Katy Trail Forum

I want to ride on the trail and was wondering what was open in the St.Charles area. Where would be a good place to start? I want to ride 30 or 40 miles if I can.

I rode the trail Friday. You can get to Frontier Park but the lot was flooded you might be able to find a place to park on the street. Going west from there I made it out about 15 miles. You can also get on the Monarch Levee trail by Highway 40/61, but could only go to the right then.

If you want to do your ride a little further west from St. Charles, you can start at Augusta and ride roughly 20 miles west. There and back will give you your 40 miles. :)

The Katy trail is now open from the City of St. Charles around MM 40 to west of Treloar MM 87 according to DNR. The riverfront parking lot was still blocked off last time I was there in the City of St. Charles but there is other street parking available and the TH parking at the Page Ave crossing MM 43 is always open.

Steve the Page Avenue crossing trailhead better be dry as it's about 100 feet above the Katy Trail. If the flood gets up there, I'll be looking for a new Noah's Ark coming down the river. ;-)

The flood damage near the Eastern end of the Katy is extensive! I intended to ride to the end of the trail on Saturday but the rivers had other ideas. As I neared the end of the trail the damage grew worse and worse. I rode over areas where water from the Mississippi side had flooded the fields and washed out a foot or more of the trail heading toward the Missouri River side.
When I approached about a half mile from the end of the trail I came to a complete washout of maybe 150 to 200 hundred feet where the trail was completely gone and the flooded fields connected like one big lake.
It will take tons of rock and gravel and who knows how long for the State parks repair people to get it put back together.

Added:
Here is a short youtube video of the trail washout near Machens.
As you can see it is major damage!
https://youtu.be/WE45X_I6U3I

That should get the point across!

We've had a flood in Missouri

How did you even get to near the end of the trail? Even on a "good" year the trail would be flooded at some point between MM 34 & 35.

Can anyone tell me at what level on the Jeff City gauge the Skywalk ramp on the north end of the bridge is no longer flooded? Thanks

Okay, redundant but, I detoured off the TransAmerica to take the Katy trail and now I’m seeing most of it is flooded. Would it be crazy to try and take as much as I can and then hop off at the flooded parts? Or should I just take an entire different trail? Any advice is appreciated. Was planning on leaving from St. Louis tomorrow going west...

From what I have been reading on these posts and elswhere, best to find an alternate route ~100 miles of Katy is flooded. Detours may be tough to come by. I was going to ride it the first week of July. Now taking a route from St Joe to Hannibal.

http://traveler.modot.org/map/

We are planning to do a long trip next summer with two young kids (in a trailer), but will be driving through MO in early August and thought it might be a good opportunity to 'test out' the experience. An Amtrak sale prompted me to plan a one day quick trip between Washington and Hermann, and it looks like there may be two issues:

1. Is the route 47 bridge in Washington passable yet for cyclists? Some news articles early this year talked about moving equipment after demolition of the old bridge before they could open it, and the MDOT site doesn't mention anything: https://www.modot.org/route-47-missouri-river-bridge

2. What river level should I look at to determine flooding between Case and Treloar (currently listed as flooded)? This section isn't listed in the 'potential flood locations', so I'm assuming once the river recedes to 31 feet it will be dry? (I realize nobody can predict rain in the future, but I'd like to know how to determine if it will be passable before we commit a day of the road trip to this).

Anything else to know for a single day out and back trip between Hermann and Washington?

We would be 'chancing' it by trying to carry on a folded bike trailer (Chariot Cheetah 2), but would bring a bag to check it if necessary.

Hwy 47 bridge at Washington:
I highly doubt the bike lane will be open by August. Last I read was fall sometime, but there have been no updates lately. Note that from the bridge to Dutzow trailhead you will be riding on the shoulder of the highway.

Possibly consider scheduling a shuttle from Amtrak in Washington to Dutzow or Marthasville. Revolution Cycles would be the one to call in Washington.

