Excelsior Springs: Siloam Mountain and downtown loop
Excelsior Springs Siloam Mountain Trail and downtown trail loop, Clay County, Mo.
Visit this iconic town, walk the Fishing River and scale Siloam Mountain.
Trail The Downtown Excelsior Springs Trail System, including Siloam Mountain Trail.
Overview
Excelsior Springs is best known for its iconic The Elms Hotel and Spa, which dates to 1912. However, this northern Clay County town of 10,000 has other attractions, which we’ll let the tourism promoters explain. Our interest is in The Downtown Excelsior Springs Trail System. This walk is made up of three trails: Fishing River Linear Park Trail, Isley Park Woods Trail and Siloam Mountain Trail. These trails wind through the city and five parks: Paul Craig Park, Fishing River Linear Park, Isley Park Woods, East Valley Park and Siloam Mountain Park. The trails gave you a diverse experience combining Main Street USA, a riverside walk and a steep, forested ascent (or descent) of Siloam Mountain. Arguably, Siloam Mountain is the highlight, rising about 150 feet above the Fishing River at its base. Is it a mountain? We’ll leave that for the cartographers and geologists to hash out. Is it scenic? Definitely.
Length The combined length of the Downtown Excelsior Springs Trail System is about 2 miles.
Address and location You can enter the trail at any point along its route (see the map below), but the city recommends Jim E. Piburn Field, 112 S. Thompson Ave, Excelsior Springs, Mo., 64024. If you want to start at the top, you can park at Siloam Mountain Park. Navigate to the intersection of Ellsworth St. and Silvers Drive, Excelsior Springs, Mo., 64024.
Other area attractions The city is near Watkins Mill State Park, an excellent hiking destination in and of itself. Excelsior Springs is also near one of Kansas City’s most scenic waterfalls, Tryst Falls. And of course there’s eclectic and historic Downtown Excelsior Springs and the famous Elms Hotel and Spa.
Conditions The trails range from concrete to dirt, to boardwalks to woodchips. They are well marked, but you’ll be more likely to stay on course if you keep a map handy.
Kid friendly? A significant amount of this trail is accommodating to strollers, but there are portions where the grade is too steep and you may have to change your plans. If you stay in the downtown area, you’ll be fine. Since this is a populated area, parents will need to be mindful of their children when crossing streets.
How busy? These parks are in the heart of Excelsior Springs, so traffic can be moderate. But since the trail is two miles long, congestion is unlikely.
Pets Yes, on a leash (unless otherwise designated).
Bikes Yes.
