Katy Trail Forum

Is there a way to shuttle between Clinton and Pleasant Hill? We are thinking of biking from one to the other or doing an out and back from PH to St, Charles and then back to Clinton, but, would need to return to our vehicle in PH.

I don't think there is.

One option for you is to ride from P Hill to Lee's Summit and catch the Amtrak back to the STL area. Might be an issue in the near term due to flooding, not sure if Amtrak is in service from KC to STL at the moment.

But in typical times, there are two trains a day from KC to STL, and there is a nice little stop in Lee's Summit for Amtrak. Not too far a ride from P Hill. You have to take roads but it isn't impossible. People do it all the time.

I drove to PH one time, rode to Sedalia, and took the Amtrak back to Lee's Summit. Called an Uber the next day to take me down to PH to get my car. The PH police department was very gracious and let me leave my car in their parking lot.

Anyway, if I was coming from the east, I'd take the Katy to Windsor and then head to Pleasant Hill on the Rock Island. Then a short leg to Lee's Summit and you are at the Amtrak station. They only charge ten bucks to take a bike on the train to stops in the STL area.

Looking to see if anyone has a good mapped out route from St.Charle to
the Kirkwood Amtrack station. We did this a few years ago and the GPS took us on adventure to say the least! looking for something direct but with the least amount of traffic. Any advice would be helpful.

Howdy! Flooding at Creve Coeur Lake will put a few more turns in a route from St. Charles to Kirkwood, but it can still be done. And, once you get south of Ladue Rd, the route is much more straightforward and follows streets that are heavily traveled by local cyclists. It's just that north of Ladue Rd, you're zigzagging through residential areas that I find easiest to navigate via Google Maps. (I let the GPS talk me through on my cell phone, volume turned all the way up in my jersey pocket or in a bar bag.) Take a look at this and let me know what you think: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/St+Charles,+MO/Kirkwood+Amtrak,+West+Argonne+Drive,+Kirkwood,+MO/@38.6779093,-90.4637559,11.17z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x87df2f0888cc24e3:0xc437f0ab118cf5aa!2m2!1d-90.4974359!2d38.7881062!1m5!1m1!1s0x87d8cc318686831b:0xdc3a34bccbc5cfbd!2m2!1d-90.4067815!2d38.5809602!3e1!5m1!1e3

What are the trail conditions like between Pleasant Hill and Windsor?

I have Kim's Cabins in Windsor and many folks cycling Pleasant Hill to Windsor right now. They are all giving great reports of trail conditions. We haven't been affected by the flooding.

I ride daily from either Sedalia to Windsor / or Sedalia to Pleasant Hill. The trail is in 95% great shape. Between Pleasant Hill and Sedalia, there are a couple of rocks that have fallen which partially block the trail (not a big deal), and one tree that has fallen across the path (you will have to get off and simply walk around it). Sedalia to Windsor is in really good shape.

We rode today from the Purvis trail head to Windsor and everything was perfect! No standing water and no problems at all. Be sure to bring plenty of water and food as there is limited access across this route.

I headed out from pleasant Hill on the 27th and I'm in pilot Grove at this time still heading east.ill see how far I get.

I left on the 28th, not the 27th

The wife ad I have been doibg a series of out and backs heading west to east. Last night we stayed at the Amber House B&B in Rocheport anbd the town residents were stacking sand bags along the trail head. We opted for a short day with an out and back from New Franklin west to Pilot Grove with no issues. When we got back to the depot in New Franklin, we wanted to see how far east and did not even get 1/2 mile before encountering deep water over the trail. Also the evening news is reporting issues with a levee in Petersburgh which may force evacuation of residebts in lower New Franklin, which would mean that you may not even be able to get into New Franklin in the morning.

I got as far as new Franklin and had to go back. I think I passed you guys, was you two wearing matching helmets?

Probably so as we were both sporting hi-vis orange Lazer Helium helmets as well as matching gravel bikes.

I took a large group of cyclists here last week, just before the town was evacuated for the flood. The owner and his wife provided delicious breakfast, great service at fair prices. I would definitely return, and I recommend the place highly.

Very nice campground, very large. Great showers! And a very pleasant host.

Four of us enjoyed a great meal here while cycling through Windsor. Chicken fried steak, pork tenderloin, hamburger, all top notch, as were service and prices. Highly recommend.

Spent three nights there with a group during the last two weeks. The location is perfect, the facilities are outstanding, and Dale is a wonderful host. I could not be happier with the accommodations or the price. I highly recommend Katy-Rock Junction for anyone biking through Windsor.

Does anyone know if there are any detour routes around the closed areas?

