Rock Island Trail Extension opens soon in KC

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MapMedic from KCMO on 3/25/2021 1:41:31 PM:

The Rock Island Trail extension is almost complete (officials hope to have it open the second week in April) in the KC area. The trail currently ends on the north side of Lee's Summit (a suburb of KCMO) Jackson County Parks is extending the trail to the Truman Sports Complex (Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums) From there a short city streets bike ride via Stadium Drive to Leeds Drive to Cleaver II Blvd where you can then access paved trails to the Country Club Plaza. More info on Facebook page Jackson County Rock Island Corridor.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Rock Island Trail is not yet developed from Pleasant Hill to the south side of Lees Summit. Trail users would need to ride nine miles on rural to suburban roads with one two mile stretch of highway

Ivan from Maine on 3/26/2021 8:01:08 AM:

Is there a location yet for the trailhead / access at Truman Sports Complex? Or, does anybody have any on-the-ground updates about what's complete between Truman and Brickyard Rd? All the official Jackson County info is tantalizing(!) -- but a little dated.

Thanks -- I'm starting a trip in a couple weeks from KC through to STL and (ideally) all the way to the east coast, using the Ohio trail, Erie canal, etc. VERY excited about launching it with the Rock/Katy!

MapMedic from KCMO on 3/26/2021 11:14:45 AM:

Trailhead will be in parking lot L at Truman Sports Complex. As far as what's complete, the infrastructure is there, but they are finishing up punchlist items, so the trail is closed to the public. I have not seen it, but i found videos on youtube using a few key words. People are using it illegally. Good luck on your trip. I'm planning on doing St Louis via Alton, Illinois to Kansas City in a few months. Probably finish up in Kansas just to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvUPpggoktQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0MmsH1gG5c&list=PLIN6dVHZxLrOunNz9J4QpL_d6evyPQ--_&index=22

Ivan from Maine on 3/26/2021 11:47:30 PM:

Ah, thank you MapMedic, that's exactly what I was looking for. In fact (along with the incidental drone footage) now it's possible to get a real sense of what the Truman parking lot "gateway" looks like at the moment. Very encouraging!

From there then, it sounds like the trail infrastructure should guide you pretty much all the way to Lees. And any obstructions along the way can usually be 'forded' or portaged (I'm looking at *you*...Salt Creek)

Good luck/fun on your ride too. I think we're going to make a point of completing the trail all the way to Machens, and then even proceed further to the important (if remote) confluence of the Muddy and the Mighty. Do you (or anyone else) think there's an ideal spot to soak that in?

Mark from Lee's Summit on 3/27/2021 12:24:13 AM:

Ivan...the Ted and Pat Jones Confluence State Park is still closed due to all of the flood damage from 2019, so you won't be able to travel the floodplain area to the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. You will probably be stuck leaving Machens by taking 94 Hwy. east to 67 and over the river bridge to Alton. My favorite is to take my bike across the Grafton Ferry, but unfortunately that ferry only operates during certain months.

MapMedic from KCMO on 3/28/2021 10:43:01 PM:

Ivan here is a link to the extensive Illinois trails in the area. I’m thinking more about crossing via the Grafton Ferry since that sounds cool.
http://www.mcttrails.org/map.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3X98mtgxYZhZTMRnehAV94VDkQFKZULMhOrnxO2k6Whwg848qXflyIKMo

Eric

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