County official hints at new trails along Kansas River in Topeka

TOPEKA (KSNT) – A local county official said new trail systems are in the works for Shawnee County, giving locals new places to enjoy the outdoors.

KSNT 27 News spoke with Bill Riphahn, chair of the Shawnee County Commission, about interesting new developments for outdoor recreation in the county. He said one project that could be completed within the next few years is a new trail on the levee next to the Kansas River in Topeka.

“We’re looking at using the levee system for trails,” Riphahn said. “Lots of other towns have already done this like in Lawrence and Manhattan.”

Riphahn said this trail would roughly run from the west side of the Topeka Boulevard bridge to a weir on the river, about two miles long. It could potentially be extended another mile to the Sunflower Soccer fields pending further discussion with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) as that section of the trail would need to pass beneath I-70.

Riphahn said people wanting to use the trail can park at one of the two trail heads that will be established in the future: one at the Great Overland Station and the other at the weir. He said the City of Topeka will be responsible for maintaining the levee while the county works to install signage, benches, information kiosks and crushed limestone for the trail itself at a cost of around $60,000. The trail will also run close to the historic Pappan’s Ferry crossing, an important site for those who wished to cross the Kansas River on the Oregon Trail.

“They had a ferry system that lined up with Harrison, one block east of the Topeka Boulevard bridge, that was the main crossing there,” Riphahn said. “It was point zero for the Oregon Trail.”

This isn’t the only new trail in the works for the Shawnee County. Riphahn said there is talk of the installment of another trail to serve as an extension for the Shunga Trail which already covers several miles of pedestrian and bike paths through Topeka.

“I’ve always planned on taking the Shunga trail out further east, wrap it around the airport and take it to the Billard park trail,” Riphahn said.

As with the levee trail on the Kansas River connecting Overland Station to the weir, this trail will also consist of crushed limestone instead of pavement. This potential new trail would also hug the levee on the river and connect the Shunga to Oakland’s Billard Park and Santa Fe Park. While Riphahn couldn’t provide a set date for this project’s completion, he said the county could realistically start work at any time.

“I know we’ve got so many projects going on, it’s hard to keep things moving forward,” Riphahn said. “I think people would really enjoy that.”

Riphahn said the county is working with the Riverfront Advisory Council (RAC) to get these projects done. The RAC is currently looking to renovate the area around the Kansas River in Topeka as part of a plan with the Greater Topeka Partnership (GTP) to increase the city’s growth and economic prosperity.