Following the successful completion of FLATS Phase 1 – a beautiful 8 foot wide section of the trail that runs along Forest Lake from the dining lodge, to the petroglyph site, and campground #2 that was funded by the Recreational Trails Program – FLATS was awarded a second Recreational Trails Program grant to construct a .7 mile section of trail starting at the corner of Osteopathy and Missouri Street in Kirksville, and heading west through a beautiful wooded area along the south side of Missouri Street.

This section of the trail will bring us a step closer to our goal of building a trail that connects Kirksville and Thousand Hills State Park, making the park accessible to all users and bringing the beautiful outdoors a little closer to us all. Stay tuned to this page for updates as we raise matching funds for this section of FLATS and get ready to break ground.

The 6th Annual FLATS Trail Half Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, October 9th at 8:30 a.m. Upwards of 100 runners will start at the flagpole besides the Thousand Hills Marina and run the unpaved Thousand Hills Trail all the way around Forest Lake finishing at Jackson Stables.

This has been a huge event for the Forest Lake Area Trail System, bringing tons of hikers, bikers, and runners to the beautiful Thousand Hills Trail, motivating volunteers to keep the trail in amazing shape, and raising more money than any other event for the successful construction of the first phase of the Forest Lake Area Trail System. This race really embodies the spirit of trails!

If you’re ready to run, volunteer, or just want to learn more about this great race “like” the FLATS Trail Half Marathon Facebook page or just head over to active.com to register now!

The 5th Annual FLATS Trail Half Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, October 17th at 8:30 a.m. Upwards of 100 runners will start at the flagpole besides the Thousand Hills Marina and run the unpaved Thousand Hills Trail all the way around Forest Lake finishing at Jackson Stables.

This has been a huge event for the Forest Lake Area Trail System, bringing tons of hikers, bikers, and runners to the beautiful Thousand Hills Trail, motivating volunteers to keep the trail in amazing shape, and raising more money than any other event for the successful construction of the first phase of the Forest Lake Area Trail System. This race really embodies the spirit of trails!

If you’re ready to run, volunteer, or just want to learn more about this great race “like” the FLATS Trail Half Marathon Facebook page or just head over to active.com to register now! Paper entry forms are available at the Thompson Campus Center (210 S. Osteopathy, Kirksville, MO 63501) or click here for a printable entry form.

Last but not least a big shout out to our incredible 2015 race sponsors, the Northeast Regional Medical Center Hospitalist Group, Kirksville Tourism, Golden Eagle Distributing, The Scotland Clark Project, Missouri State Parks, the Missouri Department of Conservation, KTVO, West Winery at Jackson Stables, Kirksville Multisport, Bellacino’s, and the Thousand Hills Concessionaire.

We’re getting a big group together on Saturday, August 22nd at 9:00 a.m. to groom as much of the Thousand Hills Trail as we can in preparation for the 5th Annual F*L*A*T*S Trail Half Marathon.

We’ll have some extra tools for volunteers. Bring loppers, weed-eaters, brush cutters, and any other equipment that’ll help us get the trail into perfect condition! Bug spray, gloves, and long sleeves aren’t a bad idea either.

Please RSVP on the Facebook Event page so we can get people to the locations where they can get the most done and check there for meeting locations (probably the two trail heads -marked by a red and a green dot – on the map).

As of today, you can sign up for the first ever Red, White, and Blue Ride taking place on July 3rd! You might remember it as the Hilliest FLATS Ride Ever. A few things have changed this year and we hope to encourage greater participation.

New features of the 2015 event include:

1) The starting and ending location for all events is Shelter 3 at Thousand Hills State Park in Kirksville, Missouri. All routes (6, 18, 63) are new and suggested by members of the community.

2)A 3-mile Community Event for runners, bikers, walkers, and combinations can now also be done and part of the route includes Phase 1 of the FLATS Trail! So bring your kids, pets, family, friends and make a day of it! Note: Owners are responsible for cleaning up after pets!

3)This is a co-sponsored event of FLATS and Kirksville Kiwanis. Participant fees will be split evenly. FLATS donations will help continue building the trail and Kiwanis donations will go towards the Kiwanis Playground Fund.

Come join us for a fun, relaxed, and activity filled experience at Thousand Hills State Park today. Our starting location is Shelter 3.

We would like to thank our generous sponsors Road ID, Kirksville Dental Group, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Hy-Vee, and Complete Family Medicine. Are you interested in being a sponsor? Contact mahoogla@gmail.com today for details!

Thanks to the efforts and faith of many, many people Phase One of the Forest Lake Area Trail System is officially open for your enjoyment!!!

We were always confident that this project would serve the entire community but seeing hundreds of people old and young using this trail has been truly inspiring. Already the project has exceeded our expectations.

Now that the dust is just about settled and we’ve had a little time to catch our collective breath the FLATS Steering Committee is beginning planning for the next Phases! Stay tuned here for more information as it becomes available and don’t hesitate to contact us and talk about this exciting project.

And if you haven’t been out to Thousand Hills State Park to see what YOU built make sure you visit and enjoy our trail soon!

FLATS Phase One Map

Please join us for the Official Dedication of Phase One of the FLATS Trail at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 22nd in Thousand Hills State Park.

There will be many special guests with more details to be announced as the date approaches.

Thanks to you we’ll have this beautiful trail for generations to come! Please join us and show all the VIPs in attendance how excited we are to bring this trail all the way to Kirksville!

Photo Credit: Jay Beets

Sunset along the Phase One Route

To celebrate the FLATS Phase One Groundbreaking the Forest Lake Area Trail System has set Thursday, October 3 as the deadline for donors’ names to be added to a plaque that will be placed at the trail head in Thousand Hills State Park.

FLATS has set a goal of raising an additional $12,500 by this date. These funds will support the design and construction of the next two phases of the project.

This permanent plaque will thank residents, businesses, and others who saw the promise of this project for Kirksville and Adair County and helped to make this project a reality before the first shovelful of dirt was turned.

Individuals, businesses with fewer than five employees, and non-profit organizations that have donated $500 or more by Thursday, October 3, and larger businesses that have donated $1000 or more, will all be recognized on this plaque.

Including grants, cash donations, and in-kind donations, FLATS has raised over $275,000.

For more information please email flatskv@gmail.com or contact one of the members of the FLATS Steering Committee listed on the website.

100% of all donations to FLATS support the construction, promotion, planning, and maintenance of trails in AdairCounty. The Kirksville Rotary Charitable Fund is the 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor of the Forest Lake Area Trail System. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.