Katy Trail Forum

Check out this article on The Missouri Bike Federation (mobikefed.org) about the proposed 130 mile Rock Island Trail across Missouri:

PETITION: Support the creation of a major NEW cross-state rail trail - The Rock Island Trail from Kansas City to St Louis

Not me! I am against amendment 7 in the first place and the article(s) makes me wonder, are they after my signature or my vote for amendment 7. I'm not buying what MoBikeFed is selling, once again.

I am still flip flopping on Amendment 7 as it might provide funds for completing the KC to Windsor connection. This connection has become a bit of a boondoggle itself but still seems like a good idea. However, going back to the taxpayers for a Rock Island trail east of Windsor to hook up such towns as Eldon, Bland, Belle, etc. is unacceptable, in my opinion. If they can raise the funds from a private donations/donor that is another matter but quit soaking the taxpayers that go from no place to no where.

Horses Honk, horses don't honk, they toot. :-)

Hired them to shuttle me from St Charles to Clinton last week, great service from Todd to the driver. Highly recommend if you are looking for a shuttle service. Very nice stop on the trail as well.

How much did it cost for the shuttle from St. Charles to Clinton? My wife and I are planning a trip in September and want to ride from Clinton to St. Charles. We would actually like to ride all the way to Machens but it looks like the logistics of getting us and the bikes from there will be difficult. We are driving from Nashville and parking our car in either St. Charles or Machens depending on shuttle/train availability. We want to end the journey at our car. Just get off the bikes and fall into the car so we will need a place near the east end to park. Can't wait, this looks like a great ride.

You really can't park at Machens, because there is no parking and the roads don't really go there. Best bet is to call a couple of the shuttle providers such as Katy Trail Bike Rental in Defiance and Lococo House in St. Charles to get a price quote.

whatever happened to the idea of extending the trail to Pleasant Hill or wherever it was supposed to go? It's been years.

I second this question, back in 2012 it looked like there was about 3 miles of progress in pleasant hill, but has anything been worked on since then? Is there anyway to get updates on any plans or dates?

As of this past June when riding the Katy, we noted when going over the KT bridge that is just east of Windsor that the rails/tracks have been removed and the railbed had been graded....both looking north and south. The track is also removed with grading in progress where the old Rock Island line crosses Hwy 13 near Post Oak. I'm assuming then the tracks have been removed and grading done between there and Windsor. Looks like progress is being made!

My husband and I are planning a fall ride and neither have much experience, and he's in much better shape than I. We're thinking a weekend (one overnight). If we're leaving out of Clinton, how far, realistically, can we get for our overnight?

Hard to say, what is the farthest you have ridden in a day so far? You have a couple choices for an overnight: ride to Windsor, about 17 miles, or ride to Sedalia, about 36 miles. For your first trip I would go conservative.

Thanks MidSouth. I've done Rocheport to New Franklin, but that's been more than a decade ago. I think we will probably do Clinton to Sedalia or Windsor to Sedalia.

Rocheport to Hartsburg (about 25 miles) is our favorite for a weekend overnighter.

I would second the Rocheport to Hartsburg idea. I enjoy all of the KATY, but that stretch is far more interesting and scenic to me than Clinton to Sedalia.

I am planning a Boonville to St. Charles ride (in September) with my fit 82 year old father, shooting for 35-40 miles per day. We will be starting on a Monday night, and it seems many are closed on Mondays. Does anybody have recommendations for nicer (not pizza/bar food) places open on Mondays? I can modify our plan. Thanks!

Stay at Joey's Birdhouse in McKittrick and if you let me know ahead of time I will happily prepare a fantastic meal with veggies from my garden and other tasty treats from our local farmers.

The restaurant at Stone Hill winery in Hermann is good on any day for German fare. The tour of the prohibition days wine cellar next door is worth the time to see. It's far different than stainless tanks of modern wineries.

The Hartsburg Grand is a good place to eat in Hartsburg. It was once the local bike shop and is now a restaurant. And of course, there are several decent places to eat near the capital in Jefferson City.

I don't believe the Harsburg Grand is open Mon-Wed.

What day of the week are you starting? Where along the trail will you be on Monday? A lot of the B&B's along the trail offer Dinner as well as Breakfast. Look for places run by cyclists.

Thanks for the ideas. I did decide to shift us out two days. So we will be in Rocheport on Tuesday night, Jeff City on Wednesday, McKittrick on Thursday and Augusta on Friday. Rocheport looks like the big challenge. We will plan on a nice dinner in Hermann while staying in McKittrick.

In Hermann The Cottage is very nice dining but in McKittrick Joey serves as good as you will find within 10 miles.

