Katy Trail Forum

The 2019 Missouri Parks KATY Trail Ride is due to start in the middle of June. In looking at projected flooding, which generally does not go to far out ahead, the projections were updated in the last day that shows flood levels will be at the highest rate so far on June 8. While water could recede rapidly under the right conditions, the aftermath of flooding can take much longer in regards to siltation, mud, washouts, and cleanliness. Often the smell of a flood lingers for quite awhile. One of the campsite locations is presently under water and according to projections will remain underwater until after June 8, which could be updated at any time to be even longer. Frontier Park where the ride was to end and many vehicles parked, is closed due to flooding. I realize further arrangements can be made in regards to campsite and parking locations as well a rerouting to riding on the road. However, the general character in regards to what is expected on this ride will likely be different. I am seriously concerned about whether or not the ride will be as positive an experience. I know the Summer Olympics in the area have already been cancelled. It would seem that priority involving recovery efforts is now #1 and that possibly it would be best to postpone this year’s ride.

I'm starting to get seriously worried about it too. I haven't heard anything from parks about a cancelation or postponement, but it wouldn't surprise me. While the current NOAA forecast is for the river to drop back under flood stage around June 8, it doesn't take into account forecasted precipitation more than 24 hours out. We will get more (it's already in the forecast for this weekend). Even if the river drops enough to uncover trail on June 8, that only gives them 9 days to clean it up. The parks department is currently busy cleaning up tornado debris last I heard.

sections of the trail have already been underwater this year. It had just dropped back under flood stage west of the Jeff City trailhead ~1 week before the current flood. Some spots were VERY rough. Some were blocked by fallen trees. Sections of the trail east of the Jeff trailhead were unpassable.

oh pineapples from Jefferson City, so sorry you all are having to go through this and hoping a sense of normalcy will return as soon as possible. Just checked the NOAA forecast which has been updated through June 11 and shows all gauges at moderate flooding level east of Jefferson City to St. Charles with Jefferson City still showing heavy flooding level.

Like oh pineapples, I'm getting worried also. It's to be my ninth year on the ride plus I bought a new gravel bike. Hopefully things dry out by then. I'm sure that the good people at the DNR are more worried than I am.

This will not help the MO Parks ride, but "generally" the last 3 weeks of July are dry and, of course, hot. This is when I am planning my cross-state ride from KC. Exceptions to this pattern were 2006 (Hurricane Dennis remnants) and 1993, in which the flood finally crested on August 1st.

Given the current weather patterns though, dry weather does not guarantee a delightful ride. Mosquitoes will be a problem for a couple months. But I have to ride for my sanity!

I spoke with the parks department this morning. They are still planning on having the ride, but will re-evaluate a possible cancellation on Friday. I'm assuming they want to see what this weekends precipitation will do to forecasted river levels. The crest has now been bumped to 33 feet Fri-Mon. 34 feet will cause major traffic problems as they close sections of the highways (63&50).

I'm starting to go a bit nuts too. I had worked my way up to some fairly long rides to prepare for this. I hate road biking, because everything around here is 55 mph rural highways. But I don't know what else to do.

I could see riding Clinton, Sedalia, Boonville, then out to where the flooding starts. Turn around and head back to Clinton with maybe Windsor to Pleasant Hill on the Rock Island Trail added in. That could make for 5 days of riding. Of course some of the most scenic parts of the Katy along the bluffs would be missed.

Logistically it might be crazy hard to do at the last minute.

They would have to make arrangements for those of us who bussed from St. Charles to get back. I'd probably just drive my car to Clinton in that case.

Just a thought.

I just received email that the 2019 State Park Ride is cancelled.

It's on the ride web page also:

https://mostateparks.com/2019ktride

Missouri State Parks and the Missouri State Park Foundation are canceling the 2019 Katy Trail Ride set to begin
June 17. At this time, nearly 100 miles of Katy Trail State Park are closed due to flooding. For more information, email katytrailride@gmail.com or call Missouri State Parks toll-free at 800-334-6946. Check back to this page in the coming weeks for follow-up information.

