Landon Trail

Kansas

13 Reviews

When complete, the Landon 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 west of Pomona in Osage County. The trail currently exists in two sections, with one from downtown Topeka to Richland and the second stretching south from Overbrook.

When completed, the trail will connect the Oregon National Historic Trail and the Santa Fe National Historic Trail.

The northern 4.5 miles of trail within Topeka’s city limits have been improved with a smooth concrete surface. An interchange with the popular Shunga Trail along this portion allows for a longer trip west through southern Topeka. The Landon Trail’s remaining miles through rural Shawnee County have a crushed-stone surface, although the trail gets increasingly rougher south of SE 61st Street.

Eventually, the trail passes by waterfalls, wetlands, tallgrass prairies and oak-hickory forests and currently connects Topeka's parks with the Clinton Wildlife Area and other scenic beauty.

Parking and Trail Access

Parking for the Landon Trail can be found in Topeka at the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site parking lot between SE 15th Street and SE 17th Street. Farther south, parking is available in a dedicated lot on SE 53rd Street, just west of SE Adams Street.

See TrailLink Map for detailed directions.

Great ride for windy & sunny days!

March 2025 wittsendks

Rode from 53rd St. parking area to the end of the trail at Shawnee Heights Rd. Tree lined on both side the entire way, so the windy day wasn't bad at all. Surface is packed cinder type material, ranging from 4 bikes wide, to to double track, to only 3 feet wide. Trail was smooth, except for the deep horse hoof prints. High winds had done a number on limbs & debris on the trail, but once these are cleaned up the trail will be great. Good to see the trail in use by bikers and hikers. The volume of traffic was pleasant and not too busy. A couple of road crossings afforded poor site lines and short response times to competing traffic. Didn't encounter any loose dogs on the trail. Parking area is in good shape & in use by many trail users. We did not see any encampments in this section of the trail. Note: there are no restroom facilities or water available on this section of the trail and only one park bench in the entire route. Hope this gives you a good idea of the trails condition. It's a great ride!

Fun old railroad trail

May 2022 kgmiller1985

South of 45th street is not paved so can be a challenge on a bike. Could use some trimming as some of the tree limbs were overgrown. Overall it was a fun ride and will ride again next time we are in town.

Cool trail that is flat, quiet and goes a long way. Often not a lot of people.

April 2022 veg7as

Cool trail that is flat, quiet and goes a long way. Often not a lot of people.

Good rail trail, even better potential

February 2020 bikenrun1205

I ride portions of this trail often.

This trail has a wide variety in its current iteration. Chipped gravel, concrete, asphalt, dirt, and making its way south with original scree. Several parts, especially as you progress south are low travelled, and once you get closer to 89th, it becomes more overgrown and rugged. Would love to see this developed fully all the way down to the junction at the Flint Hills Nature Trail.

Landon Trail Reviews

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Accordion

Shady and nice

July 2017 cdshepherd63

Loved this trail. We made it from the start to south of Berryton. It's mostly tree shaded and really pretty; very peaceful, especially after you leave city limits. Concrete for a long while -- great for skating; then crushed stone -- some pitted parts here and there but mostly nice and smooth.

Nice Trail

January 2017 whitedoyle

I got on the trail where it intersects 89th street. There is not a really good place to park. I ran toward Topeka and crossed several roads that had better spots to park.

The website for the Rails to Trails says the part that head south was closed to public, but it looks like it is now open.

Nice Ride on Sunday

September 2013 ssimmonds

We rode out as far south on this trail Sunday as we could go. It now goes out past 89th street for some way and it is sand past where the dirt ends. We couldn't ride far on the sand with our hybrid bikes but for all the rest of the ride they were great. There is one area where a tree fell across the trail and we had to walk over it and carry bikes but otherwise the trail is debris free and easily navigated. As hot as it has been, the trail offers a nice shady respite too, well covered on both sides. I really enjoyed this ride and can hardly wait to see the next part/completion! I have been riding and skating on the Shunga Trail since 1992, and feel we are so blessed to have this connecting option.

Love this trail

December 2012 the8thfold

I ride this trail at least two or three times a week. I connect to Landon at the bicycle roundabout and take it south all the way to 89th st which for now is were it ends. There are plans and work being done to extend this all the way to Clinton which would make it a 38 mile trail! as for now i believe it is approximately 12 miles. I would not recommended a road bike after 45th st. it turns to gravel at this point and has some rocky and pot hole ridden areas. you will need at least a cyclocross from that point on. there are some very nicely maintained areas between 45th and 89th though. there are a lot of trees to the sides of the trail, but the view is still amazing! it's a quiet secluded trail that seems to have very little traffic past 45th. before 45th st it can be busy. I can't wait to be able to ride all the way to Clinton!

Nice trail to skate.

August 2012 rynoman2k3

Nice smooth beautiful smooth trail. Not alot of debris, or things to avoid. Only gripe is having to cross some roads. I started at the Kansas Expo Center and skated under Topeka Boulv and Kansas Ave from Shunga Trail and then headed South on Landon Nature Trail.

Landon Trail update

July 2012 motohiggs

I have ridden the Landon Trail recently and have discovered that the last remaining railroad bridge is being updated with concrete as we speak at 45th street. this means easier access through this section. After the bridge there still remains the ballast rock from the rail line days, this is harder to ride on but no impossible. I ride through this section on a regular basis. The trail is developed 2 miles past Berryton. From my house on 37th, which is only a block from the trail I can clock 18 miles out to the end of the trail and back. You will know the end of the trail when you hit a driveway and the trail just disappears into someones yard. Be careful of all of the road crossings. A great ride even in the summer heat. Ridding in the morning hours you can take advantage of plenty of shade. This trail also runs up into the heart of Topeka and connects with the Shunga trail which Runs from Fairlawn road all the way up to 6th ave on the east side of town.

Hope it continues to develop!

September 2011 melaniemcpike

We biked the Landon Trail by way of the City of Topeka's Shunga Trail. We turned south @ the bicycle Roundabout. This trail is a continued concrete for about 2 1/2 miles. Then it turns into a spongey gravel. It looks like more work is being done by the construction equipment that is on the trail. Hopefully it will continue to develop with either concrete or a better grade of gravel for Bicyclists.

Needs a bit of TLC. Best for horses and mountain bikes

July 2008 jeffdrafttech

I rode this trail for about three miles on a fat-tired cyclocross bike. The trail is often somewhat rocky, overgrown, unkept, sandy, and can be muddy. Dense trees are growing along both sides of the trail, blocking much view of the countryside. I started at 53rd and Adams, and rode south. The map for this trail shows a parking area on the south-east corner, but the parking is actually about 100 meters west of Adams on the north side of 53rd.

Its a decent afternoon for local casual mountainbikers and horseback riders, but not really worth a long car trip. It would probably be impassable for any road bike (mine is kind of a road bike but it wears 45mm wide tires). I turned around about three miles south of 53rd street because the trail was so strewn with large rocks it wasn't safe for my cyclocros bike, and was not the pleasant ride in the country I was seeking.

Trail Patch?

November 2006 taylor125

"This is not a review, but an attempt to contact the trail organization with a question since you don't seem to have any other way of simply contacting you. I try to collect trail patches of all the trails I complete. The Prairie Spirit Trail has one and I was wondering if you do too. I have the same question regarding the Flint Hills Nature Trail. If you can't answer one or both of these questions, could you please direct me to someone who can? [or consider developing a trail patch as part of fund-raising]? Thanks so much."