Klinefelter Farm Trails

Klinefelter Farm Trail

The Klinefelter Farm Trail is an extensive network of grass surfaced trails with many loops and configurations for different distances. The trail is incorporated into several groves of native hardwood timber and borders stream edges, hedgerows, ponds, and hay meadows.

The HCC Alumni Association hosts an annual 4-5K Alumni Run, and HCC Student Activities hosts the annual Scottie Dash Obstacle Race at the farm.  The trails are also available for Cross Country meets and practices for any area schools. 

Parking

Trail parking is located just inside the east farmstead driveway by the Klinefelter Barn Conference Center.  By the parking area is a kiosk which shows a large map of the overall trail system along with smaller trail maps, bird checklists, wildflower checklists, and tree checklists that users may take with them.

The trails are also accessible with some parking on the west side of the farm just south of the Norton Creek bridge on Mulberry Rd. and on the east side of the farm on Nighthawk Rd.,  halfway between 230th  St. and 240th St.(old 36 hwy.).  Trail users may also park at the KSU research plot area east of the Norton Creek bridge on 230th St. for trail access. 

Trails

While traveling the trail, one can experience the beauty of Kansas flora and fauna and a great diversity of terrain. The main trailhead is located just below the barn. In the future, trails will be color coded to indicate the distances of different routes. Also at the kiosk is an indicator of trail conditions so users will know what the trail conditions are on that day:

  • DRY,DAMP with possible slippery spots,
  • MUDDY-foot traffic only,
  • CLOSED- impassible for various reasons such as flooding, trail blockage from wind, construction or repair, or in use for a specific event.


At times, only specific sections of the trails may be closed. 

KLINEFELTER FARM TRAIL USE RULES 

  1. You may get off the trail to explore or investigate other farm features. Beware of poison ivy, locust trees, and other thorny plants. 
  2. Do not disturb crops, wild plants, or wildlife nests and habitat. 
  3. You may pick nuts, berries, and mushrooms on the farm. Please do not pick wildflowers because we want them to help native pollinators and reseed themselves and multiply. Do not remove but report any artifacts. 
  4. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the trails.
  5. Mountain bikes are allowed as long as they don’t leave ruts in soft ground.
  6. Horses are not allowed on the turf grass trails. You may ride horses in the tilled fields when no crops are present between fall harvest and spring planting.  
  7. D onot leave any kind of trash or litter and help out by picking up any that you find. 
  8. You may walk your pet on the trails, however, if your pet is known to scare or bother other people or chase other animals, you should have it on a leash.
  9. If you are walking on the trail and encounter runners from either behind or ahead of you, give runners the right-of-way since they are possibly running for times. 
  10. Be safe, be cautious, and use common sense.  There are numerous ways to get hurt, and HCC is not responsible for accidents. Cell phones have poor reception in the lower creek bottoms.  Call 911 if you get hurt and can’t get up or out. Also call farm staff 785-741-2829 or 785-336-1274.