Maybe the follow-up info will be about rescheduling.

Does anyone know which parts of the MKT spur are ridable?

Hey Frank, portions of the MKT are under water around Perche Creek, but you can use the access roads around the waste treatment facilities to make it all the way to the Katy. I've rode the last two days and made it just fine.

Our family was going to fly to MO and ride the Katy Trail again. We rode the full length in 2012.

Given the current politics, and MO's governor actions regarding women's rights, we cancelled our trip plans to MO.

We love the Katy Trail, the farmland, and small towns with friendly people. Take care of your trail folks, it is one of MO's progressive accomplishments.

Take a minute to read through the forum. With all the flooding going on, we have a lot more important issues to be concerned with, than worrying about whatever political statement some person in CA is trying to make through their vacation plans.

Closing this thread - let's not get into political discussions here, beyond trail-specific topics like the legislature's support for extending the Rock Island Trail (which hopefully will be MO's next great accomplishment, progressive or otherwise).

I often ride the Katy Trail on day trips, and have been wanting to expand to longer distances, and overnight trips. My problem is that I have a fear of crossing the trail at places like 94 & Defiance- near Klondike Park. That curve in the road you have to cross is double blind and motorists travel at high speeds. I pretty much always just turn around rather than risk my life crossing. For those that have traveled most of the Katy Trail- are there more optimal stretches to bike that do not cross dangerous roadways?

Hey, all.

My dad and I were planning on riding the whole trail from West to East starting next Monday morning. He's flying in from out of town. I'm getting really concerned reading about the closures, especially the long one (MM 125 - MM 180.9, between Mokane and west of Rocheport). Anyone have any recent updates or resources? I'm a newbie here.

Thanks,

Sean

I read that the flooding is expected to crest June 8 and then start to recede. I am not sure how they predict that or how accurate it is. I spoke with a shuttle service that told me to reschedule. Most businesses are happy to reschedule you without much fuss if you can. I ended up cancelling because I could not reschedule.

Thanks, Kari. Sorry you had to cancel.

We were visiting family in STL and had everything locked in for a trip from Kirkwood to Sedalia via Amtrak with stops in Pilot Grove, Rocheport, and Herman, and hopes of getting as close back to STL. Well, we took the bus instead of the train as the train is not running. Then biked to Pilot Grove no problem. Pilot Grove to New Franklin was fine. We then came up with a detour to reach Rocheport that worked well, following gravel roads - took Broadway in New Franklin east which becomes 448 to 467 south for a short bit and then left (east) on 442, which becomes 435 south. We then crossed Hwy 40 at Wyatt’s garage to head south on 440, and then went right on 240 into Rocheport. Sounds confusing perhaps but it was about 13 miles and took us 1 hr 45 min from New Franklin to Rocheport. No punctures but best to be prepared as it is gravel. Not sure we can find anything quite as simple to get to McKittrick tomorrow. Suggestions? We’ll probably call a shuttle in the morning. Any suggestions for shuttles in the area?

Planning on a Clinton to St. Charles over the 4th of July weekend. Obviously no guarantee but do you think that will be far enough out that the flooding will have receded and we can complete the trail or should be anticipate there being closures on the trail for months to come?

Same question. We have a week-long trip planned to ride end-to-end going West to East. I'm in the window to cancel and I'm not sure what to do.

What is here now won't be five weeks from now. In order for the river to still be this high it would require a LOT of rain upstream in late June. Not impossible but how likely? Once the river drops the trail is ridable within days.

Thank you, Doug!

I personally would cancel now. I am having a very hard time with refunds from the B&B's and Inns where we have reservations despite the fact that Jefferson City is flooding into the city and the majority of the trail is closed. They seem to think we should still come (I live in Pittsburgh, PA). I don't want to reschedule at this point because I do not know when the trail will back in action. I would like to take my funds and do something else, but many places are saying no to refunds. I am pretty frustrated. I would LOVE to come. I can't help that it flooded.

