Review Date
November 23, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: ss85 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
A stacked loop trail system (11-12mi) with an 'out & back' loop of around the same length.

Approx. 75' of elevation difference between highest and lowest points on the trail. Soils are fairly thin and drain well, more silt than sand, quite erodable. Trail is well-maintained and even had some of the leaves blown off this fall!

Skill levels vary from section to section but I've found them to be well-labeled. Rocks and roots are common. Fast flowy sections are interspersed between some very challenging rock gardens, climbs and descents. It's a very well-designed system.

Recommended Route:
This trail can be as long or short as you want to make it. There are maps at the trailhead and the trail itself is well-marked. Difficulty ratings are for technical trail difficulty only, in my opinion.

Skyline is the main loop that all the others branch off of. A good "easy" route could be skyline > willow's loop > skyline > knothead > skyline > back to trailhead > skyline > wild west (7 mi), with knothead and wild west being 'intermediate' trails.

Mad mile and great white both deserve their rating, with great white being noticeably more difficult.

My opinion is the "out & back" starting with blackfoot is the most difficult part of the trail. Worth the effort.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
My friends and I have friendly disagreements about difficulty/fun/best/etc between Perry and Clinton. My vote always goes to Perry, by the way.

Living in this area is great for mountain biking except when it's been raining. Plenty of good trails and diversity. Local outdoors-oriented people in the KC-MO region are somewhat rare, but the ones I've met have been great. Keeps the trails from getting crowded!

Review Date
November 26, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: GM$ ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
I've wanted to ride this trail for the last two years and finally took advantage while taking a Thanksgiving vacation with the folks in Lawrence. I'm an all mountain rider living on the Front Range of Colorado and from that perspective still found the trail physically demanding and technically challenging in parts. The trail system is mostly very narrow and windy taking advantage of the natural rock formations, valleys and hill slopes. I'm not sure of the total distance but it feels like a well earned 20 miles doing a full outer loop. The trails are designed very well and appear to be sustainable and very well maintained by a local rider(s) that must work very hard on the system. Thanks for that. This trail has become one of my all time favorites and a great excuse to take a break from the parents. Oh, and by the way one of my friends from Colorado broke his frame on the ride. Cool.

Recommended Route:
From the trailhead we did the full outer loop. Stay right and you can't go wrong.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Clinton is very similar but with an extra credit skills course at the end. Kill Creek is also a rocky and windy system that's worth while.

Review Date
September 3, 2007

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Reviewed by: mchaines ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Smartly laid out trail that has two things you don't see often in Kansas: exposure and switchbacks. Mostly rocky, hilly singletrack. Technical enough to keep experienced riders interested, but decent introdution to technical riding for a novice if you don't mind pushing your bike occasionally. Navigation is pretty easy with a map (available at trailhead), but trail intersections aren't always well marked, so don't be surprised if you miss a few turns.

Review Date
October 28, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: fireboy ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Loved this trail system!! Rode Skyline, MadMile, and Wild West. Didn't get a chance to ride Logan's Run or the other longer trails due to time constraints, but I will be back to check them out at a later date, guaran-damn-teed!!!

Recommended Route:
Well marked, and maps available at the trailhead, just go!!!

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Landhal in Blue Springs, MO
and the singletrack that follows the river in Lawerance..not sure about the name...

Review Date
September 3, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Reviewed by: Mongol ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
This is probably the best trail in Kansas. Decent climbs, fairly technical but overall just fun to ride.

Recommended Route:
All of it is good. For short and intense go Skyline to Wildwest, Great White or Mad Mile. For longer rides head out along blackfoot, Twin Peaks, Coppperhead and Logans Run.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Clinton Lake, KC area stuff...