Flint Hills Trail is New State Park

[Clark Coan]

Kansas has a new state park. The legislature recently passed a bill that designates the Flint Hills Trail as a state park. The trail will form the backbone of an interconnected 215-mile trail system in eastern Kansas. It connects with the 52-mile Prairie Spirit Trail in Ottawa which in turn connects to the 6.5-mile Southwind Rail Trail in Iola. West of Pomona town it links up with the partially-developed 38-mile Landon Nature Trail which is the only trail in America to link the Santa Fe Trail with the Oregon Trail. There are few regions of the country that can boast of such a trail system, but then there are few parts of the country that have as many available trail corridors, connecting population centers and traversing scenic and historic landscapes.

At 117 miles, the Flint Hills Trail is the longest trail in the Sunflower State and 9th longest rail-trail in the America. The western half follows the Santa Fe Trail and forms a component of the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail. Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy is going to donate this 1,400-acre linear park to the people of Kansas who will enjoy this state treasure for generations to come. For more information go to www.kanzatrails.org.