Be aware that the bridge, although the protected bike lanes aren’t open, has 2 10 foot shoulders. If you are even moderately experienced cyclist (can ride some roads) the ride to Dutzow also has shoulders and is quite rideable in my opinion. Even a bicycle tourist who only rides rail trails has to ride streets in towns to eat and get groceries, and has to ride the occasional detour.

Allen

I would NOT recommend riding a bike with trailer on Hwy 47 from Dutzow to Washington. I rode it recently and frankly it sucks. Narrow shoulder, high volume traffic, and the shoulder pavement is deteriorating. I agree Rev Cycles in Washington is the best bet for a shuttle. It will take some leadership and some gov't money to find a solution to the Dutzow-Washington connection. I do think once the bike lane is open and cyclists start showing up regularly on the highway and Augusta Bottom Rd that people will start to understand the safety problem. I don't want to overstate it but it's not good and young riders in particular should not be on that highway route.

Thanks for all the feedback. For the Dutzow to Washington connection, I was planning on riding the trail to Augusta Bottom Road and circling back to the route 47 bridge, so we would only be on 47 just for the bridge portion. I just was concerned that if there was a planned ped/bike path that the current passable road route would not have a sizeable shoulder.

Sounds like it’s doable, but won’t be ideal yet. I’d call myself a casual cyclist who doesn’t mind two-lane neighborhood roads, or 4-lane roads if they are in low speed areas of town (universities, for instance). But towing a trailer with my kids in it makes me more nervous since I can’t really see them and their surroundings to confirm they will be ok.

I’ll take this as an opportunity to email Washington officials and show them that bike tourism is beneficial. ;) — but that if we want to go for it, we should be able to reasonably cross the river, even if it’s not pleasant.


Any comments on the flood stage height of the section from Case to Treolar?

Hi, three of us are supposed to start our ride on Sunday, June 23. Is there any chance the trail will be open by this time? My friend and I are both taking a weeks vacation from work to do this ride and don't want to waste our vacation if we can't ride the whole trail. Thanks, Bob

No chance that the whole trail will be open, sorry. The river has been at major flood stage for nearly a month. More rain in the forecast this week.

Oops -this posted at the wrong spot.....We had intended to do what you are planning. We improvised with car shuttles and skipping the closed portions. We rode about 180 miles including some up and backs. See my post on 6/12 for more details. I am guessing at least 100 miles will be closed. The website update is a bit conservative as you can pick up a few extra miles here and there. Good luck.

This business is closed permanently, should be removed from your list.

I'm sorry to hear that, but thank you for the heads-up. It is now removed.

Great stop on the trail! Met the owners and enjoyed live music on the huge covered patio. Food was fantastic.

Rode Windsor to Clinton today. 3 trees down between Windsor and Calhoun. All we're passable, except you need to dismount for 2 of them to get around safely.

I have always wanted to ride the Katy Trail from St Louis to Kansas City non-stop. This is the year it has worked out but I understand now that much of the trail is flooded and/or closed. Is it still possible to make it from Manchens to Pleasant Hill utilizing the trail and following detours? Just wondering if it's even possible to attempt, even if it adds extra mileage.

Mark, your trail ride will be mostly a road/highway ride at this point. About 100 miles of the trail are closed, including one continuous 60-mile stretch. I'd suggest a Clinton-to-Pleasant Hill ride, which should be completely open.

How long do you think the clean up will take after the flooding recedes? Does anyone expect there to be signficant portions of the trail that would remain closed after the water recedes due to damage?
I have my first ever trip planned on the Katy at the end of August and while I would guess that the flooding issue would be over by then, just not sure how quickly the clean up efforts take place to get the trail back into good condition.

