Another 700 miles? Cyclists want to get from Katy/Rock Island to Flint Hills Nature Trail

Andy Ostmeyer wrote in the Joplin Globe:

Brent Hugh says he hears the same question from cyclists:

Missouri's Katy and Rock Island Trail systems Missouri's Katy and Rock Island Trail systems reach almost state line to state line--and tantalizingly close to trails in nearby states like the Flint Hills Nature Trail

How can a rider get from the western edge of Missouri’s Katy and Rock Island trail network to the eastern edge of Flint Hills Trail State Park in Kansas?

These are two of the longest rail-to-trail routes in the country already. The 290 miles of Katy/Rock Island spur will get you from Machens, near St. Louis, to Pleasant Hill, just south of Kansas City. Flint Hills Trail State Park is open and usable from Osawatomie, which is tantalizingly close to Kansas City, Kansas, to Council Grove, a distance of more than 90 miles. (Flint Hills Trail State Park is actually 117 miles long, although that section west of Council Grove is not improved and remains closed.)

The day will come when all this will be connected, likely through Kansas City.

Some people can’t wait, however. So they call Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, who has taken it upon himself to attempt an answer, cobbling together an informal connector using low-stress, low-traffic gravel and backroads as well as existing cycling trail routes through the Kansas City area to link the two together.

And here is the Katy-Flint Hills route mentioned in the article, on MoBikeFed's web site, mapped and downloadable as GPS segments.

See more cross-state bicycle routes and rides, downloadable as GPS routes, on MoBikeFed's Missouri Bicycle & Touring Routes page.

Note that statewide trails, trail connections, and bicycle/non-motorized touring routes and active tourism are all ideas that will be explored in depth at the Missouri Active Transportation Summit coming up Friday, August 13th.  All virtual for 2021 - join us!

Creating a world-class bicycle, pedestrian, and trails transportation network across Missouri is one of the four major goals of MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri. Creating, promoting, and encouraging the implementation of the statewide trails vision along with major trails and trail connections like the Katy and Rock Island are a vitally important parts of that plan.

Your ongoing membership and generous financial support help turn our Vision into reality!