Sunflower Rail-Trails Conservancy

08/22/2026

Help Build Kansas’ Trail Future! 🌻🚲
We’re looking for new board members!

Do you love trails, parks, biking, walking, conservation, or making Kansas communities better? Sunflower Rail-Trails Conservancy is looking for dedicated people to join our board and help expand and protect Kansas’ growing network of rail-trails.

As a board member, you can help:

🌻 Develop new rail-trails across Kansas
🚲 Connect communities through trails
🌳 Protect and improve existing trails
💰 Help raise funds and secure grants
🏞️ Promote outdoor recreation and healthy communities

You don’t need to be a trail expert. We’re looking for people with a variety of skills and interests—including fundraising, communications, business, finance, legal, engineering, marketing, grant writing, and community organizing.

If you want to make a lasting difference for Kansas, we’d love to hear from you.

👉 Interested in serving on our board? Send us a message through this page to learn more.

Help us build the trails that connect Kansas! 🌻🚲🌳

08/21/2026

Our undeveloped rail-trail sections are closed to the public to insure trail user safey and reduce liability Please observe this guideline. We want you to be safe.

08/20/2026

This morning we lost a bridge to fire on the Osage Cuestas Trail just north of Fredonia. The fire is being investigated. Our volunteers have worked tirelessly to repair bridges, clear overgrown areas and prep the trails for limestone screening. No tax dollars here, just grit, innovation and grant funds. Even if you aren't a trail advocate, a fire like this is devastating to volunteers that built it and the community that used it.

08/17/2026

Four trail projects have been awarded federal Transportation Alternatives grants:

Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy Inc. Landon Trail – Shawnee Heights Road to 121st Street $2,090,000

• City of Lawrence Lawrence Loop - Downtown $1,227,000

• City of Marysville Blue River Rail Trail Corridor $1,835,000

• City of South Hutchinson Blanchard Corridor Trail Connection $735,000

08/13/2026

Repairing bridges and getting them ready for use is an important project in any rail-trail conversion. Check out the some of these before/during/after pics from the Osage Cuestas Trail. The first 8 miles of trail from Fredonia to Benedict will be fully open later this fall. Check out our latest email newsletter for the latest Kansas Trail news (link in comments)

08/08/2026

A Kansas-based professional grant writing firm has offered to provide pro bono assistance to Sunflower Rail-Trails Conservancy in identifying grant opportunities to fund development of the Benedict-to-U.S. 75 section of the Osage Cuestas Trail. The estimated cost to complete this segment is $230,000.

The pro bono grant assistance could play an important role in securing the funding needed to extend the Osage Cuestas Trail toward U.S. 75 and ultimately connect additional communities along the corridor.

08/06/2026

A trail supporter has pledged to give $100,000 to Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy next year when he has to start withdrawing money from his IRA. There are tax advantages of using the Qualified Charitable Distribution method. The funds will be used for part of the match for a Transportation Alternatives grant for the Landon Trail.

08/04/2026

KCMO has a new separated bike lane along Southwest Blvd. Motorists are having a hard time adjusting to it.

07/27/2026

Kansas Trails, Inc. has "The Art and Science of Building" on their website kstrails.org. It is very informative:
https://kstrails.org/build-trails/

Build Trails The Art and Science of Trail Development A well-designed trail invites exploration, stirs a sense of wonder, and guides users through nature without overwhelming it. Table of Contents The Art & Science of Trail building Trail building is more than moving dirt—it’s shaping a path tha...

07/22/2026

Here's a report on our Osage Cuestas Trail: Osage Cuestas Trail:(Fredonia–Chanute, 19 miles):
Project Manager Roger Compton and a dedicated group of volunteers:
• Completed a new trailhead shelter in Polk Park, funded by BCBS, featuring modern restrooms with electricity and sewer service.
• Completed major bridge improvements, including a new concrete deck on the Verdigris River steel bridge, installation of three container bridges, and replacement of the decking on the 150-foot "Frog Pond" bridge.
• Installed an Eco Counter that tracks both pedestrians and cyclists, with data accessible online.
• Applied for six grants and received a $10,000 Sunflower Foundation grant, matched by a $10,000 City of Fredonia grant, to fund the Frog Pond bridge replanking. We were unable to apply for a KDOT Transportation Alternatives (TA) grant due to the local match requirement, despite encouragement from KDOT. Some Sunflower funds will instead be used for trail signage at the approved US-400 crossing.
--Nancy Nelson, Project Co-Manager
*Roger and the volunteers are working to complete the seven-mile section to Benedict within the next few months, after which a trail dedication is planned. The next construction phase will extend the trail five miles from Benedict to US-75. This section includes fewer bridges so the cost should be less. Much of the corridor features adjacent mature woodland and a shady tree canopy. SRTC holds the railbanking to this trail.

--Clark Coan