We have decided to postpone - hopefully in September or October.
I hate it for the tour company we're using - very nice people! I didn't ask for a refund; told them to just hold our deposit and let's work on a reschedule. I really just didn't want to take a chance on missing the most scenic part of the ride and being stuck riding pavement around it.
Al

In addition to massive upstream rain, the amount of water released from the Gavin's Point Dam near Yankton SD is also a huge contributing factor which to many seems about as unpredictable as the rainfall amount.

Prior to the recent flooding between Kansas City and Omaha which displaced many people and destroyed many homes, there was a lot up upstream rain that was coupled with an almost 5 times increase in the amount of water released from the dam at the same time. That water also increases the river levels in central Missouri.

It is impossible to predict the amount of rainfall. The release of water from Gavin's Point seems unpredictable and uncontrolled.

In five weeks, who knows? There could be a very ridable trail or there could still be sections that are closed. Five weeks is just too long of a time frame to predict.

This website, the DNR website and NOAA are good resources to determine trail conditions and river stage closer to time of departure.

I just want to update because I have gotten refunds from all but 2 so far. I am hoping to be able to salvage my vacation and head somewhere dry for now.

I am newish to the Wentzville Area and LOVE the Katy trail. I am off for the summer and looking to explore different parts of the trail. I usually park and get on at the Chesterfield Outlet Mall and ride round trip 20 miles (not too far).

Where are some great places to park and ride the trail where the scenery is the best? I am trying to use the interactive map but for some reason I am just not having luck. Any help/info/locations would be greatly appreciated? Also, are their any meet up groups for people who ride the trails?

THANK YOU!

Hey Kim,

I'd say that the most scenic place to park and ride (without driving TOO far) would be the Weldon Springs Trailhead and head west towards Augusta. But you MAY have already done that part of the trail if you parked at the Chesterfield Outlet Mall and ridden across the Hwy 40 bridge.

I live in St. Charles just minutes from Main Street so I typically start there and head West. But I feel like that part of the trail drags on, and on, and on...until you get a bit past Greens Bottom where the scenery improves.

Hope this helps!

PS. With current flooding affecting the trail, it's not even worth loading the bike onto your car rack with the intent of hitting the Katy Trail. Crossing fingers that conditions improve in a few weeks....

My son and I are thinking about hiking the trail (St Charles - Clinton) late summer this year.
Any of you ever done this? If so, do you have any advice for us?

No I have not walked the Katy Trail from end to end.

Search "hiking" or "walking" on this Forum and you will find many results full of advice from previous trail walkers.

Call ahead to make sure that any business or amenity you are counting on is actually going to be open. Hours and days of operation can be a little random. Don't trust a website or Google maps.

On Sunday, 5/26/17, I went to the Katy Trail depot at Weldon Spring. Mile Marker 56.0. You can only go about 1 mile either way before the trail is closed due to flooding.

Heading east, you can only get to mile marker 55 before you the trail is closed due to flooding.

Heading west, you can only get to mile marker 56.8 before the trail is closed due to flooding. This is where the Hamburg Trail meets the Katy Trail.

Also, where the Hamburg Trail meets the Katy Trail, water was flowing over the trail from the north (opposite side of the river). Must have been an underground spring because the creek to the north was dry.

I'm riding out of pleasant Hill in the morning around 6 or 7am . Hope the rain will let me get out P- Hill. Anyone going east?? I'm out for 4 day taking it easy!!!!

Planning on hitting this part of the trail tomorrow? Is it passable? Any updates?

As of two days ago, you'll get to McKittrick and then to highway 94, but not much further. We saw some cyclists taking 94 towards Gore Rd., but it doesn't have a shoulder, and is pretty serpentine. We backed out before Gore.

I plan on doing a long ride tomorrow starting in Clinton

Anyone try to brave the flooding?

Clinton to Boonville is clear. East of Boonville is closed starting in new franklin. You can make it as far as Rocheport if you want to take 40 into town, but east of Rocheport is a no-go. I’m currently trying to come up with an alternate route from Rocheport to Jeff city, but looks almost impossible. I may just shuttle.

