St Louis Lambert Airport to Katy Trail Directions

The Katy Trail draws riders from all over, including many who arrive by plane. St Louis Lambert Airport is about 7 miles from the start of the Katy Trail in St Charles. But it's not always as simple as you might think to get from point A to point B.

Photo: Lambert-St Louis International Airport

Shipping Your Bike

If you are flying to St Louis to ride the Katy Trail, you'll need to decide what to do about a bike:

Bring your bike on the plane - check with the airline about whether this is allowed, and to find out what kinds of boxes or containers are approved. Here's a website with useful information about bike shipping experiences.
Ship your bike - some B&Bs will let you ship your bike to them, and will hold it for you until your arrival. Major shippers, such as UPS and FedEx, can handle this for you (see the "how to pack your bike" link above).
Rent a bike - if flying into Lambert St Louis Airport, you'll probably want to rent a bike from the Bike Stop Cafe on Main Street. This is the only bike rental in St Charles - the next one down the trail is Katy Bike Rental in Defiance, which is almost 30 miles from the airport. Be sure to make your rental reservations ahead of time, and find out when they'll be open so you won't be stuck in St Charles without a bike (although there are lots of things to do there while you wait).

To St Charles By Taxi

If you shipped your bike to a B&B in St Charles, or if you're renting, you can just take a taxi from the airport to St Charles. It's less than 10 miles and the cab fare should be quite reasonable.

To St Charles By Trail Shuttles

If you brought your bike along on the plane, your first goal is to get yourself and your bike to the trail. One easy option is to use a shuttle service. These "trail taxis" operate all along the Katy Trail, carrying passengers, bikes, and gear. Expect to pay about $30 to get shuttled from the airport to the trail. Make shuttle reservations well in advance. When B&Bs offer shuttle services, it's typically limited to their guests. Here is a list of Katy Trail shuttle services, and inns that offer shuttles, although for the St Louis Airport you'll probably want to use one based near the trail's eastern end. Here's a list of Katy Trail shuttle services:

To St Charles By Road

There is no direct cycling route from the airport to the Katy Trail, but there are definitely some good options. Thanks to Trevor Scott for this 14 mile route to the Page Bridge access point, using mostly suburban backroads and Creve Coeur Park.

To St Charles By Public Transit and Road

Another option is taking the MetroLink to Forest Park (Forest Park-DeBalivier station), and then biking from there (see biking from the Katy Trail to Forest Park and Downtown). You can roll your bike onto the MetroLink trains. It's about 20 miles from Forest Park to the Katy Trail.