Kansas-Prairie Spirit Bike Trail
- Day Three-drive from Arkansas to Kansas
- Day Four and Five-Prairie Spirit Trail
- https://bikeprairiespirit.com/
- Trail length; 52 miles
- Additional Trails connected to Prairie Spirit are the Southwind Rail Trail and the Flint Hills Rail Trail
We tackled this trail by riding out and back from each end. Our first night of lodging was in a cute little AirBNB in Iola, Kansas. I would highly recommend this place. It’s actually converted office space in a small little strip of businesses right beside the Farm Bureau. At one time, it was a dentist’s office. It is adorable on the inside but very plain on the outside. It’s located right off the town square and we were able to walk to dinner. The AirBNB host messaged us before our arrival, knowing we were on a bike trip, and offered to wash our dirty laundry for us since the apartment did not contain a washer/dryer. That was above and beyond the usual AirBNB service!
As we’d made our way from Arkansas to Kansas, it had begun to rain, and rained an incredible amount overnight. The forecast did not look promising, but we’d come this far to ride the trail, we had rain gear, so we decided to give it a try.
We were just a few blocks from the trail at our AirBNB so it was an easy ride to the trailhead in Iola. We first travelled a few miles south of Iola to check out the South Wind Rail Trail since it seamlessly connected to the Prairie Spirit.
Because we’d mainly come to explore the Prairie Spirit, we turned around after a few miles on the South Wind and started north. Though overcast when we started out with a high possibility of rain, it cleared up by mid morning and we did not experience any rain! An answer to prayer. The Prairie Spirit is a beautiful trail and we were surprised by the amount of tree canopy along most of the trail. We expected Kansas to be flat and open, which it was, but the trail had nice shade along most of the route. We also were able to see wide open prairie land. It’s a beautiful part of the country!
The amount of rain the area had received overnight was evident on the trails. All of the creeks and streams were overflowing their banks, and a few roads were underwater. But because the Prairie Spirit trail is on an old railroad bed, we were above all of the flooding.
We had looked at the trail map before we left, and found one little restaurant available for lunch along the trail. But when we arrived, there was a sign on the door saying they were closed for the day due to flooding at home. So lunch was what we’d brought along to snack on in our bike bags. We rode a total of 34 miles out and back to Iola, loaded the bikes on our car and drove to Ottawa at the other end of the trail, where we’d explore the northern part of the trail the next day.
In Ottawa, we checked in to The Painted Lady B&B. The Painted Lady was built in 1898 and designed by architect, George Washburn. The stained glass, beveled windows, floors and woodwork are all original to the house. In the 1960’s, the house became an apartment building. It was purchased in the late 70s by the Kahler family to raise their 4 daughters. It now is a beautiful B&B with 3 guests rooms. We stayed there 2 nights, and we were the only guests, so we had the house to ourselves.
Right next door to The Painted Lady, is the Gillette House, which has an interesting story. We had noticed this house when we were driving in, because it has some historical signage in front and also looked like a B&B. It was designed by the same architect, George Washburn, who was also responsible for the design of the stone train depot in town and several courthouses across Kansas.
The original owner of the Gillette House, H.F. Sheldon, was the mayor of Ottawa, being re-elected 5 times. He was also a trustee for many years at Ottawa University. He commissioned the house to be built in 1889. He instructed the architect that he wanted a home that was a grand and dignified building. The slate roof on the turret is original, and the round turret itself was a luxurious addition because it required the use of curved bricks and stone trim.
Fast forward to 2018. Charles Gillette, a former mayor of Ottawa and retired business man, had a dream one night. In the dream, which he refers to as a faith premonition, he saw a house and heard these instructions, ‘Find that house, buy that house, and find someone who will take care of the house forever.’ Additionally, he was instructed to find the owner of the house and find a way to pay him $300,000, and find a way to put another $100,000 with it for maintenance and upkeep, and make the house something in which Ottawa could be proud.
Gillette recognized the house he’d seen in his dream, though he didn’t really know much about it. It was a historic home in Ottawa, so he drove to the house and took a photo of it. He showed the photo to an acquaintance in town and asked him if he was familiar with the house. The man took one look at the photo and said, “that’s the house I live in!” I’d call that a divine intervention!
So thanks to Mr. Gillette’s generosity and his leap of faith, the house was purchased and donated to Ottawa University. In the 1930’s-1970’s, the house, then known as Sheldon Hall, had served as a dorm for students at the university. With the donation of the house back to the university, it is once again being used as a dorm, with room for 16 students that must meet a certain criteria in order to reside there.
So the Gillette House was built by the mayor, purchased by another mayor and donated back to the town’s university. Pretty cool! What an awesome gift for the University and for the town of Ottawa.
Ottawa University also has an interesting history. It’s a private Baptist university and was founded in 1865. It’s origins began in the 1860’s when Baptist missionaries came to the area to establish a church. At the time, the area was occupied by Native Americans. When the Baptist State Convention was determining a place to establish a college, the area that the missionaries had been serving in (later known as Ottawa) was identified as the place to establish the college. The Native Americans were agreeable to the idea. The missionaries had a good relationship with them and after discussions with the Native Americans, it was agreed that the tribe would donate the land needed to build the college.
Way ahead of their time, the first board of trustees met in 1862. The board of trustees consisted of 4 Native Americans and 2 Baptists. The university admitted Native Americans from its founding, which was very unusual in the 1860’s.
We were treated to an awesome breakfast the next morning, and headed out for the trail.
Our ride on the second day began at the traihead in Ottawa. It was an overcast day and remained cool and cloudy all day, with an occasional sprinkle, but no big rain or thunder. We saw an abundance of “wild” things. Before we ever left the city limits, I spotted 3 animals ahead on the trail. I thought it was a pack of dogs, so I slowed my speed considerably. As we approached, it turned out to be 3 foxes playing and rolling around on the trail. They noticed us as we approached and one by one, skittered off the trail under a big bush.
Later in the day, we came upon 3 badgers. They weren’t quite as quick to move away. They stood their ground as we approached. We slowed our speed and moved toward them. Jimmy used his dog horn, and that seemed to do the trick, though they still stopped and looked back at us as if to decide if they wanted to pick a fight with us or not. I’m glad they gave up and didn’t stand their ground as we invaded their territory.
We saw an abundance of wild blackberries, wild asparagus, and wildflowers growing along the trail.
We enjoyed exploring this section of trail, and though the pictures aren’t quite as pretty because of the overcast skies, it was still beautiful country. There weren’t any places to eat until we got back to Ottawa. We grabbed tacos at Taco Bell and the skies opened up. We quickly pedaled to an abandoned gas station to seek shelter from the rain, and ate our tacos.
We then rode past our turn off to the B&B and went to the first trailhead, the old train depot. It housed a delightful museum with surprisingly high-quality exhibits for such a small town museum. We spent some time taking it all in.
I loved the part of the trail through Ottawa that went right down the center of the street!
The Flint Hills Trail connects to the Prairie Spirit in Ottawa, and we rode a portion of that just to check it out. We will have to come back and do that one some day. At 117 miles, it’s the longest Rail Trail in Kansas.
After another comfortable night at The Painted Lady we were offered another amazing breakfast; Dutch baby, bacon, and fruit and yogurt.
And yes, we ate every bite. Just the two of us. Split it right down the middle.
On to Minnesota!
Deb Cooks and Bikes 