Generally speaking, no - the detours are under water as well. Check the MoDot road information routes and you can see the roads that are closed due to flooding. http://traveler.modot.org/map/

It's a rough year - and more water seems to be coming.

Sharon

As I am rescheduling, I don’t think I will have time to drive out. If I fly, does anyone know if there is a way to rent a bike to pick up in sedalia and drop off in st Charles? Or should we rent in st Charles and transport it?

Hey Everyone,
We understand many riders are being forced to change their routes due to flooding along the trail.

Be sure you mention that you are biking the KATY Trail if you plan to stay with us at the Hotel Bothwell in Sedalia. If you are not familiar we are only a mile from the Katy Depot. We offer a 25% discount to all KATY Trail riders, free secure bike storage, a bike washing station, and now have a full hot breakfast included in your stay.

We hope everyone has a safe ride!

My daughter and I have stayed twice at the Bothwell. It is a lovely place, had a guest washer and dryer, easy access to the Katy Trail. It's looking this year like only the western end of the trail will be available. Even though it's only half the trail it still has some good scenery and fine places to stay, such as the Bothwell. Loved your restaurant! Loved that our bikes went in our rooms with us. I didn't have a trike then but I think your elevator would fit a trike. Good luck Missouri in your efforts to rebuild after all the flooding.

The Hotel Bothwell was a great place to stay! They stored our bikes in the basement for us, and had them waiting in the morning. The restaurant was very good, I liked the breakfast, and Sedalia was a neat place to hang around in.

Planned to bike the trail June 28 from Clinton. Anyone think it will be possible?

If there is no more rain anywhere up the Missouri River, it will not clear the Katy at Boonville and easterly until Wednesday 6/12. Then it will have to dry out for a few days. And there will be damage. I would say that your timing if iffy right now.

Let us know if you need help with accommodations, we do offer a Katy Trail discount of 25% off room rate if you book directly with the hotel. 660-826-5588. Safe Travels!

I would expect to have no issues for Clinton too Boonville. From Boonville to Jeff City, well, it may be possible, if the water goes down and there isn't too much damage to the Trail or the possible alternate road routes. East of Jeff City - I doubt it. There is a lot of water there and they are releasing more water from the reservoirs that feed into the Osage River that feeds into the Missouri River just east of Jeff City - I expect that will cause more flooding. I also expect the damage to the Trail will be extensive in places because of all the water. I would keep an eye on the traveler's information map: http://traveler.modot.org/map/. If the roads are flooded where the Trail goes, the Trail is likely to be flooded as well. It's going to be a tough year for the Trail and the businesses that depend on the Trail tourism.

Sharon

Is the rock island spur rideable? Anybody tried it recently? The website says that it has standing water, but don’t know if that means it’s passable or not. Thanks.

Many riding the Rock Island right now. I understand from riders great conditions. Curious what site you're seeing where says standing water. Thanks

Oh thats good news. It says standing water on the state park website:
https://mostateparks.com/advisory/80026/current-flooding-conditions-and-alerts-%E2%80%93-katy-trail-state-park

Thanks Will - I imagine Parks is overwhelmed keeping things updated with all of the flooding

HOW MANY TRAIL MILES FROM PLEASENT Hill to Winsor?

47.5 miles according to mileage chart.

So a group and I are planning to set out next Friday (June 7th) in Clinton to bike the whole trail. Now I am well aware of the flooding situation, and am also very familiar with the trail and it's issues it can have with flooding, since this is not my first biking the trail and we had to deal with closures then too.

From what I can tell we should be ok the first 2 days of our trip...the first day we are biking from Clinton to Sedalia, which should all be open. The second day we are biking from Sedalia to Rocheport...now based on what I have been reading we should be ok until we get to New Franklin but then shortly after it is closed, but we could bike 40 into town (please correct me if I am wrong). Day 3 we were planning on going from Rocheport to Hermann, which from my readings is pretty much under water entirely....My question here is, is there any sections clear between Rocheport and Hermann? And as of right now we were thinking of possibly fairing cars to drive between the 2 if needed, but is there another solution that I am not thinking of? Then on our 4th and final day we had planned on biking from Hermann to Machens...we have opted to just stop in St. Charles since the trail was flooded between there and Machens...but again I know there is some flooding between Hermann and St. Charles, but where exactly is it? and are the detours we can take? etc.

Any help is greatly appreciated!! We don't plan on canceling since one of our group is flying in for this trip and at this point if we cancel our B&B's we won't get refunds. Plus, we were all really looking forward to a trip together to hangout so we aren't really wanting to cancel.

