Rails-to-Trails in Kansas - Emporia State University

Fall 2013
Rails-to-Trails in Kansas
The first trails in Kansas were created by
Native Americans and often followed paths
created by wildlife such as bison, deer, and
pronghorn. These trails included the Pawnee,
Kaw, Osage, Kiowa, and Great Osage Trails. In
the early 1800s explorers, settlers, and traders
established major trails such as the Santa Fe Trail
(1821) and Oregon Trail (1843), which often
followed the Native American trails. Railroad
lines were then built along these trails starting
in the 1860s and included the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe Railroad (1873), Union Pacific
Central Branch Railroad (1868), Kansas Pacific
(1870), and Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston
Railroad (1873). Many of these rail lines were
the result of federal or state land grants from the
public domain.
The rails-to-trails movement in Kansas began
in the late 1970s with an unsuccessful effort by
the Kansas Trails Council to build a rail-trail
between Lawrence and Leavenworth. The first
successful rails-to-trails effort began in 1987 with the
38-mile Landon Nature Trail, which stretches between
Topeka and Pomona. The rail corridor was conserved in 1989
under the National Trails Act by the Rails-to-Trails Coalition of
Kansas (now Sunflower Rail-Trails Conservancy). Today there
are more than 19 completed rail-trails totaling 177 miles and an
additional 508 miles of railbanked corridors.
A primary goal of the rails-to-trails program is to preserve
America’s future by conserving rail corridors for future
transportation needs. The railbanking of out-of-service corridors
under the National Trails System Act (Act) maintains existing
transportation easements for future use. The railroad technically
retains ownership over the rail corridor, while a third party
Center for
Great Plains Studies
by Clark Coan
Trail Near Vassar by Heidi Strohm Koger
makes interim use of the corridor as a trail and the federal
Surface Transportation Board (STB) retains jurisdiction over the
trail.
A vision of trails advocates is to link the 117-mile Flint
Hills Nature Trail (which stretches between Herington, KS to
Osawatomie, KS) to the famous Katy Trail in Missouri, which
is now being extended to the Kansas City area. When complete,
a trail user could travel all the way from Herington to St. Louis,
Missouri – 480 miles one-way. The Flint Hills Nature Trail is
also a component of the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail
now under development.
1200 Commercial St., Campus Box 4040, Emporia, KS 66801
e-mail jhoy@emporia or sbrinkma@emporia.edu
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variety of subjects related to teaching Kansas history and the Great Plains appear in Tales. Each issue emphasizes a single topic and includes a resource of
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to send suggestions please email us at cgps@emporia.edu.
Once complete, the
Flint Hills, Landon, and
Prairie Spirit Trails will
make up a 215-mile
interconnecting network
of rail-trails in eastern
Kansas. There are few
Kanza Rail Trails State Map courtesy of
regions of this country that
Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy
can boast of such a trail
system. Then again, there
are few parts of the country that have as many available trail
corridors, connecting population centers and traversing scenic
and historic landscapes.
Typically, crushed limestone is laid down on the old rock
railroad bed and becomes a hard-packed treadway even suitable
for road bicycles and wheelchairs. The old railroad bridges are
decked and railed, plus signs and bollards (steel posts which
prevent access by unauthorized vehicles) are installed.
There are several rails-to-trails projects in Kansas where
people can volunteer to help build the trails. Volunteers with
some skills can deck and rail bridges and install bollards and
signs. One of the best ways to organize volunteers is to talk to
groups such as scouts, 4-H, bike clubs, school biology clubs,
and health organizations and ask them to adopt a section of the
trail. Volunteers can pick up litter, mow road crossings, remove
noxious weeds, and cut back brush.
Trails close to neighborhoods can greatly increase the
opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to incorporate
exercise into a healthy lifestyle. Research has shown that
individuals are more likely to exercise if a walking trail is
readily accessible (Promoting and Evaluating Walking Trails
in Rural Missouri, Ross C. Brownson, Saint Louis University
School of Public Health). Responding to how communities
can encourage regular physical activity, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention suggest that communities provide “safe,
accessible, and attractive trails for walking and bicycling.”
Landon Nature Trailhead courtesy of Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy
Obesity in children has steadily increased over the past
decade and overweight children tend to become overweight
adults - putting them at a greater risk for heart disease,
hypertension, diabetes, and stroke. Recreational trails entice
children to exercise and explore nature through play. Exploring
a rail-trail can be an adventure for children while having fun
walking, running, and bicycling.
Nationwide, easy access to linear parks and open space has
a new measure of community wealth—an important way to
attract businesses and residents by guaranteeing both quality of
life and economic health (Economic Benefits of Parks and Open
Space, Trust for Public Land, 1999). Everyone wins with the
development of recreational trails: the public gains a safe place
to walk, jog, bicycle, or horseback-ride; small towns receive a
small economic boon; and adjacent landowners obtain access to
a recreational facility and increased property values.
People of all ages can explore the Sunflower State’s rich
heritage at a leisurely pace. Linear parks such as rail-trails
provide an opportunity for linking state and local parks,
wildlife areas, waterfalls, forests, prairies, and wetlands. Most
importantly, rail-trails connect Kansans to their common
heritage. It is the philosophy of trails advocates that if they get
just one child to develop a lifelong love of nature and outdoor
recreation, then they have been successful.
Whether for exercise, socializing, or just the shear enjoyment
of being outdoors, people of all walks of life enjoy recreational
trails. The fact is Kansans love trails and trails are good for
Kansas.
Author Bio
Clark Coan is Public Information Specialist for Sunflower
Rail-Trails Conservancy and has been working on establishing
an inter-connected rail-trails network in Kansas for over 25
years. He lives in Lawrence.
Flint Hills Nature Trail Near Osage City by Kareen King
Books
Online Resources
From Rails to Trails.
http://www.kanzatrails.org/
Washington: Citizens’ Advisory Committee on
Environmental Quality, 1975. Print.
http://www.railtrails.org
PDF Link:
http://www.railstotrails.org/resources/documents/resource_docs/tgc_secrets.pdf
http://www.railstotrails.org/resources/documents/resource_docs/
acquiringrailcorridors.pdf
http://www.ktc.org
http://www.railstotrails.org/news/recurringFeatures/trailMonth/archives/1108.html
http://www.sunflowertrails.org/
http://www.kansastrailscouncil.org/
http://www.traillink.com/trail/prairie-spirit-rail-trail.aspx
1000 Great Rail-Trails.
http://www.americantrails.org/resources/statetrails/KSstate.html
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Mark Fenton (Foreword).
Globe Pequote Press, December 1999.
http://www.kansascyclist.com/trails/RailTrails.html
ISBN: 9780762705986.
Trails for the Twenty-First Century: Planning, Design,
and Management Manual for Multi-Use Trails
http://centralkansastrails.org/
http://www.discoverytrail.org/states/kansas/
www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/rtca/index.htm
www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/rtca/nri/states/ks.html
Karen Lee Ryan (Editor) and Charles A. Flink (Editor).
Island Press, September 1993.
http://www.engg.ksu.edu/CHSR/outreach/tab/workshops/docs/7_Hanson-Shafer_
RTCApresentation_OmahaNE-9-12-2012.pdf
ISBN: 9781559632379
http://www.naturalkansas.org/welcome.htm
http://www.kdwpt.state.ks.us/
http://www.americantrails.org/resources/statetrails/KSstate.html
http://www.kansaswildscape.org/Programs/Outdoor-Kansas-for-Kids-O.K.-Kids