In Council Grove’s Allegawaho Park, which sits next to Flint Hills Trail State Park, crickets and occasional songbirds call out.
Gentle breezes rustle leaves as summer eases into fall and nature splashes her colors on goldenrod, sumac and Queen Anne’s Lace in the midst of big bluestem and Indian grasses.
This is where Scott Allen comes to ride his bike. Allen is a Council Grove resident and long-time supporter and board member of the Flint Hills Trails, which runs from Osawatomie to Council Grove.
“There’s the hills, you’ve got some beautiful bridges,” Allen said, explaining why he loves this portion of the trail. “There’s a bridge just a few miles down from here that crosses Rock Creek. It’s about 400 feet long, and it’s got a curve in it … It’s just a beautiful, serene area where you can just sit and relax.
“As you leave that bridge and you are coming out the valley of the Rock Creek, that’s when you enter the beautiful part of the Flint Hills.”
The Flint Hills Trail is currently 96 miles. Next year, plans are to extend the trail to Herington, making it 118 miles from start to finish and linking 11 towns across the journey.
Last month, the Kansas trail was voted into the National Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Hall of Fame.
Only three trails were nominated, including places in Utah and Florida. The Flint Hills Trail received 80% of the votes cast, according to a news release from the Rails to Trails Conservancy.
The trail was originally part of the Osage City and Ottawa Railroad, which was built in 1875. The line was discontinued in 1995. The Flint Hills Trail connects with the 51-mile Prairie Spirit Trail between Iola and Ottawa.
Allen’s favorite part of the trail is between Council Grove and Bushong.
“You get out on the trail, and you are doing one of two things: You’re either cutting through one of the hills – and those cuts come really close to the trail, so it’s right up close to you -- or you’re coming out of a cut and you’re looking out over the Flint Hills,” he said. “And you can see for miles and miles. And there’s no signs of human activity. No signs of farmhouses. No roads. Nothing. It’s just the beautiful Flint Hills.
“In fact, I think it is the most isolated you can get in the Flint Hills without permission.”
But Allen says what makes the trail so special is the diversity of land that travelers along the trail can experience.
“This trail is uniquely beautiful,” he said. “It’s not just the Flint Hills, though, because if you go out towards Osawatomie, you follow along the Marias des Cygnes River, and you’ve got a tree canopy. And it’s just so serene.”
A place, perhaps, to shed the fears and concerns of a troubled society -- and simply let nature calm you.
“For me, the Flint Hills are home,” Allen said.