Kansas City sits right on the border of Missouri and Kansas, and it is the anchor for a 14 county metropolitan area with a combined population of nearly 2.2 million. The rolling hills of Missouri and Kansas plains make for a beautiful assortment of biking trails that can be found in this area, many of which have the Missouri River in view. For these reasons, biking has become a very popular form of recreation in Kansas City, where excellent biking trails abound. Below are listed several popular biking trails in the Kansas City area, with difficulty ratings included for each, based on the elevation differences throughout the trail.
1. English Landing Park Trail
Located in Parkville, Missouri (Platte County), the English Landing Park Trail offers a 3-mile long hard surface, off road trail. Its uphill and downhill distances are almost equally shared, with uphill distance at 1.503 miles and downhill at 1.425 miles. Its max elevation is 780 feet, with an average uphill grade of 3.011% and a max uphill grade of 13.20%. The minimum elevation is 708 feet, with an average downhill grade of -3.07% and a max downhill grade of -11.8%. These trails parallel the Missouri River for scenic biking, walking, or running. The park also includes amenities such as a playground area, boat ramp, picnic shelter area, sand volleyball court, disc golf course, and off-leash dog park. They are open daily from 5:30am to midnight.
Trail Difficulty Rating: 3.802
2. Turkey Creek Streamway Park Bike Trail
Located in Merriam, Kansas (Johnson County), the Turkey Creek Streamway Park Bike Trail includes a 4 mile off road, hard surface, non-looping trail following Turkey Creek and passing through wooded areas, parks, and a butterfly garden. There are several paved parking access points located at 75th street entrance, Chatlain Park, Campbell Park, Werner Park, Waterfall Park, and Merriam Marketplace. The trail has a total uphill distance of 1.55 miles and a downhill distance of 1.81 miles. Its max elevation is 993 feet with a minimum elevation of 888 feet; the average uphill grade is 3.70% with a max uphill grade of 12.8%, while the average downhill grade is -3.99% with a max downhill of -14.0%. The park’s daily hours are sunrise to sunset.
Trail Difficulty Rating: 22.5
3. Tomahawk Creek Greenway Bike Trail
With 11.3 miles of trail, the Tomahawk Creek Greenway Bike Trail begins in Overland Park, Kansas and connects with the Indian Creek Greenway Trail to arrive in Leawood City Park in Leawood, Kansas (Jackson County). This trail offers an off road, hard surface, non-looping ride. The average uphill distance is 5.07 miles, with an average uphill grade of 2.84% and a max uphill of 11.6%. The average downhill distance is 5.94miles, with an average downhill grade of -2.97% and a max downhill of -11.2%. This trail is open year round from 5am to 10pm daily.
Trail Difficulty Rating: 60.4
4. Steeplechase Subdivision Trail
Located in Leawood, Kansas (Johnson County), the Steeplechase Subdivision Trail is the shortest trail listed here, with only 0.776 miles of off road, hard surface, non-looping trail. However, true to its name, it does have 9 easily accessed entry points at these locations in Leawood:
14347 Norwood St
2849 W 143rd Terrace
3054 W 144th Terrace
3140 W 143rd Terrace
14447 Chadwick St
14453 Canterbury St
14462 Chadwick St
3252 W 145th Terrace
14700 Windsor St
The total uphill distance is 0.181 miles, with an average uphill grade of 2.98% and a max uphill of 8.90%. Total downhill distance comes to 0.553 miles, with an average downhill grade of -3.18% and a max downhill of -10.9%. Though this is a short trail, it does connect to the Ironwoods Park Trail, which is next on our list.
Trail Difficulty Rating: 26.55
5. Ironwoods Park Trail
Located in Leawood Kansas (Johnson County) and connecting to the Steeplechase Subdivision Trail, the Ironwoods Park Trail is 1.338 miles in length and circles natural habitat and a lake for cyclists to enjoy a scenic view. The Ironwoods Park Trail is an off road, hard surface trail with a max elevation of 970 feet and a minimum elevation of 883 feet. The uphill distance totals 0.638 miles and the downhill distance totals 0.67 miles. Considering its short distance, this trail is amazingly not lacking in hills, with an average uphill grade of 3.50% and a max uphill grade of 12.2%. Its average downhill grade is -3.22% and the max downhill is -8.10%. In addition to this trail, Ironwoods Park includes attractions such as the Prairie Oak Nature Center, Lodge at Ironwoods, a challenge course, Oxford School House, amphitheater, a shelter and playground, and four cabins that would make this park a fun outing for the whole family.
Trail Difficulty Rating: 25.0
From the leisurely English Landing Park Trail to the intense Tomahawk Creek Greenway Bike Trail, the Kansas City area has something to offer beginner and advanced cyclists alike.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_metropolitan_area