Well, talk about B&B owners that are cyclists, hi Doug! Check him out in Bluffton, stay there and hit Hermann in the morning. Great vittles and country comfort. rendlemanhome.com

The Cottage is fine dining, Joey also serves delicious food but for homecooking and a relaxed country atmosphere with well balanced meals and a man that relates to you and your ride, Hobo is right. Doug treats you well.

Joey's Birdhouse was the highlight of our trip. We could not have asked for better accommodations. The room was beautiful, the food was great, and the location was outstanding.
Joey has a wonderful garden out back that we were able to pick fresh veggies from and add to our breakfast. Chard and eggs with fresh tomatoes and basil.
I think Joey's Birdhouse made the difference between being our first and only KATY bike trip, to the first of many future trips down the KATY trail, and everyone will surely include a night at Joey's.

We will be staying in Rocheport while biking the Katy Trail and want to go to Les Bourgeois Winery or the A frame. Is this an easy bike ride? or is walking really the only option. It looks like a small town, so I'm assuming it would be difficult to find someone to shuttle us up there. I can walk forever, but will have an older parent with me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

There is quite a hill to walk up from the Katy and on the road. We've ridden down the hill and it was a blast on the tandem....haven't ridden or hiked up either hill.

If it were me, I'd ask the inn keeper if they could shuttle me up. It's not uncommon for many to do things like that.

DNR had a stop sleepover at that winery in the 2011 organized ride and there were many tired riders trying to get up that hill to the winery. I would call for a pick-up too if you are not accustom to the "MO rollers".

Here at the School House we offer complementary shuttle service for our overnight bike-only guests. We'd be happy to host you for your upcoming Rocheport stay!

Yates House Bed & Breakfast in Rocheport offers complimentary transportation to and from Les Bourgeois Bistro and A-Frame (outdoor area). Overnight, biking guests only. We take you up and you have your server call us when ready to return.

I didn't intend the Yates House comment to show "anonymous". Here's the repair.

Thanks all! I checked with our innkeeper and they said they could shuttle us up an back to the restaurant. I am so glad I asked.

The cabooses are great! They have all the necessities, yet still feel like a train car. My 2 young boys loved playing around the cabooses while we relaxed around the fire and enjoyed the beautiful view of the lake. The Cruce's are exceptionally welcoming and accommodating. It was a great place and fun was had by our whole family!

Very nice place to stay, would highly recommend to anyone. Safe bike storage, great breakfast, friendly host.

I just wanted to let everyone know about a new fundraiser for Special Olympics Missouri on the Katy Trail Sept. 20-21, 2014.

It's two two-day rides with one ride beginning in Clinton and the other in St. Charles, while both of them ending in Jefferson City at the same time.

The fundraiser benefits Special Olympics Missouri’s future Training for Life Campus, which is a 44,000-square-foot campus that will give 17,000+ athletes a place to train and call their own.

Don't want to bog this down, so for more details, please see the website at www.SOMO.org/CycleForTheFuture.

Be one of the next 50 riders to sign up using CYCLE14 as a coupon code and receive $55 off your registration!

This bike shop is excellent! We are newbie bicyclers and were on the trail for a longer ride for the first time. We made it to Augusta and realized my bike tire was flat. We went into the Katy Bike Rental and had a gentleman named Tyler generously offer to help us out since we did not have the correct tools or part. He was very kind and quick and helpful.

Where are the camp grounds in or near Easley Mo, on the river?

I believe that would be Cooper's Landing.

If you look on google maps, type in Easley MO, Cooper's landing is just northwest of Easley. It is a campground that is along the Missouri River.

Picture Easley as two or three houses along the trail with back to back city limit signs.

I know this is a sensitive subject but the MO conservation areas bordering the Katy Trail are not open to public camping because of what law or regulation?

There are at least three conservation areas that I can think of that allow camping. I have camped at Hart Creek and Davisdale. No facilities like a picnic table, primitive only.

You can go to the Missouri Conservation Dept. online and check any conservation area for what is or is not allowed, they are not all the same. My experience has been that more of them allow camping, rough camping, than don't. Hart Creeks camping area borders the Katy Trail approx. 1.5 miles (guessomation) west of Hartsburg.

I appreciate the information but if someone and you know there are many people who have questions about camping (be it primitive or not) would not know anything about camping in the conservation areas from this website. I just ran into a father and daughter with camping gear riding at Rocheport in June and they were "biked out" for the day but didn't want to pay much for private camping or B&Bs and the conservation areas would have suited them just fine.

The Trip Planner above is a good resource. When selecting the Camping icon and searching between North Jefferson and Pilot Grove, there are several camping options including Diana Bend, Davisdale, and Hart Creek Conservation Areas. There is also a link that will lead to more information about the area. Sometimes it pays to plan ahead in case you find yourself "biked out" and need a place to land.

