Mill Creek Streamway Park

Love it, love it, love it! Great place for running, biking or strolling. Great in the Spring and Summer, but clear often in Winter as well. Love biking and running on this trail :)

I enjoy this trail because it is both scenic, and offers some challenging hills for cycling. Just some tips, there are several signs along the trail to keep you headed in the right direction as there are other trail branches. If you want to do the full Mill Creek Streamway trail (approx. 30 miles roundtrip). The signs refer to the trail as «Main Trail» or «GLH Trail.» If you would like some challenging hills, take the «Ridge Hills» detour. It merges back into the mail trail. As an added bonus, the Ridge Hills has a couple stop points that are scenic overlooks. Absolutely beautiful with the fall colors.

We love all the greenways in the area, but Mill Creek is the best. It takes you through Shawnee Mission Park for a mountain biking detour if you like. Trains rumble along the west side of the trail. There are prairie, woodlands, and recreational areas all along the trail. It has great access points. It also has some hills, which I like. Most greenways are flat. Mill Creek breaks it up a little bit. Good stuff.

Kansas City doesn’t have the reputation as an outdoor mecca. Moving from CA, the only thing that I really miss is the nature and outdoor culture. While this trail is lacking anything spectacular, it fills the void of designated space for outdoor recreation. Kansas CIty is an awful place to try to share the road with cars when you are on a bike. This trail, however, makes me forget all that. With its wooded areas, bridges over the creek, wildlife, detours to many parks; this trail really is essential to the area. Get out and enjoy it!

I’ve biked this bad boy from start to finish (30 miles round trip) and I run on this trail about once a week. It’s fairly scenic and well maintained.
For the most part, it’s a pretty easy bike ride. However, there are a few steep inclines along the way that will definitely test your quad strength. When it rains, the trail is slow to runoff and/​or dry so use caution when biking (I have taken a few spills on wet pavement, but have somehow managed to escape serious injury). From mile markers 10 – 15, it runs right alongside the train tracks so it kind of kills any sense of serenity if you are looking for a quiet ride. There are also a few instances where the main trail will split off to a private trail and it is not clearly marked. If you aren’t familiar with the main trail, you might unknowingly be diverted onto a private trail. This can be frustrating if you are trying to track your distance accurately.
Also worthy of mention is the number of bugs on this trail. I recommend a thorough tick check after leaving. You will also want to wear glasses (or sunglasses) to keep the bugs out of your eyes. (especially if you ride at Lance Armstrong-​like speeds). This trail also gets pretty crowded on nice days and weekends, but if you blast an air horn as you come up behind someone they’ll get out of your way in a hurry.

I LOVE this park and trail! The trail runs along the creek, so it is very pretty while you are going on an afternoon/​early evening walk, especially when the leaves are changing since it is getting colder.
There are markers that help direct you which ways you can go, along with mile markers and occasional maps of where you are on the trail. Some of the trail is paved, but not all of it. Some of it is wood chips, which may create a muddier trail after it rains, but for the most part wasn’t too difficult to run or walk on.
Since the a major part of the trail loops in and out of heavily wooded areas, I wouldn’t recommend walking or running alone, especially as it gets dark. But if you stick to the shorter loops, it’s not as scary.