About 10 miles of the Flint Hills Nature Trail is now walkable and three miles have been resurfaced to handle bikes and horses as well.
Gina Poertner, the president of the Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy, said the trail is now open to the public from Allen to the Morris County line. A limestone surface has been laid down from Allen west for about a mile and a half, and for a similar distance east of Bushong.
That still leaves about a two-mile gap between the two communities that has not been treated. That’s waiting on a challenge grant by the Olivia Garney Lincoln Trust. If the conservancy can raise $5,000 by Dec. 15, the trust will match it.
“With that, we will be able to connect Allen with Bushong,” Poertner said in a Wednesday presentation to the Lyon County Commission.
The limestone covers over the rocks originally used for the railway roadbed in the area, rocks that can be sharp and difficult to walk or bike over.
When completed, the Flint Hills Nature Trail will extend for 117 miles from Herington to Osawatomie. The trail is being converted from a former railroad corridor.
“Our organization took the trail on in 2000-2001 and we thought it would be 10 years before we got any surfacing down,” Poertner said. “So we’re ahead of schedule and very happy about it.”
Several benches have been put along the trail by Eagle Scouts, although one was stolen last spring. Boy Scouts have also helped clear away the old metal from the roadbed, with the money from recycling the scrap used to help the troop.
County Appraiser Gary Post asked for Poertner to work with his mapping people and indicate which stretches of the trail have been developed.
“I think you can make an argument that once it’s developed as a trail and not just vacant land, it could be exempt from property tax as a beneficial use,” Post said.