Kansas Cyclist - Kansas Bicycle Guide and Reference

In Hitting the Trail: A Panoramic View, the Omaha World-Herald shines a spotlight on some of the best trails in their region:

Badger Ridge. Steamboat Trace. The Cowboy Trail. Pawnee Buttes. Vedauwoo.

The places are as colorful as the names. The outdoor experiences they offer are as varied as the land they cross.

These are a few of the memorable trails across the Midlands - from the loess hills of western Iowa to the river bluffs, prairies and buttes of Nebraska to the granite and pines hills of southeastern Wyoming. Not forgotten are hundreds of miles of concrete trails coursing in and out of communities from Council Bluffs to Scottsbluff.

Nebraska and Iowa - surprisingly to some - provide a multitude of opportunities for walking, hiking and cycling. Trails across this 500-mile region span a series of diverse ecological zones, from humid woodlands to arid high plains. Scenic rivers and trout streams lace the land. Hundreds of cold and clear Sand Hills lakes - many on public land - dot the map.

Some of the trails highlighted include:

• Cowboy Trail - 31 miles of trail will be added this year, connecting Norfolk and Valentine, for a total of 195 miles. This scenic trail includes two long railroad bridges. The longest is more than a quarter-mile long and 140 feet above the Niobrara River.
• Steamboat Trace - Trail follows the Missouri River valley. The 22-mile trail passes through Peru, low farmland and the tree-covered river bluffs along the Missouri. Popular hike-bike trail with access to excellent small-town eateries.
• Wabash Trace - Converted railroad right-of-way running over 60 miles through southwest Iowa countryside to Blanchard on the Iowa-Missouri border.
• Homestead Trail - Lincoln has about 60 miles of trail. They connect to the Homestead Trail, which will eventually connect to Beatrice. The Homestead Trail now runs 13 miles from Lincoln to Cortland. There is a 7-mile gap from Cortland to Pickrell. Six miles from Pickrell to Beatrice is complete. The trail will eventually stretch 60 miles from Lincoln to Marysville, Kansas.
• Indian Cave State Park - Horses share this hiking-biking favorite. The park offers 22-miles of rugged trails. The Ozark environment is home to a number of plants and bird species unique to southeastern Nebraska.
• Mo-Pac Trail - Lincoln’s longest trail continues 25 miles east to near Wabash.
• Platte River State Park - One of the best sites for hiking and mountain biking. “If you like adventure and don’t necessarily want marked trails, go to Owen Crossing and have at it,” said Carol Rosenow of the Omaha Hiking Club.

Learn more: Nebraska Bicycle Trails

Wells Overlook Park is located about two miles south of Lawrence along county road 458 on a high hill that features a wooden observation tower which provides a scenic view of the entire city.

Local cyclist Andrew McKee has presented a proposal to the Douglas County commissioners to build mountain bike trails along the southwest corner of the park and maintain them at no cost to the county.

Andrew McKee had been searching for a good site to build mountain bike trails when the observation tower on top of Wells Overlook Park beckoned in the distance.

“I’ve been kicking it around in the back of my head for about a year,” the Kansas University junior from Lawrence said. “It was just a matter of trying to find the right place.”

Local bicyclists already maintain and use trails at Clinton Lake and along the Kansas River. But those trails aren’t conducive for those who want to practice the “gravity-oriented” biking that mountain bikers favor. That’s the attraction of Wells Overlook, which is 2 miles south of Lawrence on Douglas County Road 458.

“It’s a big hill, and it’s close to town,” McKee said. “There is a road to the top so it’s easy for people to drive up to the top and ride back down.”

The trails can be built to minimize erosion, McKee said. “We have a pretty experienced trail crew,” he said. The trails will be built in stages.

Ken Lassman, whose grandfather donated the park land to the county in 1971, was supportive of the trails idea. “I think the mountain bike community in this area has a good record in building and maintaining trails,” Lassman said. “We think it will draw people to the beauty of the park, and we’re all for that. That’s what the whole goal of the park is.”

The county commissioners have authorized the county administrator’s office to negotiate an agreement with the bike clubs that will address liability and maintenance issues. No word on when construction of the trails may begin.

Read more: Bike paths proposed at Wells Overlook at The Lawrence Journal-World.

Trail news from Kansas and mid-America:

• Phase 3 of the Prairie Spirit Trail is scheduled to open June 7th, in conjunction with National Trails Day. With the completion of the final section, Kansas’s longest rail-trail is now 51 miles in length, extending from Ottawa in the north to Iola in the South.
• Volunteers Develop Recreational Area: “Without proposing a tax increase or increasing the mill levy, residents of many communities might dismiss the idea of developing a new recreational area. But not in Melvern, Kansas, pop. 435, where volunteers working on behalf of the community have planted 65 trees, built a 20-foot-long walking bridge across a ravine, cleaned up 40 acres of abandoned land, and developed seven miles of hiking, biking and walking trails.”
• At Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas, erosion from heavy spring rains have destroyed parts of the Fossil Flats trail. The goal is to have the trail fixed by Sept. 13, when the Northwest Arkansas Mountain Bike Championships are sceduled to take place at the park (more).
• Over at Two Wheel Blogs, g-wiz has a ride report from the 2008 Syllamo’s Revenge Mountain Bike Challenge at Mountain Home, Arkansas: “this was the hardest race, hardest ride, hardest effort I’ve ever put out in my entire life.”
• In Colorado, Pitkin County and the town of Carbondale expect the Colorado Department of Transportation to approve plans for a 5.3-mile segment of the Crystal Valley Trail, a proposed bike path along the Crystal River and Highway 133, which is ultimately hoped to extend for 74 miles, connecting Carbondale to Crested Butte.
• Also in Colorado, the Rio Grande Trail is nearly finished, and a grand opening for the trail is planned on July 19th.
• In Colorado Springs, Colorado: New trail gives biking enthusiasts a place to play with a recently-finished mountain bike trail in Bear Creek Park. (more).
• The Tri-State Trails Tour takes place May 17th on the extensive network of trails in the Sioux City, Iowa area, venturing into Nebraska and South Dakota as well.
• In St. Joseph, Missouri, their mountain bike trails grow miles longer every year, due to volunteers with a passion for pedaling: St. Joseph cyclists making off-road progress. The St. Joseph trails have received some good reviews, and play host to the Robidoux Roundup mountain bike race this weekend.
• A trail system is in the works in Hannibal, Missouri, the hometown of Mark Twain.
• Bridge for sale? discusses proposed plans to dismantle the historic Booneville railroad bridge on Missouri’s Katy Trail, and efforts to save it.
• In Central City, Nebraska, trail planners seek another route after the Central Platte Natural Resources District’s rejection of an agreement to develop an eight-mile trail south of Central City. The Nebraska Trails Foundation currently owns the trail, but it must be owned by a government entity in order to qualify for a grant that would help pay for its development costs. So the project’s planners are now looking for another public body to take control of it and make the trail a reality.

