KU Field Station will soon host a grand opening for the Rice Woodland Trail, the first public trail at the Baldwin Woods Forest Preserve.
The event will go from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 25 at the trailhead in Baldwin City, 1727 North 500 Road.
There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a performance choreographed by Shannon Stewart, KU assistant professor in the Department of Theatre & Dance, and choreographer Tahni Holt with Óskar Trujillo.
The trailhead will be open from dawn until dusk every day after the grand opening event.
The trail runs through 80 acres of the 396-acre preserve. It is built along watershed boundaries to support future research and act as a firebreak to sustain fire management.
“Providing access to the woods gives people the chance to experience the impact of woodland burns firsthand,” Sheena Parsons, KU Field Station manager, said in a KU news release. “We hope that the trail project will help to broaden understanding of the role that fire plays in Kansas landscapes.”
The parking area at the trailhead was a previously clear-cut and farmed site until the late 1950s, when it began to overgrow with eastern redcedar. To minimize further effect on the woodland, this area was cleared to create the parking lot.
The Rice Woodland was purchased in 1972 and deeded to the Nature Conservancy with help from Ethel and Raymond F. Rice Foundation. More than 30 tree species, along with more than 20 shrubs and vines, have been documented in the woodland, making it one of the most species-rich native forests in the area.
The preserve is managed by the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research as part of the KU Field Station. More details on how to find the trailhead are on the Facebook event page.
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Courtney Lane (she/her), staff reporter, has worked with The Lawrence Times since April 2026. She can be reached at clane@lawrencekstimes.com.
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