Find the top rated walking trails in Pittsburg, 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.
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...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
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
Rode this trail from Iola to Humbolt and back, and then stumble on the single track trail outside of Iola. That was really nice too! We camped in Humbolt and that was disappointing with the noise from a local plant and the bathrooms were quite dirty.
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 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..
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.
I was there last weekend and rode from CJ to where it basically ends just past CJ heading toward Carthage. I picked my bike up and carried it over the railroad tracks then road a bit further before it became covered in large rocks that you sink into and was so overgrown with weeds it basically didn't exist.
We have just finished resurfacing 2 miles of the Ruby Jack from the Carthage Trail Head to Leggett and Platt. We placed fine gravel over the rough gravel that was there for several years. The trail is holding up well.
There are plans to extend the trail 1.5 miles to the west towards Carl Junction. We should know by the end of the summer of 2016 when this will take place.
We parked one car in Joplin off North st at the beginning of trail and was able to get nice shaded parking spot and there is a porta potty in this lot. We then hoped in other car and drove to web city near broadway which was difficult to find the trail at first but ended up parking under some shade in the skating rink parking lot and walking towards broadway and cedar and saw the old rail road tracks across the road and saw the trail and began following it. It was me and my wife along with our three year old daughter. Well majority of the trail is shaded really nicely except for about just over half mile stretch when you get near Zora there is absolutely no shade and is burning hot on this stretch but other then this the entire rest of trail is nice and shaded even during hottest part of day. We started just after 3 PM and with out three year old walking herself majority of the way we finished around 4:45 PM but also between Zora and the Joplin starting point were we parked we came across a bridge were we spent some time playing in the water as well. The entire trail is all gravel and overall was an enjoyable afternoon. Would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun walk and without kids could probably be done closer to an hour.
This trail through Joplin and Webb City has access points along its length. There are a couple of paved sections, but fine, graded gravel is well kept within the 'green tunnel' of trees most of the way. Deer, groundhogs, upland and aquatic birds can be found often, especially along the southern portions of the trail (near Turkey Creek, and among the sloping hills). Nearby rail is still active at the southern end, giving nostalgic calls, and occasionally views of parked rail cars on a siding that used to be the rail of this rail-to-trail.
This trail has been in the minds of Carl Junction, Oronogo, and Carthage for years. It is actively used by members of the AVA and the local Dogwood Trailblazers walking groups. I enjoy walks from the Oronogo access. From that point eastward to Carthage, the grading and gravel size are smooth, even allowing family members to ride bike comfortably at the same time I am walking. From Oronogo, westward, there is a mile of coarser, loose, larger gravel, older bridges and more overgrown vegetation. This is a section that runs under the nearby Highway 43. The Carl Junction end of the trail has received (is now still in action) a large amount of clearing, grading and new fine gravel application to make it a very strong, attractive portion of the trail. The trail is a good one. It has different character along different portions, but is still being upgraded each year.
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