This is your invitation to come see the sites, feel the autumn breezes, listen to wind in the trees as they sway, smell the fall fragrances and travel without the roadway clutter of cars.  The Flint Hills Nature Trail is your pathway to a beautiful world which few people experience.

 

Come join us October 1st, at 9:00am starting in Osawatomie from John Brown Park.  We’ll ride approx. 12 miles to Rantoul, and back, for a picnic lunch in the park. 7am start time for a longer, faster paced ride to Ottawa (22 Miles), and back with a rendezvous at the soft rock café around 10:30-11:00am. Families welcome, helmets required.

The Flint Hills Nature Trail is a nearly 120 mile rail-trail under development in northeast Kansas. It crosses 7 counties, and dozens of communities, along its east-west course.  As the name implies, it crosses the beautiful Flint Hills.  The Flint Hills represent one of the last remaining tallgrass prairie ecosystems in the world.  Recognized as one of the longest rail-trails in the United States, it is home to abundant prairie plant and wildlife species, spectacular views, national historic sites, and a diverse set of recreational areas.

 

This resource had its roots in 1886 when several railroads started developing the line, including the Council Grove, Osage City & Ottawa Railway (which serviced coal mining) and the Missouri Pacific. The route fell out of service in the 1980s.

 

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy later acquired and railbanked the corridor in 1995 and then transferred it to KRTC to develop.

 

Trail map can be found here: http://g.co/maps/7qc5