Katy Trail Forum

Is there a bike trail from the KT to the Amtrak at Washington?

No bike trail from Katy to Washington.

Take the Katy to Augusta Bottoms Road. Take Augusta Bottoms for a couple miles and this will take you to Hwy 47, a short ride on the shoulder you will find a bike path that will take you under the road/bridge and to a separated bike lane on the bridge. After you get off the bridge take a right to downtown area and the Amtrak station.
Augusta Bottoms is the road crossing right before or after Dutzow depending on which direction you are travelling. It starts out paved but turns to gravel usually it is not rough riding.

You can also take Hwy94 on the shoulder from Dutzow to Hwy47 on to the bridge into Washington, busy roads with fast moving traffic but doable.

We found the Augusta Bottom road very dangerous. We rode it from Washington to the Katy at about 4 pm. We were passed by about 30 cars from both directions, including large trucks. All kicked up dust, making it impossible for the next car to see us.

Augusta Bottoms Road is always a low point on the Katy journey for us. It's got sizable gravel chunks, like mini boulders in places, that cause my bike wheels to slip. The road is also a bit slanty, and as others mentioned, full of gigantic trucks with no regard for cyclists.

I might take my chances on the shoulder of the main highway from Dutzow Deli in towards Washington next time around. It's a longer duration to be on the road, but it might not be as white knuckle.

HI All, just finished up the trail. Some thoughts on the highs and lows. I'd look at carrying a high volume mini pump and don't depend on the trailheads as most of the trailhead pumps were patched or broken. Loved the trail from Clinton to about Marthasville and then after that it became more urban/suburban with less friendly riders. Yes. there were bear out there, but not an issue. Would not recommend the Baymont Hotel in Jefferson City for the price-too far out of the way off the trail, across a busy highway and backed up to a sketchy neighborhood. Would choose something closer to the trail head-an airbnb or even Capital Hotel, but that area clears out after the state workers go home at 4pm. It's isolated. Even the desk clerk said he would not walk around the neighborhood after dark-especially riding as a woman alone. Red Wheel bike shop was just fantastic. Joey's Birdhouse was wonderful and the market was an easy walk on the spur trail or cutting across the Highway embankment through the grass. Hotel Frederik was not great. Beautiful restoration, but-too loud all night long-loud mechanicals and traffic-trucks outside windows all night long, even with earplugs. Broken air pumps. Only the Bothwell had a decent air pump. Chatted up some other riders on the shuttle ride to Clinton and stayed in touch on the trail, so riding alone was not an issue. Met lots of international riders heading west-great adventurers. Katy Turner Hostel Shelter was a fun place to chat with others and order food. KT Caboose had the best healthy food on trail and John is a kind, funny owner who is a friend to one and all. Offers camping for $10/night in the side meadow with ice cream. Lovely place. I dropped my bags in my car at St. Charles and did the 6 miles to Machens out and back to finish up. I must have forgotten to lock my car, so when I came back, someone had rifled through my glove compartment and console looking for money. Nothing stolen as I had nothing of value, and it was my fault for being tired on a 50 mile day and not remembering to hit the right button, but still, be aware. St. Charles is not just the safe little small town. There are druggies and homeless about looking for easy cash, floating through Frontier Park. But only saw 2 homeless on the trail itself. Overall, a good trip for a solo female rider. Thanks for all the info. here!

Haha…you MUST have been tired…St. Charles to Machens is just under 13 miles…each way. ;-)

Glad you had a nice, safe ride. And wow, a bear sighting? I lived next to the trail for years and have ridden all of it east of Boonville an awful lot, and have never seen a bear or even a large raccoon that resembled a bear. :-) Paddled the MR340 x4 too…no bears along the river bank from KC to St. Charles (could have been there at night). You are lucky! Where did you see it? I’ll be riding end to end in Sept and maybe bears are more common in the first 80 miles or so…?

Sorry, bears intrigue me. I’d love to have the same experience you did. Thanks for the detailed report.

