total of 52 miles. Trail is in Great Shape and the agricultural views are amazing. This is rural riding at its best. I could no believe I did not see another biker during my entire ride ¿. The riders around here must have a rule regarding if wind is X-mph, they don’t ride ¿. I was severely beaten by the Great Plains Wind all day long¿.

Frisco Greenway Trail

nice ride

October, 2022 by john.kf0m

We parked at the trail head on St. Louis street which is a gravel lot with portapotty and rode south which was packed gravel with some up hill and down hill area near the creek. This area makes you feel like you are way out in the country with woods on both sides. We did see a rider on horseback and pedestrians. The trail head at the south end had a larger paved parking lot but from a quick look I am not sure how safe that neighborhood’s is. Riding north towards web city the terrain was flat and the gravel was smoother but there was a lot of housing development on both sides so not much of a country feel at most intersections cars stopped to let us cross which was nice.

Prairie Spirit Trail State Park

Beautiful trail--Garnett to Colony return

October, 2022 by cizawood

Another lovely trail in Kansas. We were pleasantly surprised. We started our section in Garnett in mid-late Sept 2022. We drove south from Ottawa due to rain there and when we got to Garnett, the rain and moved on, so we rode south (40 miles return). The parking lot at the old train depot has water and toilets and is a good place to park. There is a delicious Amish run restaurant in town--a must stop for breakfast or lunch. The cycling was great--just watch for some dry cracks in the trail base and some limbs or trees can be down. This section was partly shaded, but more out in the open. Some of the trail was parallel to the north/south highway connecting Ottawa to Iola. Every small town had a nice rest stop complete with toilet and water. Only Garnett had anything worth stopping in, the others were small settlements with residents only (or that's what we saw anyway). The entire trail looks great, and we hope someday to return to do the entire trail from Humboldt to Ottawa.

Ruby Jack Trail

A successful day!

October, 2022 by satnip

All in all I think the trail is good. I enjoyed my day and had a good ride. I use a road bike with hybrid tires. Initially I tried to start in Carl Junction at the far west end of the trail which was actually Smithfield on the map. The only way you can ride on that section of it is if you have a mountain bike and there’s nowhere to park however if you go into Carl Junction right by the high school that is a good place to start. County Road 200 has a trail head and a place that you can park and you can go either direction on the trail. From Carl Junction East the trail is P gravel that is packed good with the exception of just a few spots. I saw a total of probably 10 people while I was on the trail mostly just north of Oronogo and Webb City when I was riding otherwise the trail is quite secluded. There is a lot of shade and the trail is fairly wide most of the way it narrows occasionally but you can easily pass people¿ everyone

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