Thank you for the reply. I’m starting in Clinton tomorrow and plan on doing most of the trail but it sounds like I’m going to have to make a change of plans. When you say it’s a no go they have gates up? Or is it just a foot of water across the trail

This is a link to the detour I've built from New Franklin to Columbia. It goes off the one used by the Pedalers Jamboree. I'm going to use it when I head Clinton to CoMO starting Wednesday. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/39.0126097,-92.7411803/420+North+Roby+Farm+Road,+Rocheport,+MO+65279/MKT+and+Mizzou+Trails+Intersection,+M.K.T.+Nature%2FFitness+Trail+(Columbia+to+McBaine),+Columbia,+MO+65203/@38.9194598,-92.4951271,12z/data=!4m45!4m44!1m15!3m4!1m2!1d-92.729967!2d39.0023004!3s0x87c33efea0129883:0xe78274c833a8a1ca!3m4!1m2!1d-92.6529166!2d38.9937811!3s0x87c338ff5e9b514d:0xc0cf42c8efd9aa6!3m4!1m2!1d-92.5931405!2d38.997355!3s0x87c337a132636a61:0x102d6425944b980a!1m20!1m1!1s0x87c335f97a6d6dab:0xf6eaf17f2b27295f!2m2!1d-92.5323584!2d38.9650803!3m4!1m2!1d-92.4668595!2d38.9375938!3s0x87c34ac88ebcdff7:0xfeff1c5377c5174d!3m4!1m2!1d-92.4321396!2d38.936354!3s0x87dcb51159fee8d3:0x53b35b03ec5a407e!3m4!1m2!1d-92.3999211!2d38.9186352!3s0x87dcb43537dd77c1:0x111eed00923ee857!1m5!1m1!1s0x87dcb65b13e71c4b:0x1ab40f007d40f9ab!2m2!1d-92.35517!2d38.9309974!3e1!5m1!1e3

Heath- if you’re really wanting to complete the entire trail, you’re going to want to reschedule. We just “completed” our trip yesterday. We started in Sedalia and ended in St Charles. Out of 189.5 miles, only 90.5 of them were rideable and to do that, we drove to pick a dry town, then biked west as far as we could and backtracked the same trail back east as far as we could. The trail closures are not being updated on the website. The trail will be clear to Boonville, but you will have to find a way into Rocheport. From there, the trail is flooded and closed all the way to Portland. We drove into mcKittrick and rode west to the flooding in Portland and back to McKittrick again where we had a place to stay for the night. Unfortunately, the trail is flooded at Gore as well. We tried to detour onto Hay 94, but it’s extremely dangerous: windy, hilly hwy with no shoulder and cars are flying by. We bailed and caught a ride into Augusta. From there, we biked back west to Marthasville, but you can probably get as far as Treloar before you’ll have to turn around again and come back. A mile or two east of Augusta, the trail is impassable due to a tornado from last Tuesday. Also, Weldon Spring is flooded and impassable. We were dropped off in Greens Bottom and road west to the flooding at Weldon Spring then turned around and road all the way to St Charles. Based on what we saw riding back to Weldon Springs, I think a good portion of that trail will be flooded by today and riding into downtown St Charles as well, though you should be able to reroute onto the roads at that point.

Anyone think there is any chance for a Clinton to St Charles in two weeks? I know it’s hard to tell but for those who have been out there on the trail , can that much water dry up in two weeks? I’m driving from Los Angeles with my bike and cart and have a lot of money tied up in coming. I want to do the whole thing. The thought of riding on the main roads sounds deadly. If I have to reschedule I need to cancel my B&Bs so I get some money back. Thoughts? Thanks all.

Anne- It’s hard to tell, but if we stay dry, I think a lot of flooding will go down at least off the trail. The only part that lay be sketchy still (in my mind) is Columbia to Portland. The rest, I would think should go down. There’s some trail damage (wash away) from the flooding already, so you may have small detours around those, but most likely doable. They’ve already started cleaning up the tornado damage just east of Augusta and will probably be done with the time you get there.