Bear, near Tebbets, east of the shelter on trail. Not my video or sighting, but see the FB group. I heard, but didn't see it, but it was big, on the trail. That out and back from Machens is only 6 miles(12 total), but I came from west of Marthasville that morning, stopped at my car in St. Charles, to drop panniers and then rode the out and back to Machens which was really lovely, quiet and isolated. Big fields covered with mist at sunrise. Ride early, ride late to see how beautiful the colors and perspectives are at different times of day. Forgot to mention from Clinton to about Jeff City, wild roses were in bloom lining the trail. From about Jeff City to St. Charles it was wild honeysuckle another great scent. Lots of wildflowers in bloom and BIRDS-the Indigo Bunting was iridescent blue. I was so nervous about riding this trail alone, but made friends along the way and every single person was kind and friendly. You will be safe. It's really a gem of a trail and I wish we had more like this across the country. What a great legacy from the Edward & Pat Jones family to the cycling world.

a few years ago on the news they showed black bears kncking over trash cans in a saint louis suberb [chesterfeid] wth in afew miles of the trail.

Oh, man, I want to do the MR340.

Bike pump not working: we had a flat in Washington, inflated partially with a hand pump, then couldn’t get the bike bump at this trailhead to work. We think the valve/tip needs to be replaced?

Wonderful experience at Parsons B&B. Norm is the quintessential host. He went the extra mile to make our stay good. The house is comfortable and we did our laundry. Thanks Norm!

Man, the Yellow Fin tuna was amazing! Best dinner on the Katy, I think. And the homemade desserts were awesome.

Wanted to post so there would be something from 2023: I agree with everything RJ Rider says below. Very comfortable place to stay, and they had a shed for bike storage. Walking distance to our favorite places to eat.

We stopped for some pizza. Friendly service. We’ll come back for sure.

2nd time I’ve had lunch here. Friendly service. Try the pulled
Pork and fries.

i'm planning a ride from st charles, to boonville over the course of two days, but now i'm second guessing making the distance and it actually being enjoyable with my buddies.

i have some in shape but not necessarily long distance bikers, 3 other guys, late 30s, am i crazy to think with full days of riding we'll get there, roughly 75 miles a day or some variation of that?

i have my first hotel in st. charles booked and was just going to play it by ear for the later stays but it seems like these places along the way aren't really large hotels or anything, should i scale things back and prebook lodging? i just am having a hard time gauging distance, we're renting jamis renegade bikes from bike stop cafe in st. charles

You might want to look at the Turner Shelter in Tebbetts or hotels in Jefferson City as your approximate midpoint overnight stay.

75 miles is a long, long day on the Katy unless you are in good shape and have nice weather. Even 50 miles might be pushing it for a lot of people.

Also your not leaving any time for stopping, enjoying the sights, possible break downs and such. I'm planning on a week or more so I can take in all the things to do and enjoy the ride.

Also when are you planning your ride? A lot of the lodgings in that section (wine country) have 2 night minimums(Joey’s Birdhouse does not) or they fill up early for September and October making it difficult to find a last minute place. The important thing is to have fun!!

Hi, Rob. The gravel is a great surface, but it does take a lot more energy than road. Riding 75 miles per day on gravel is more like 110 on a road bike on road. Ask your pals if that's what they want to sign up for. I guess if you are doing St Charles to Boonville, and it's just two days, energetic 30-somethings might not struggle too much with that.

You are right about the places on the trail being smaller and getting booked up. I would definitely prebook, or camp.

If you extend it to a three day trip, the distances suddenly become much more manageable.

Either way, you will have a great time and make great memories.

Are there any detours along the trail at this time? It doesn't appear that water/flooding is an issue along the trail but didn't know about any other issue the trail might have. Looking to ride all 239 miles on Saturday so I'm hoping to not find any surprises. Thanks for any input on conditions.

We are planning a June trip and I just saw this:

https://mostateparks.com/page/84206/katy-trail-state-park-advisory-map

Closed between MM 117 and 118 with no recommended detours. Anyone have any ideas?

Highway 94 parallels the Katy and could be an option if traffic allowed.

Dropping down to Hwy 94 is probably the only option for the short detour. The DNR just can’t recommend it due to legal liability issues for the traffic on the highway with blind curves and hills.

Dropping down to Hwy 94 is probably the only option for the short detour. The DNR just can’t recommend it due to legal liability issues for the traffic on the highway with blind curves and hills.

AJ I don’t see that trail closure east of Rocheport MM 117-118. Could you have looked at an older advisory? There were some brief closures last year during portions of the I-70 bridge replacement, which isn’t done yet, but the trail appears to be open.

Eric, it was marked there yesterday when I looked. It was noted as grading work. Must have been out there working on minor rough spots and finished up.

