Frisco Highline Trail
Southwest Missouri’s Favorite Rail-Trail! Eight miles of continuous pavement from Springfield through Willard have been completed. Enjoy!
A lot has happened here since back in 1948, when Harry Truman rode these 36 miles from Springfield to Bolivar and back in his private railroad car, tuning up for the famous “whistlestop” campaign that would get him re-elected President that November. The tracks are gone now, the old stations have been torn down, and the wail of the steam whistle has been replaced by silence and bird songs.
And yet, some things haven’t changed much at all in sixty years!
Wheels still spin on this route—only today they’re bicycle wheels, as recreationists of all political stripes enjoy the second-longest rail-trail in Missouri (after the famous Katy Trail). The route still winds through woods and pastures, crossing sixteen bridges on its way across two counties. The deer still bound away, the cattle still stare, and the small town folks still know how to fry up a pork tenderloin and make a stranger feel welcome.
The Frisco Highline Trail is a scenic path through southwest Missouri’s past and present. Use this web site to plan a Frisco Highline whistlestop tour of your own. As Harry himself would say, “The bike stops here!”