Springfield-Boliver Frisco Highline Trail attracts visitors

After she's worked a busy week as a nurse practitioner at a children's clinic in Kansas City, Pam Western enjoys hitting the trail with her husband, David, and rolling up the miles cycling.
They've ridden Missouri's Katy Trail and the Wabash Trace in Iowa, and they recently discovered the Frisco Highline Trail running between Springfield and Bolivar.

It's possible to make the ride in a few hours or do a round trip in a day — but she and her husband take a more leisurely pace.

During their first visit in late April, they stayed at Ridgerunners Rest Stop, a hunting lodge near Walnut Grove that during the non-hunting months caters to trail users.

It was a convenient headquarters for rides to Springfield and Bolivar.

"We really enjoyed it," the Overland Park., Kan., resident said. The trail uses a section of the old Frisco Railway line between Kansas City and Springfield. "That section just north of Ridgerunners that follows the creek and up to La Petite Gemme Prairie is very pretty."