OTTAWA — The group that’s been building the Flint Hills Trail on an abandoned Missouri Pacific railroad right-of-way from Osawatomie to Herington has received a $25,000 grant from the Sunflower Foundation. Although there are still a few gaps, the trail is nearly complete, said Doug Walker, president of the Kanza Rail-Trail Conservancy, which received the grant and is developing the trail. That segment between Ottawa and Osawatomie is 90 percent complete and is open to hikers, bikers and horse riders, he said. When it’s done, it will be the seventh longest trail in the nation and part of the American Discovery Trail, the nation’s first coast-to-coast trail. The process of creating and developing the trail has taken several years and has been the target of lawsuits by some property owners and county commissions along the route, he said. Because it owned by the Conservancy, a private non-profit group, the trail has been dependent on volunteers and fund-raising efforts, he said. But once it’s ready, the trail will prove to be a major economic boon to those communities that are along the trail, he said. Ottawa is in a fortuitous position sitting on both the Flint Hills Trail and the Prairie Spirit Trail, he said. He also said the group is looking for Ottawa volunteers to do the two-mile stretch of trail inside Ottawa.
Thursday, July 19, 1 p.m.