Rock Island Trail State Park

About this park

Rock Island Trail State Park, which officially became Missouri's 93rd state park on June 30, 2023, spans a section of the former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad corridor, offering 47.5 miles of developed, nonmotorized trail extending from Pleasant Hill to Windsor through the heart of west-central Missouri. The park's origin traces directly to the 2005 Taum Sauk reservoir breach disaster at Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park: in the settlement that followed, Ameren leased its Rock Island rail corridor to the state and provided funding that ultimately made this trail possible. Trailheads at Pleasant Hill, Leeton, Chilhowee, and Medford, plus an access point at Windsor, give bicyclists, hikers, and equestrian users multiple entry points along the developed stretch, with the Windsor-to-Pleasant Hill section specifically open to horseback riders as well. The trail connects directly to Katy Trail State Park at its Windsor terminus, linking the two parks into a combined rail-trail network already exceeding 280 miles across central and western Missouri. An additional 144 miles of undeveloped corridor continues from Windsor toward Beaufort, remaining closed to the public while Missouri State Parks evaluates extending the trail further, a project that would eventually create a roughly 450-mile continuous trail network stretching from the Kansas City suburbs all the way to the St. Louis area. The trail passes through small towns that once depended entirely on the Rock Island Railroad, as well as land once home to the Osage and other Native American groups, giving riders a genuine cross-section of rural Missouri history alongside the recreational mileage.