In 1993, the peak of the flood did not even hit until August 1st, after months of the Missouri River being above flood stage. My Dad's family farm is along the Katy near Boonville, and they had to have hundreds of tons of sand removed from the flooded farm fields. Unfortunately, the water does not just rise and sit there. It moves and scours out the land. There will be significant damage and the extent of repair will not be known until they can see the trail. In areas where it is scoured out, they have to fill it back in, stabilize it, then put on the crushed rock and finally pack it down. Even then, the trail could be very soft for a while (we experienced this on the Rock Island when it first opened). I am hopeful that I will get to do my annual end-to-end, but I know it may be as late as October if it happens.

Our warmest thanks to all those who are posting updates on the trail situation. They are really useful to us.

We are two couples from UK who plan to cycle Sedalia to St Charles late September 2019. We've cycled the whole GAP/Columbia-Ohio and bits of the Erie Canal Trail, and this is (was?) to be our first foray onto the prairies and into Missouri.

The weather seems so much more extreme now. We have very dry conditions for the second year running in the south of England. You have storms, tornados and rain, rain, rain.
Let's hope the trail can be repaired when the water subsides.
It is very concerning, because of these man-made changes in our climate, and personally because we have all our accommodation booked and some of it paid for in advance, and we love to cycle on your trails.

There’s something ironic about someone flying thousands of miles spewing pollutants high in the atmosphere to bike a trail and then complaining about man made climate change. :-)

Not judging, we all fly planes to get where we want to go. In Missouri, spring is always flood season, you should be fine on your fall season ride.

Let us know if we ca help with any lodging accommodations, we do offer a Katy Trail discount of 25% off room rate if you book with us directly.
Safe Travels.
Hotel Bothwell

It all depends on how much damage there is to the Trail. I expect parts of the Trail that haven't been underwater will be just fine, but I expect there will be substantial damage to the Trail where it has been under water. But, there will be no way to know until the water goes down. I saw a recent article where the Corps of Engineers is saying the rivers will be high til fall - we all hope that means "high" and not flooded. Time will tell.

My guess is that there will be substantial damage in areas prone to flash floods (areas around creeks and small rivers) and the Missouri River flood water will leave behind thick layers of a mud/sand mixture on the trail when it recedes which will need to be scraped off before repair work can be done. Then there will be the issue of rotting vegetation and other not nice smells for all those that venture out soon after the trail dries out.

Check out this article and photo. Yeah, major repairs are going to be needed.

http://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2019/jun/15/no-damage-assessment-yet-for-katy-trail/782869/

I had planned a Katy Trail bike trip to Jefferson City with my son and son-in-law on June 14-15. We were hoping to ride 50-75 miles in the two days. Is this even possible with flooding and trail closures? Wondered if coming from the West (Boonville to Jeff City) would be better than coming from the East (Augusta to Jeff City).

You will definitely have to come from the west, as the trail to the east is impassable.

Make sure to visit Central Dairy in Jeff City.
Hotel Bothewell in Sedalia is offfering 25% off their already reasonable rate if you say that you are a biker.

Sorry, Bothwell.

Wait, the trail may be impassable west of Jeff City too. I never should have posted. My apologies to the forum, and the universe.

I’m afraid the only way to bike the Katy east of Booneville would be to strap pontoons on your bike. The flood waters have gone down slightly but still cover much of the trail. The smell of rotten vegetation etc. will follow as the water resides.

Only if you are traveling in a boat.

KMOV-TV is reporting that the trail is closed between MM 27 and Booneville due to flooding.

The Jefferson City News Tribune is reporting that the Katy Trail ride is cancelled. Missouri State Parks officials are reporting that they are committed to having the trail open for next year's ride, which will be the 30th anniversary of the Katy.
http://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2019/jun/01/flooding-cancels-annual-katy-trail-ride/781138/

Yesterday I received an official email about the cancellation. I was hoping that they would try to reschedule to later this year, but evidently the damage to the trail is extensive.

