Kansas' First Rails-To-Trails State Park Is An Underrated Getaway For Cyclists That Connects 8 Communities

While many of the state parks in Kansas are built around lakes or natural rock formations, there are a couple of parks centered around long distance trails. The first of these was the Prairie Spirit Trail State Park. This rail trail runs for 51 miles with Ottawa at the north end and Iola at the south. There are eight small parks in each of the towns the trail passes through, including the trail terminus towns.

When you hike or bike along this trail, you're tracing some of the Sunflower State's history, in a project that was years in the making. The railroad played a vital role in the development of Kansas, starting around the 1860s. One of the major players in the early years of the Kansas railroad was the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Fort Gibson Railroad Company; They had a plan to build a rail line all the way south to the Gulf of Mexico. That ambitious plan never panned out, and after changing hands and names over the years, this stretch of railroad fell out of use before being formally abandoned in 1990. Two years later, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks took over and construction began. The first section of the trail opened in 1996, with the final stretch completed in 2008.

In 2010, it was officially made a state park — the first ever rail trail project in the state to get that designation. Then, in 2020, the trail was recognized as a National Recreation Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is awarded to "some of our country's highest-caliber trails." Even with that accolade, this rail trail isn't as well-known, like the Katy Trail in neighboring Missouri.

The Prairie Spirit Trail is open for hikers and cyclists. It takes you past a mix of ecosystems, with a mix of tallgrass prairie, woodlands, and farmland. The trail is 8+ feet wide, and while this isn't to say entirely flat, it's on what used to be a railroad, so it's never too steep. As you make your way along the trail, you might see white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, and even bald eagles. While you might encounter other people, especially when you're near some of the larger towns, you may have the entire trail to yourself for miles, making it a delightful place to be in your thoughts and take in the quiet beauty around you.

It's about a 5 to 10 mile ride between the "pocket-parks." From north to south, after leaving Ottawa, you'll pass through the small communities of Princeton, Richmond, Garnett, Welda, Colony, and Carlyle, before arriving at the southern terminus in Iola. Each community, (except for Welda and Carlyle,) has at least one restaurant and store if you want to take a break from your ride or hike. Part of the appeal of the trail is getting to connect with these communities, so it's fun to stop in and buy local if you can.

Each pocket-park has a picnic table and a shelter, and most of them have water and/or a toilet — some of them are pit toilets. Water and flush toilets get shut off between around mid-October through mid-April, though it stays on through the year at the Old Depot Museum in Ottawa and at the Santa Fe Depot in Garnett.

The Prairie Spirit Trail is paved as it passes through Ottawa, Garnett, and Iola, while the rest is crushed limestone. You can ride a Class 1 or 2 e-bike on the trail; Class 3 bikes, which can get to speeds of up to 28 mph, are not allowed. Pro-tip: the trail's north-south alignment means you get little to no shade around noon, so start early if it's hot.

If you have the gear for bikepacking, a trend that's becoming wildly popular, you can find camping in Garnett, the halfway point on the trail. Lake Garnett, just north of town, is right along the trail, and you can set up a tent at North Lake Park. The park also has a swimming pool, picnic areas, and a playground. There are also some small stores and restaurants nearby. At the southern end of the trail in Iola, Lehigh Portland State Park — the newest state park in Kansas with miles of fun trails and a clear lake – has added camping as of summer 2026. There's no camping at the pocket-parks or on the trail itself, though.

The trail is on the eastern side of Kansas; The northern trailhead in Ottawa is at the Old Depot Museum, about an hour drive from Kansas City. The southern trailhead in Iola is about 2 hours from Wichita. So, it does take a bit of planning to get to the park from a major city. The Prairie Spirit Trail State Park technically ends at Iola, home to the largest town square in America. But it immediately becomes another trail as it continues south. The Southwind Rail Trail runs for 6.5 miles, from Iola south to the tiny town of Humboldt that's become a tourist hotspot.