Southwind Rail Trail

Iola Kansas, June 16, 2013

I was headed to Clinton, Missouri to ride the Katy trail and decided that I could leave a little early in order to ride the brand new Southwind Trail at Iola, Kansas. This extends south from the end of the Prairie Spirit Trail at the south end of Iola Kansas and extends southward to Humbolt, Kansas. Actual mileage is around 6.5. I didn't know where it started however, and drove up near the north end of Iola looking for a trailhead of sorts, didn't find one, so I started from a gas station that was nice enough to let me change clothes in their restroom and leave my car there. Took off from there, hit the trail and headed south. I was still on the Prairie Spirit Trail at this time, but before long, I came to the beginning of the new trail....

 

The paved portion is the end of the Prairie Spirit Trail, and the brand new unpaved portion is the Southwind. If you look at it close, you would think I was the first rider on it, but it wasn't so, I did meet a couple of other riders coming the other way that day. And besides, the trail had already been open for a couple of weeks already.

After I looked around....... Oh yeah.....there is the parking area! Oh well, I got parked somewhere and found the trail anyway. So, here I go! So cool to be riding on a brand new surface, still a little loose on top, but nicely packed, and it made for a wonderful ride.

Well shaded, and tree canopy for most of the ride, with some open spots to get a peek at the surrounding countryside.

One classic iron bridge on this trail is a gem, just about a mile south of Iola.

As you can see....the guard railings still look brand new.

Love the huge chain links supporting the bottom of the bridge.

And....a little further down the trail, I ran into a bit of a problem........

A large tree fallen over and blocking the trail. But just on the other side, help was already hard at work. And this was how I met Patrick, hard working trail maintenance guy who gave up his church this Sunday to make sure the trail was open.

He helped me through and when I got back here after turning around at Humbolt, all this was gone. When you have dedicated workers maintaining this trail like he is, it's bound to be a success. One more tree down a bit further south proved to be a "duck-under" and soon I was at the turn around point and the Humbolt trailhead.

There were convenient signs posting the "Rules Of The Trail".....

The return was easy, quiet, and uneventful. Very little traffic on the trail and very pretty scenery all along the way.

All in all, a wonderful trail extending on past the end of the Prairie Spirit Trail, nicely constructed and beautifully maintained. A must ride for anyone in the area. I wouldn't have expected less from Kansas, however! Get your trail on and ride this one!!!