Joplin, Missouri is planning to expand the city’s trail system this summer, adding six miles of walking and biking trails to the existing 3.5 miles of the Frisco Greenway Trail.

The city has scheduled an open house to allow residents to view plans, offer comments and ask questions about the new trails, which are being built starting in July and August. 80 percent of the cost of the trails is being paid for with federal matching grant money, while the city is supplying 20% of the funds.

The new projects include trails that extend from downtown to the east and then northwest through Landreth Park across Main Street and along the Murphy Boulevard corridor. Other trails will extend from the Frisco Greenway Trail’s west trailhead and fork to provide trails to Ewert Park downtown, and Joe Becker Stadium. A trail in the southern portion of Joplin will connect to an existing trail of the Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center and travel along the south banks of Shoal Creek.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation reports that “Joplin is becoming one of the most progressive cities in the state for having the vision to extend its trails plan to all parts of the city.”

Read more: Open house scheduled for Joplin’s trail plans from the Joplin Globe, and Joplin to build several trails throughout city from MoBikeFed

The WAM-SAG-MAN Trail is a a proposed 20-mile paved multi-use recreational trail connecting the communities of Wamego, St. George, and Manhattan.

Since first conceived in 2001, organizers have been raising funs to construct the trail. So far, they’ve accumulated about $46,000, which is a ways short of the $4.2M estimate for trail construction.

Still, there’s hope of progress sooner rather than later. The trail has been submitted to the Kansas Department of Transportation for funding by a Transportation Enhancement grant, which would pay 80% of the costs.

Though building the trail is a long and difficult process, WAM-SAG-MAN Trail committee chair Diane Novak says the effort to build the trail will be worth the trouble:

She believes the trail, which will have handicap accessibility and may someday be part of an inter-state trail network, will benefit people in the area by keeping cyclists off busy roads and reducing the need for people to drive between the communities. It may also help local businesses, like bed and breakfasts, she said. Most of all, though, Novak said she hopes it will incite people to be more active.

“My goodness sakes, we’re a soft society,” she said. “We have to get out. We don’t work as hard as we used to, so we have to get out.”

More information: On the trail of a bike trail from the Manhattan Mercury, WAM-SAG-MAN Brochure, wam-sag-man.org.

According to an article in the Ottawa Herald (Officials taking neighborly position on rail trail deal), Franklin County commissioners have decided to delay completion of the Flint Hills Nature Trail in their county by failing to respond to a bond offer from the Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy. The trails group has offered a bond of $200 per mile of trail, which would total about $5,000 for Franklin County. This is in line with the amounts that several other counties have agreed to.

However, Miami County, which is just east of Franklin County, has demanded a $76,100 bond for the small amount of trail within their borders. Miami County and the Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy are currently involved in a lawsuit to settle the matter.

According to county commissioner Don Stottlemire, he wants to delay acceptance of the proposed bond to avoid “stepping on Miami County’s toes,” because “They’re our neighbors,” and accepting the proposed bond from the Kanza group would “undercut Miami County’s position.”

But what about the thousands of county residents and visitors who’d use the trail? They don’t seem to be part of the discussion.

How very neighborly.

Bentonville, Arkansas is home to a unique mountain bike park called Slaughter Pen Hollow. The park offers over 5 miles of off-road cycling, on 180 acres of rugged terrain donated by the Walton family (of Wal-Mart fame). The trail system offers rocky terrain, natural raised bridges called “Log Rides”, and a free-ride park with a downhill slalom course, multiple ladder drops, ramps and dirt jumps. There are trails easy enough for beginners, and others that prove challenging even for expert riders.

The park has been open less than a year, but has proven so popular that it’s already expanding. According to NWANews.com, plans are in place “to more than double the trail mileage within Slaughter Pen, with the idea of eventually hooking up to the trail system carved out within the 100-acre wooded campus of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.”

The new trails will be on land owned by the city, and will remain tucked away from view through heavily wooded areas. Funding for construction of the trail will be provided by the Walton Family Foundation, and the local Bentonville-Bella Vista Trailblazers group is managing the construction of the trails. They expect the new trails to be unveiled later this year.

Although Bentonville has the advantage of an abundance of land that is too rugged for other uses, they also have a core group of dedicated volunteers, a generous corporate sponsor, and a city government open to new ideas. (Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that the main corporate proponent of the park, Tom Walton (grandson of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton) is an avid mountain biker.)

Is this a unique situation, or can the success of Slaughter Pen Hollow in Bentonville serve as a model (or at least inspiration) for trail proponents in other cities?