I wouldn't rely on the State Park website for updates. They were routinely behind on current conditions. And that, in no way, is criticism. I called a couple days ago to report flooding on a section of the trail and the message on their answering service was that they were out cleaning up debris for the tornado.

This morning I read that riding over flooded portions of the trail can do significant damage. So best to stay out of the water.

Thanks all! Keep the updates coming. We really all appreciate it. I have til Wednesday to make final decision as that is the drop dead date on some of my reservations to recover some money. Sounds encouraging.

The Katy Trail is flooded about 2 miles east of the Weldon Springs trail head. We were also advised that the trail is blocked by trees Near Augusta.

Will- you are going to have to skip the Augusta to Weldon Springs section completely. Yesterday, we were able to get on at Greens Bottom and back track to the flooded trail at Weldon Springs, however, there’s a large section that was nearing flooding, so you may not be able to go all the way back to Weldon Springs anymore. It was close enough that we booked it hard coming back out, fearful the water was rising too quick for a clean way back out to Greens Bottom again.

We rode today starting in Rocheport. The trail is completely impassable at 176 or so. Don’t even attempt it. We took sketchy roads all the way to Fulton. I wouldn’t personally recommend it, but it is possible (blind turns, no shoulder). Planning on taking country roads from Fulton to Rhineland tomorrow to get back on the trail. Say a prayer for me ??

Hello! We have so much planned around our bike trip this week, that I am considering just doing it and seeing how it goes. I will have a car with a bike rack that holds 5 bikes. I need to take 2 bikes. If someone else has a car with bike rack and we can shuttle each other, let me know. We can shuttle around closed sections. Biking clinton to sedalia Thursday the 30th, then to Rocheport the next day and so on. Just post here and I will check. I didn't really want to place personal info here.

Also....anyone who has been out there, what are the chances for hope of flood receding by the weekend or early next week?

It’s hard to say. We just got back yesterday, started in Sedalia and ended in St Charles. Only 90 miles of that was ridable... even less now... but by weekend, some of the shallower flooding may have receded. I’m thinking the entire section of Rocheport to Portland will probably still be unridable, unfortunately. After riding through St Charles, I fear that may be under water still as well. We skimped through, but barely. Frontier Park is completely under water.

From Klondike to Augusta heavy tree damage no easy detour 94 to risky. We love the Katy Trail not complaining just wanting to post current conditions

I've been watching the site for the Katy Trail Ride, and so far I haven't seen any updates. From my recent experience, the sections from Boonville to Weldon Springs will still be under repair for some time and I suspect the ride may be cancelled or postponed. There are going to be several washouts near Columbia and probably more heading east. There are also bridges that will need repair or restoration.

I don't know how the state legislature is going to look at allocating funds to repair, and I'm worried they may look at this as a warning about the cost of maintaining the nascent Rock Island Trail. After the '93 flood, Ted Jones donated $2 million to jump start the trail, and likely saved the Katy. Missouri State Parks has a link for donations (https://icampmo1.usedirect.com/MSPWeb/Customers/Login.aspx). You will have to create an account and log in, but monies can be directed to the Katy. I can't think of a better time to show support for the trail than now, and maybe an increase in donations will convince the state legislature that we will love the Rock Island just as much.

So back to the Katy Trail Ride. If, as I suspect, the ride is affected, wouldn't it be great if the Missouri State Parks would instead have a week or weekend for volunteers to come out and help clean up the trail? I for one would be happy to help in clean up or push some gravel around if it helps bring the Katy back.

What are the conditions today from the summit to Pleasant Hill?

I had my train ticket, but I cancelled it this morning due to fluding. What a crappy rainy time, this was going to be my time to ride, been playing it for the last month. Gave my job 2 weeks notice and taking off a week to ride the back to New job. Rain Rain go away take your flooding to another state Lol. I'm going to ride from Pleasant Hill in the morning 5-28-19 to as far as I can witch looking like to Jeff city then I'll just turn around and come back. I'll still get my mileage in and my 4 days I had planned but not the whole ride I was wanting, Beggars can't be choosers. I'll still have a great time!!!!

What road do I take to access the wainwright trail entrance?