This "Midwest" forum seems to be dominated by the Great Lakes area... Is anybody on here within a couple hours of KC? I'm looking for some good day hikes. I'm doing Four Pass Loop out near Aspen in the middle of August, so I'm trying to do some warm up trails.

Any ideas out there?

I'm a KC native. Unfortunately, there isn't much around here that will prep you for Colorado unless you triple the weight in your pack and try to breathe through a paper bag the whole time!

Here's a site that lists some trails north of the river: http://www.northlandtrails.org/

My personal favorites here in town are pretty short, but can be pretty scenic and offer some brief bursts of uphill action. Weston Bend State Park has a number of hiking trails that intersect with a paved bike path that allows you to add a bit of distance. The bluffs there overlook a big bend in the Missouri River and look down on a part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Parkville's Nature Sanctuary has four trails that you can combine to at least get 3 miles in.

For sheer distance, I think Smithville Lake has the most extensive network of trails, though many are either paved or horse trails (which can get really beat up when it's been wet).

If you drive over to Clinton Lake in Kansas, there are some trails with a bit in the way of hills and some legitimate distance: http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/cl/Trails.cfm

Good to see some fellow Kansas Citians on here......unfortunate we don't really have much to do in the way of climbing......but I guess we could be further from the Rockies right?

Either of you done much serious climbing?

I'm not from Kansas, but I do have a proposal that should interest you guys.

We pool our money, collect donations, seek some corporate sponsors, and raise money any way we can. Then, when we've got capital, we buy a portion of the Canadian Rockies (save on transportation) or maybe the Atlas Mountains in Morocco (probably willing to sell for less than the Canadians). We then transplant the mountains to the section of land between Kansas City, Des Moines, and Springfield.

Whatta ya say?

I'm in!!