Kansas

Kansas's Flint Hills Trail State Park | Courtesy Kansas Tourism

Top 10 Trails in Kansas

Posted 09/02/21 by Robert Annis in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Kansas, Top10, Trail Destinations

The geographic center of the contiguous United States, Kansas served as, and remains home to, many Native American tribes, and was a frequent passing-through point for explorers and settlers heading west to find their fortune. Today, the state hosts five National Historic Trails marking these routes: the Oregon, California, Santa Fe, Pony Express and Lewis & Clark trails. In the latter half of the 19th century, railroads followed suit. Years after many of these rail corridors fell into disrepair and disuse, local Jayhawk communities saw an opportunity to offer fun, safe human-powered connections between cities, towns and parks throughout the state (although you’ll still see horses on some of the trails). This includes the creation of one of the longest rail-trails in the country.

Flint Hills Trail State Park | Courtesy Kansas Tourism

Five Destination Rail-Trails Newly Designated as 2020 National Recreation Trails

Posted 11/30/20 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Hall of Fame, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Ohio, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations

In October, a new slate of 30 trails in 25 states—including the five rail-trails highlighted here—were ushered into the ranks of top outdoor destinations as 2020’s National Recreation Trails by U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Flint Hills Trail State Park | Courtesy Kansas Tourism

Tapping into Federal Funding: Five Trail Tales of Success

Posted 05/28/20 by Laura Stark in Policy, Success Stories | Tagged with Federal, Funding, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, TrailsTransform, Transportation Alternatives

We explore a handful of rail-trails that have been supported by essential Transportation Alternatives funds, and the impact they’ve had on local communities and the nation. Many of these trails are part of larger, connected networks of trails and active transportation infrastructure that provide both critical recreational opportunities and much-needed transportation options to daily destinations or transit. Others connect communities and help promote tourism or travel between towns.

Flint Hills Trail State Park | Photo courtesy Kansas Tourism

Kansas’ Flint Hills Trail State Park

Posted 11/13/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Demand for Trails, Federal, Funding, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Kansas, Local Organizing, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Nestled into the gentle greens and golds of a vast prairie, rolling under leafy branches arched overhead like cathedral rooftops, and connecting small towns with friendly Midwestern charm, the Flint Hills Trail State Park proves there’s no place like Kansas.

Photo courtesy Doug Wertman | CC by 2.0

Notice: Upcoming Railroad Abandonment in Decatur, Norton and Phillips Counties, Kan., and Harlan County, Neb.

Posted 06/17/15 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Taking Action, Building Trails | Tagged with Abandonment Notices, Corridors and Railbanking, Kansas, Nebraska

On or about June 12, 2015, Nebraska, Kansas & Colorado Railway filed for the abandonment of 57.31 total miles of disconnected track in Decatur, Norton and Phillips Counties, Kansas, and Harlan County, Nebraska. We are providing this information because it presents an opportunity to develop a real regional asset: a multi-use trail that can accommodate hikers, bikers, equestrians and other appropriate uses.

Photo © blueriverrailtrail.org

Young Farmers Big Fans of Kansas' Rail-Trail Aspirations

Posted 07/06/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Kansas, Local Organizing, Overcoming Opposition, Schools and Young People

In Marysville, Kan., near the Nebraska border, members of the local high school's Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter are throwing their support behind the Blue River Rail Trail, building benches, installing a new sign and bulletin board kiosk at the trailhead, and doing much-needed bridge repair work.

Prairie Spirit Rail Trail | Photo by Trent McCown

Kansas' Prairie Spirit Trail

Posted 08/01/11 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Hall of Fame, Kansas, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Running 51 miles between the towns of Ottawa and Iola in eastern Kansas, the Prairie Spirit Rail Trail State Park offers visitors a taste of rural, middle America at its finest—rolling pastures, lazy streams, wooded ravines, friendly townspeople, colorful wildflowers, big farms and an endless sky.