That whole part of the Trail is more under water than not - from what I am hearing. We were around Hermann over Memorial Day and walked on the Trail near McKKitrrick. Parts of the Trail are high and dry and parts are under water - as I understand it, there is no clear path and the normal road detours are also flooded. I think the plan of having cars is a good one. You may be able to drive to some dry spots on the Trail, but don't expect to bike from trailhead to trailhead past Boonville. They were evacuating Franklin and parts of New Franklin as there is concern about the levees.

You can always check the MoDot map for road closures and get a good sense where the Trail might be open as the Trail tracks 94 Highway most of the way from Jeff City to St. Charles (not entirely, but close). If 94 is closed near a spot where the Trail goes through, the Trail will be under water as well. http://traveler.modot.org/map/

The weather is cooler than usual - lots of rain almost every day - but, hop in the cars, bike where you can, stop off at some wineries along the way and enjoy spending time with your group.

Sharon

See my comment from 5/29 under ‘Making our way’, which shows the route we took from new Franklin to Rocheport on back roads rather than on Hwy 40. It was quite pleasant as people that don’t like road riding. We thought about making a route on state roads and highways to Herman but decided to shuttle with the bike shop in Jefferson City instead. Will ride out and back to Bufton and enjoy an afternoon of wine tasting in Herman. Hoping to make our way to Augusta tomorrow through a combo of road and trail.

Hey Seriously Bummed,

I rode the whole trail from 5/25 to 5/29. Let me just say - it is a complete mess.

You are right, Clinton to Sedalia is clear. You can ride from Sedalia almost all the way to Rocheport. We ended up taking Hwy 40. It wasn't that bad. You will have to do some minor climbing.

East of Rocheport was impassable starting at mm 176 or so. You would not believe the detour that we took. I think I need to get my head checked after taking that detour. We rode from Rocheport to Columbia, and then from Columbia to Fulton, and stayed the night in Fulton. Rocheport to Columbia wasn't that bad on gravel roads, but riding to Fulton was absolutely scary. We took Broadway to WW and then F to get to Fulton. I wouldn't recommend it.

The next day we rode form Fulton all the way to Washington! Dont ask me the route because I have no clue. I know we went through Readsville, Americus, and then finally ended up in Rhineland where we road on 94 to Treolar and then hopped back on the trail after pannier deep water. Strava says we did almost 3500 ft of elevation gain and 75 miles. Not for the faint of heart.

Going east from Washington we were able to get to about to Augusta where we jumped back and forth on Hwy 94 several times. Augusta to Defiance is a mess of blown down trees from the recent tornado. We tried to pass through the area, but we met some not-so-friendly working crews, who did not want us carrying bikes over blown down debris (they said that we would sue them if we got hurt...whatever). We rode 94 for a super long way. Hopped back on the trail twice only to find that it was flooded, and then proceeded to backtack and stay on 94. We eventually caught up with the trail somewhere east of Weldon Springs (can't remember the actual mile marker), and rode that into St. Charles. We stopped in St. Charles.

Total mileage was 257 and almost 10k ft of elevation gain, so I guess if you really want to go to the trouble of all the detours, you can do the whole trail, but realistically we only ended up riding the trail for maybe 90 miles and ended up taking ridiculous detours the rest of the way. Anyways, I figure thats half the fun anyways. It was a killer adventure. Good luck...and dont be seriously bummed. Get out there!!

Hi Paul! Thanks for the recommendation about the road into Rocheport! I will definitely take a look back at your post. That's promising to hear that it was enjoyable even if it was on the road...not much of a road biker myself.

Hi Will! Thanks for your suggestions too! I don't think we are going to be that adventurous with our detours. I think we will probably just stick with biking our 2 days as planned into Rocheport and then either with the help of shuttles or ferrying our cars we will hop on and off the trail where we can the next 2 days.

Thank you all for your help and recommendations!

Based on new water developments - I would not plan on being able to bike to Rocheport. The news this morning is that the levee near Boonville is about to break which will flood the area from the Boonville Bridge, to New Franklin and Rocheport. I expect you will be able to bike to Boonville and then drive on I-70 to Rocheport. Last weekend, the water was close to I-70, but the interstate should remain open unless the water gets quite a bit higher. The Trail is the levee for Rocheport - you will have to keep an eye on the news to see how high the water gets there.

https://krcgtv.com/news/local/emergency-management-orders-mandator-evacuation-for-parts-of-howard-county

https://krcgtv.com/news/local/rocheport-volunteers-continue-sandbagging-operations

Sharon

Impressive, Will! Glad we can live vicariously through you. We were planning a similar detour from Rocheport in attempt to get to Hermann. We were a bit too concerned and called in for a shuttle from Jef City. We were showered with kindness everywhere we stopped at our b&b’s to restaurants and along the trail and detours. These towns and small businesses are really hurting, so do them and yourselves a favor, and get out there and visit and enjoy what you can! Be safe.