I think they won't know the extent of the damage til the flooding subsides - but, since the Trail is essentially closed from Boonville east - I expect there will be a lot of damage. Some of the Trail is still dry, some just has a little water and a lot of it is now part of the Missouri River - which means current, deep and a lot of water - I would expect large parts of the Trail will just be gone when the water goes down. The Boonville Bridge over the river is now closed - the videos and pictures being posted on FB (look at the posts by Snoddy's Store). This will be a hard year for those impacted by the flooding.

Has anyone received a refund yet? I actually had to cancel on April 9th, due to a wedding, and have sent 3 emails requesting a refund. I was told twice that it was being processed, 4/10 and May 10th, but never received one. My May 31st email was never even acknowledged.

We are on the trail between Sedalia and Clinton. At mile markers 252 and 254, there are large trees that have fallen on the trail. You can get around them, but you’ll definitely have to dismount.

Thank you for the update! My kids and I are planning on biking this part over the weekend and then up the Rock Island. We will be on the lookout for these trees!

4 of us are about to wrap up what originally started as a Sedalia to St Charles ride. Amtrak train was canceled so we took a vehicle with us and drive directly to Sadelia on Saturday June 8 from St. Louis. On the first day we shuttled to Clinton and road to Sedalia. No problems. Day two we rode the complete Rock Island spur from the top down to Windsor. No problems. Day three we rode from Sedalia to Boonevile and it was perfect. East of Boonville was impassable and will likely be so for sometime. The morning of day four, we drove to McKittrick near Hermann and parked there. We rode 3.6 miles east where the trail was closed at Mile 97. We rode back to McKittrick and then west about 4 miles past Blufton - about 33 miles day 4 after returning to our starting point to McKittrick. Plans for our
last day include starting in Augusta and riding miles 66 west to 87 where we are told it is closed and then back to Augusta. This will end our journey as the rest of the trail East is mostly closed and not worth piecing together. We are estimating about 180 miles ridden in total -not far off our original plan. We really enjoyed all of the towns. The people were very friendly and the hotels were very historic and well maintained. We had a very enjoyable trip! Good luck to all of you!

We have a cycling trip booked, leaving Sedalia on 25 Sept and arriving St Charles on 1 Oct. What is the state of the trail and will there be any flooding or trail closures?

Today, much of the trail is flooded and impassable.

Water is to be released from the Gavins Point Dam through the summer at a rate of 75k cfs which will keep the river level high throughout the summer. Unprecedented, as this does not happen every year. This year is vastly different.

Will there be any flooding or trail closures in September? Probably not any flooding. Could be closures from the flooding today. Who knows?

All should be well in September. The reality is it is way too early for anyone here to predict the condition of the trail 4 months out. No crystal ball around to help with that.

If flooding has receded by then, there is likely to be significant restoration required before the Katy is completely open between Boonville and St. Charles. There are likely to be sections that have been washed out, potholes to fill, and damaged bridges.

The food and the folks at the Wagon Wheel were spectacular. Brenda was a great waitress, and everyone in my group enjoyed the meal. Service is incredible, and the cinnamon rolls are even better!

This place was our first experience with the small town diners along the way, and it was great. I definitely recommend it.

I wonder if the restaurant itself is behind these positive comments. Cunning advertising ? I have seen quite a few posts like this in my short time of paying attention to the forum.
Sincerely,
Cynical John

It would be easy to spoof it like that, but my comment is legit.

Wanted to take the family on their first bike trip, doing the Katy Trail from St. Charles to Augusta. Am I out of luck due to flooding? Are there detours? Thanks for any advice.

No detours. I have seen many times that Hwy. 94 was closed due to flooding along that route while the Katy trail was not impacted. However, the Missouri River St. Charles gauge is not projected to be below 31 feet until early next week(June 17), which is the level at which the water completely recedes from the trail along that route. That projection is also based on no more precipitation beyond the next 24 hours in the Missouri river basin. Then, you have to allow for some time for the trail to dry out, repairs made, etc.

Saturday,June 8, you could bike only about three miles east from Augusta...and about 22 miles west.

Boonville to Clinton is pretty nice, and is dry. I know it's a bit of a drive...