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...
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 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 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...
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,...
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 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 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....
Very impressive that this trail is kept up by volunteers. Very few loose gravel spots where a hybrid bike can get questionable. Not really much to see, but very few road crossings and you can safely ride from Carthage to Car Junction.
I biked this trail May 26, 2021. Except for about 100 feet of trail at mile point 4.2 (just carry your bike across the railroad tracks and bike to the north edge of the short unfinished section), this is a great trail from about mile point 2.5 all the way to the eastern end in Carthage.
The 2.5 mile section from the state line to near Carl Junction is (currently) only recommended for good bikers on mountain bikes (the gravel is thick in points and the trail is mostly un-cleared of brush).
I did the complete 16 mile trail on my hybrid bike, but I found the western-most 2.5 mile section a bit tricky.
I would recommend biking from the Carthage trailhead to Carl Junction and returning to Carthage. This gives you a nice 25 mile ride.
The Joplin Trails Coalition expects to have the entire 16-mile trail completed by sometime in 2022.
This trail is great for a stroll or a quick bike ride. Beautiful scenery and you can start either off of Allan St or from Briarbrook.
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.
First time riding this trail. Well maintained, very quiet trail. Rode Humboldt to Iola today, and only saw one other rider the whole time.
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
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.
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 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!!
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