My husband and I had been to Glenn's Café a few years ago. They served a wonderful meal "family style". So we thought it would be great to take our grandson for Sunday dinner after church. We were disappointed to find out they no longer served "family style" and had changed their menu. The food was a bit too fancy for our taste and over priced. But the worst part was, that we had to wait an hour and a half for 2 sandwiches and a hamburger! The fries came late. We did ask to sit outside but wouldn't have if we had known we would be waiting so long. The waitress was friendly and kept our water glasses full. We almost left but were told our food was coming. Ten minutes later we did get served. We were told that a group of ten people arrived and they were understaffed because they usually aren't busy on Sunday (I imagine so). Our grandson was a good sport. We did get a 20% discount, but we will not be returning or recommending this restaurant.

Come on, what does this have to do with riding the Katy Trail? "The food was a bit to fancy for our taste, had to wait and hour and a half for a sandwich and hamburger". Wonder what would have not been to fancy? I believe a totally made up story...

I love fancy sandwiches...

Many stay at the Frederick and eat at Glenn's while riding the trail. Although it looks like these folks were just out for Sunday dinner after church.

I don't understand stuff like this when from the start people set the stage explaining how they were wronged.

You were disappointed that the menu had changed. You could have left if they no longer had what you wanted. No hit, no run, no foul. Simple.

The food was a bit too fancy for your taste. Sandwiches, a hamburger and fries? Really? If they didn't have what you originally wanted on the menu and you thought it was a bit fancy, why not cut and run?

The food was too pricey. You could have left before ordering if you felt you were going over budget. Money management might be good to teach the grandson.

"We had to wait an hour and a half...." Really? Were you held hostage? You had to wait? Or, you chose to wait? Maybe you need to hone in on what is a reasonable time to wait. Perhaps your wait threshold is set too high and your complain threshold is set too low. Maybe you're waiting too long before taking action and are too quick to complaint and blame someone else for your poor choice.

Looks like you had time to wait (because you did) and you got a discount, so the food wasn't too over priced.

I'm not defending Glenn's Cafe. I do though, think that when people are old enough to have grandkids they should be old enough to understand a bit of personal responsibility and that they can often control a situation or event. You are not a marble in a fruit jar spinning out of control at the hand of the master jar spinner. You have choices. If you don't like what is layed out before you, leave. If you you choose to stay when its all so wrong, why complain about? It was your choice....unless in fact they did tie you to the chairs that were bolted to the floor and you really did have to stay and be cursed by the powers that be with such an experience.

I k ow this has been discussed before, but just a quick question when is the water shut off on trail?

Normally the water is turned off on November 1st and turned back on April 1st.

Thanks, MidSouth! I knew we had seen it here before, but couldn't remember, not that I'm getting older!!

Mimi & Papa, do you guys ride the Frisco Trail much? I try to ride it 2-3 days a week.

MidSouth, I usually try to ride it a couple of times a week, then on weekends we may ride tandem on trail.

This is more for toilets but Ray posted it in Nov 2013.

Great news from MO DNR's Facebook page:

You spoke and we listened! We received a suggestion from several trail users that we provide portable toilets at a few of the trailheads where the restrooms have been closed for the winter, and we've done just that. Dutzow, Marthasville, N. Jefferson, Boonville, Sedalia, Windsor, and Clinton trailheads now have portable toilets until March 31. Your fellow trail users thank you for your suggestion!

I stayed here unexpectedly after my back tire stopped holding air (friendly tip: If you get three roofer's nails thru your tire the week before you ride across Missouri, just get a new tire, don't just stick a few dollar bills in there ;)). I had a room booked in Boonville but was up a creek, and decided if I stayed in Rocheport until the morning I could buy a tire from the Trailside Cafe and Bike Rental shop. I called all the B & B's in town, and Mike was the first and only owner to return my call. Not only is the dormitory 100% ideal for a weary cyclist, but they have a workspace set up for cyclists. I explained my plight, and Mike said I could look thru the spares he had, and amazingly, he had a Kenda 700x35, exactly what I needed. So not only was it the favorite night of my trip, also what SAVED my trip, and actually one of the best B&B experiences I've ever had. So don't feel shy about staying there.

Met and rapped at length with you at Pilot Grove trailhead. Was concerned bout you. When I lifted up your bike I was amazed at the weight on your back tires. Having a racing bike caused me to find ways to redistribute the weight like tying, taping tent poles, a rolled tarp, belt looped around and on the front of the handle bars went the tent folded to fit without creating any complications or wind drag. Front panniers or cooler bags in lieu of them for the front tires are ideal and would greatly enhance the ride. Balancing weight load is something that I never concerned myself with before last week. Having to address this creatively looking at every knook and cranny on the bike that I could find a place to stash the stuff helped me realize how much better it is to shift the weight load off the back tires. Hope the rest of your trip went great.