SPORTS

Big plans ahead as Frisco Highline Trail nears 20-year anniversary

Wes Johnson
WJOHNSON@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Sometimes it's easy to take things for granted.

For 20 years now, there's been a great hiking-biking trail running between Springfield and Bolivar, a 35-mile corridor that's encouraged thousands of people to get outdoors and get some exercise.

The Frisco Highline Trail quietly beckons, without a lot of hype or fancy marketing. Its recently paved surface between Springfield and Willard draws moms with kids in strollers, youngsters on roller skates, youths trying out their new bikes, long-distance runners and those just starting fitness routines.

The crushed-rock surface over most of the rest of the trail entices serious runners, mountain bikers and long-distance walkers.

It's easy to forget that just two decades ago, the Frisco Highline Trail was a vacant railroad track, slowly being overgrown by grass and trees. That is, until Bill Robinett in the Springfield Planning department happened to see a small legal notice about the tracks.

"I was in the office looking at a trade magazine and saw this notice about the railroad wanting to abandon those tracks," Robinett recalled. "It was just one of those serendipity things. I just thought here's an opportunity to get a big piece of land for a trail — 35 miles long — without a lot of money."

Robinett, who now works as a multimodal operations specialist for the Missouri Department of Transportation, alerted others in the city, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Trail appeal

The Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad never actually abandoned the rail corridor, but instead enrolled it into the nation's new "Rail Banking" system that preserved railroad corridors for future use, even as many corridors were transformed into recreational trails, according to Terry Whaley, executive director of Ozark Greenways.

Ozark Greenways ultimately acquired the 35-mile rail corridor between Springfield and Bolivar and set about transforming the route into a recreational pathway.

"Through the rail banking program Ozark Greenways has interim use to operate it as a public trail, Whaley said. "Although we built it as a trail, we have certain obligations to maintain it as a rail corridor if they ever decided they wanted to revive it as a railroad route."

Now entering its 20th year, the Frisco Highline Trail is at an interesting crossroads, Whaley said. There aren't many opportunities to extend the rail trail, although the Ozark Greenways board has looked at ways to connect the Kearney Street trail head with other Greenway trails in Springfield. The Ozark Greenways board recently held a retreat at Valley Water Mill Park where it kicked around ideas for the the Frisco Highline's next 20 years.

Whaley said the long-range plan focuses on making the Frisco Highline better known, both locally and regionally, and marketing it as a biking destination point for baby-boomer bicyclists as well as a self-contained competitive-event venue for bike races and running events — both short distance and beyond marathon length.

"There was a general agreement on the board that we should do a recommitment to this trail, we should make it shine more, that we should make it a destination trail that people will want to experience," Whaley said. "We have an obligation to past donors, volunteers and past board members that this not be a mediocre trail, but make it something that will draw people from Kansas City and Arkansas and Missouri to come here and spend some time riding or running the Frisco Highline."

But how do you make an urban-rural railroad trail more appealing?

Whaley said the trail needs to tap into its history, with more markers pointing out interesting events and long-lost communities that existed along the trail. There's talk of establishing camping areas near Walnut Grove and Wishart trail heads where youth groups could pitch tents and experience the trail.

Because much of the trail can feel tunnel-like from trees and tangled undergrowth, Whaley said he and other Frisco Highline volunteers are using chain saws to open "landscape windows" at various scenic points.

"We're able to create views of interesting landscapes, and we've noticed opening up these windows allows more bird movement in and out of the trail corridor," he said. "These landscape windows also open up air movement and cross breezes that trail users appreciate in the summer and that help dry the trail out after it rains."

Ozark Greenways recently partnered with Midwest Off-Road Cyclists to turn a former horse trail into a mountain-biking path adjacent to the main trail that Whaley said has proved to be popular.

"There's 4.5 miles of eight miles done, but it really could be extended all the way to Bolivar and back, a distance of 70 miles," he said. "It gives mountain bikers their own trail and would allow parents to bike on the nice, flat main trail while their kids are off on the side trail doing their jackrabbit stuff."

Whaley said the 10-foot-wide main trail still has underused capacity to handle more people — if they know about it.

"We had about eight events on the trail in 2013, but we could handle 20 events a year without any problem," he said. "That would be fantastic and not impossible to do."

Nonprofit effort

Because it's a nonprofit entity, Ozark Greenways relies on volunteer help, donations, fundraisers and grants to develop and maintain the Frisco Highline Trail. The board has looked into building fresh-water stations at various points along the trail, but ultimately found it was too expensive to pursue, with the limited financial resources it has. Whaley said there are several businesses on or near the trail where people can buy water and snacks, but acknowledged there are long stretches where the only water available is what bicyclists or runners carry with them.

Public restrooms also are a challenge because of the cost. Ozark Greenways installed portable toilets near the halfway point at the Wishart trail head, but said trail users can access restrooms at businesses near Walnut Grove and Willard.

The Springfield-Greene County Park Board helps maintain the Greene County portion of the Frisco Highline trail, while volunteers with the Polk County Bike Club help maintain the trail in Polk County. Still, there are ongoing maintenance costs that Whaley said typically cost Ozark Greenways about $10,000 a year to keep the trail in reasonably good shape.

"If we could build a $500,000 fund and invest it into the market, we could use the interest to really take care of the trail," he said. "We've had three major setbacks during the past 20 years that really set us back. There were the arson fires of four of our bridges from 1995 to 2006 that we had to repair. That case was never solved.

"And in 2006 we had a massive rain that dropped 6 to 9 inches in three hours in Polk County and it washed out 2,500 to 2,600 feet of trail. Even the railroad ballast stones that had been there for over 100 years were washed away. And in 2007 we had the ice storm that required us to do 30 miles of tree limb clearing and trail cleaning. It wasn't until 2013 that I felt like we got the last of that mess cleared away from the sides of the trail."

Aside from continued maintenance to keep the trail surface even and smooth, Whaley said the Frisco Highline is ready for the spotlight. He is planning a 20th anniversary celebration on June 7 — timed with National Trails Day — and a renewed push to make the trail more widely known.

"It's a gem in the rough right now," he said.

Send your Outdoors ideas, tips or feedback to reporter/columnist Wes Johnson at wjohnson@news-leader.com; or call 836-1243. Find Wes also at Facebook.com/Wes.outdoors.

Use the trail

There are many ways to access the Frisco Highline Trail, but established trail heads are along the length of the 35-mile route. The Springfield trail head is on West Kearney Street. Next is the Willard trail head six miles north. The Walnut Grove trail head is at the 16-mile marker, followed by the Wishart trail head at mile marker 24 and the Bolivar trail head at the 35-mile marker. Parking is available at all trail heads.