Excited to update my prior review now that this trail has been rolling for a few years. This is a…read morestretch of thirteen car-free miles of trails to bike, walk, run and explore. Some portions are wooded and some open, there are bridges throughout, and then the highlight of the trail, the 100+ year old Vale Tunnel.
Techinically, you can park in the Truman Sports Complex, Lot L, if you want to start on the western end. My advice if you're coming from downtown/midtown/Plaza area is to simply plug Crane Brewing into your GPS and make that your start and end. It's a wonderful local brewery, there's parking everywhere, and it's literally right on the trail.
More reasons to skip the Truman Sports Complex: busy on game days, tough to navigate, and the stretch of trail between there and Crane is very forgettable.
Now the trail itself is really nice. It's often wooded and bucolic, and the crushed limestone trails are similar to the Katy Trail, Trolley Track Trail, rails-to-trails etc. (You probably can ride a road bike on this, but you'll be more comfortable with a hybrid, cross, or gravel bike that has at least 32mm tires).
At some points, there are boulders lining the outer edge of the trail that cut the wind very nicely. More trees, bridges, creeks and scenery keep unfolding in the mid-points of the trail. The bulk of this was an old railroad line so much of it is nice and flat, and scenic, especially in the fall.
Speaking of the railroad line, about 6 miles from Crane, you'll come across the Vale Tunnel. This train tunnel was forged from dynamite around 1903, and nicely restored and bolstered over the past decade for this recreational trail.
If I could change one thing, I'd love for them to build out a little trail spur so you could ride into downtown Lee's Summit. My friend and I did this but had to ride some busy sidewalks to get there which worked but was just OK.
Job well done by all involved to help KC along for nature lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, cyclists, runners, walkers, kids (what kid doesn't love a gigantic tunnel to explore) and more.
Stray notes to add:
- I found water fountains (warm months only) at the Hartman trailhead near Lee's Summit, and there are also Port-a-Potty's throughout the trail.
- This trail has always felt very safe to me, with lots of people out on a beautiful day. Vibes are good!
- There's good signage to know you're on the trail, as well as etiquette (call out when passing via bike on the left, etc.)
- This could *potentially* connect to the larger, more rural Rock Island Spur (Pleasant Hill, MO to Windsor, MO) which already connects directly to the Katy Trail. So you could conceivably ride all the way to the outskirts of St. Louis via trails. There's currently a gap in Greenwood of 8 miles that might be trails in the future.
- Here is the best trail map I've found, and they have this marked along some trailheads as well: https://www.makeyourdayhere.com/files/assets/parksrec/trails/documents/ri-trail-map-1-and-2.pdf