Book excerpt: The definitive guidebook to hiking Kansas City is back--completely updated, expanded and redesigned with a mountain of new photographs to help you hike, explore, and unwind. In this comprehensive fourth edition, life-long Kansas City hikers William Eddy and Richard Ballentine highlight more than 100 off-the-road hiking and walking trails in and around the Kansas area. From popular, flat and paved city park trails to remote, rolling, forested treks--you'll find that good walks and hikes are close to home no matter which way your compass points you. This guidebook includes updates to old favorites as well as many new trails sure to be visited again and again. Beginners and seasoned hikers alike can flip a few pages and find a perfect trail no matter the season. Enjoy the fresh air, the good exercise and the tranquility that can only be found on a trail... See deer, wild turkey, foxes, beaver, and blue birds... Hear the wind rustle through the trees as you hike hardwood forests. Explore prairie grasslands, river valleys, and rugged hills. Walk along lake shores, besides marshes, limestone bluffs, and forgotten railroad bridges. End the day with a sunset high atop a lookout point.