Camped at steamboat Junction in Bluffton and road back Case then Back to car and campsite about 16 miles of open trail one way. Seriously bummed it May be a lot different in one week.

Camped in Bluffton last night we were supposed to stay in Herman tonight our BB was within feet of sandbags on the trail so we took a rain check for tonight and are staying in Columbia. Planing to drive to Booneville leave the car there and get back on track with our plan.

Hey Everyone,
I just wanted to make sure you mention that you are biking the KATY Trail if you plan to stay with us at the Hotel Bothwell in Sedalia. If you are not familiar we are only a mile from the Katy Depot. We offer a 25% discount to all KATY Trail riders, and now have a full hot breakfast included in your stay. We hope everyone has a safe ride.

Is there another route from Kansas City to St. Louis? Was planning on doing the RI Trail and Katy first week of July.

Will

I feel for you! Last year we rode the part of the Erie Canal Trail that is not all trail, it's highways and hilly country roads.

You did fantastically!

Michael

If you can be flexible, I found www.mobikefed.org to be helpful. Going to try this as alternative.
https://mobikefed.org/2012/11/highway-36-bicycle-route-unveiled-st-joseph-hannibal-260-miles

Is the Boonville Trail Head open to park and bike West to Clinton?

Absolutely! The bridge from Boonville across the Missouri is closed to vehicle traffic because the road on the other side is closed, but folks were walking across the bridge to check out the water coverage. Otherwise, Boonville itself is largely unharmed. The trail is in great shape west of Boonville!

We had a great ride today on the KATY Trail. Parked at Windsor Trail Head. Rode North from Windsor-Green Ridge. That part of the trail is great. 12.5 miles out and return 12.5 miles. Praying for Lord to stop rain in Nebraska/Iowa/Kansas/Missouri. I've seen comments the rain this year is comparable to flood of 1993. Perhaps worse. God bless all suffering the flood areas. Sorry to hear the celebrations of KATY Trail 29th anniversary had to be canceled today. Faith Hope Love the 2020 30th anniversary is much drier. Everyone Enjoy the KATY Trail parts open.

We did the same ride Saturday and it was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect even in the open areas.

This is the link to the MoDOT map with road conditions and road cameras that will give you an idea of the current flooding conditions along the Missouri River.

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

The Missouri State Parks website for donations, along with a phone number for volunteering is listed below.
https://mostateparks.com/page/59642/donation-and-adoption-opportunities

Is the Parkside Cafe still open? I dialed the number on this page and was told it's been disconnected. Hoping to have breakfast there on Wednesday.

If you book a multi day rental or shuttle with Bike Stop cafe, we will shuttle you around the any trail closures. Text Tony at 314.973.4422 with your dates and we will arrange a trip for you. We also have pedal assist bikes that make getting through difficult sections of trail much easier. Hope to hear from you! Thanks.

Why are Trail Closed signs on the Rock Island Trail in Lee's Summit?

Where is CURRENT DAILY information available?

Why the continued delay?

I went and checked out the TH on 98th (?), near bannister and noticed the trail closed signs and wondered the same thing. But I also noticed someone hiking the trail and another one cycling the trail while we were at the TH. I believe they are holding a grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony this Friday.

We were told that the trail is closed because they were still working on it. Back in March the Kansas City Star had an article stating that is was now open (so we were confused). There is a post on facebook about the grand opening June 1st at the northern end by the tunnel (at the new trailhead). So hopefully, after this weekend they will take down the trail closed signs.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1620712264740042/ link to the Rock Island trail Grand Opening (1st phase)

We rode the whole length from near Knobtown to LS & back this afternoon. Trail is in great shape for big grand opening tomorrow .

Areas between the Boonville Bridge, New Franklin and Rocheport are under mandatory evacuation orders this morning due to a levee that has been overtopped and is expected to fail. I expect this means no biking, no alternate road routes to go East from Boonville along the Trail. More water is coming from upstream, so I expect this area will be underwater for awhile.

https://krcgtv.com/news/local/emergency-management-orders-mandator-evacuation-for-parts-of-howard-county


Sharon

Thanks for sharing the link Sharonbikes. Interesting that the first sentence in the article is: The Mississippi River is nearing levels only seen in 1993 in some places north of St. Louis and presenting problems as it over-tops protective barriers.

In northern Missouri, 1993 today is commonly referenced as the milestone flood with levee's overtopped and completely washed out. Today there are areas reporting more road closures and standing water than in 1993 without the levee breaches.