Typically I can stop at camp sites with or without hookup in my RV. But what about just parking at trailheads? Is that allowed for just one night on the Katy Trail? I just have a 4x4 smaller Class B van, just boondock one night? Would I contact local police? Are the trail heads pretty safe in the towns?

The trailheads are part of the Katy Trail State Park which is only open from sunrise to sunset so technically there would be no overnight parking at the trailheads. A lot of the towns along the trail have city parks that allow camping. Use the town services feature of this site for more info.

Jim, from reading many posts including Ray the magician websmaster I see several riders leave there cars at trailheads for many days. I would contact local officials, Myself parking overnight buttoned up isn't violating dusk to dawn requirements. Foul for "sawing sawdust"

From the Missouri DNR State Parks website:

Missouri State Parks does not provide camping along Katy Trail State Park. Camping is available at public and privately owned campgrounds adjacent to the trail. Click here for some options.

EXTENDED PARKING
If leaving a vehicle for an extended period of time at one of the trailheads or parking lots, contact the Katy Trail State Park office at 573-449-7402 and provide staff with the vehicle make, model and license plate number as well as contact information. Also include length of stay.

The "click here" link on the website directs to a list of available city parks, private campgrounds similar to what Jim mentioned.

Has anyone ever bailed out on the Katy due to days of bad weather or repeated mechanical/tire failures? Looking at my vacation time this month and there is a lot of Thunderstorms, rain and of course tornadoes. Not to be a total pessimist, but did you just shuttle out or Amtrak out or..? How did you manager? Trying to figure out plan B or C!
Thanks

If you had a need to bail on the ride the best option would probably be a shuttle nearby. Amtrack stations are spaced along the route and possible but making a reservation for your bike might take a few days. Barring a major mechanical or medical issues you will finish the route. My first night was spent under a large covered picnic shelter with tornado warning sirens blaring at 3 am and sideways rain soaking me but things improved and I finished the route

Riding next week!

Wider than a road bike. Somewhere in the 40s is fine. Pressure/PSI is negotiable, a little softer than what you would have on pavement. Head on up to Cycle City and those guys will offer good advice for free. If you need tires I have Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour tires for their flat protective properties. A YouTube guy named Ryan Van Duzer has a great channel and I enjoy his many videos. He and a former girlfriend rode across the USA on those tires and neither got any flats. They may not be able to get them within a week. I ordered mine because their vendor had my size on back order. I ordered and received quick from bike tires direct.

I rode schwable marathon 700x40 last summer then did C&O/Gap on Kenda Kontacts 700x33. Both were fine. If I had to choose I’d go narrower because they felt a little faster and really didn’t beat me up. I saw everything from 2.5 inch mtb to 25mm road tires along the way

Thank you both, much appreciated!

I rode schwable marathon 700x40 last summer then did C&O/Gap on Kenda Kontacts 700x33. Both were fine. If I had to choose I’d go narrower because they felt a little faster and really didn’t beat me up. I saw everything from 2.5 inch mtb to 25mm road tires along the way

Hi all-

Just wondering if any KT forum readers have experience with riding the full length or at least long sections on a fat bike (with 4”+ tires)…? Willing to share any ride stories?

Planning on a W-E run mid September on a Salsa Beargrease (carbon fat bike). I’ve ridden most of the KT on a MTB but tires were a “skinny” 2.2”. LOL. Would feel like a time trial bike now…

Trip is a bit aggressive in the general sense; end to end in 3.5 days. Tail wind would be nice. ?? Don’t need lodging recommendations since I’m pretty familiar with most of the trail, but I really haven’t seen anything posted here or on YouTube that relates to riding the trail decked out as a loaded bikepacking fattie. Should be smooth and relatively slow….

Many thanks. See you out there.

Bazza

Hello!~

My husband and I have MANY miles on Katy Trail riding our Fattys; his is 5" width tires, mine are 4". We have ridden in the snow on Katy with them many miles too.

It is NOT uncommon to see other Fattys out here, packing or not, some loaded as loaded can be, and most WITHOUT battery assists.

If you are used to riding them, you will not have too much trouble....other than flats. Count on flats and bring tubes, you are not likely to find any for sale near by.

I have ridden the entire Michelson Trail in SD (quite a grade, much more than Katy) on my Fatty with no problems at all.

Marna

Has anyone stayed at the Baymont in Jeff city? I'm not seeing it listed on the trip planner guide when I put in Jeff City. Thanks!

Yes. It was good.

We stayed there a few years ago. It was fine, and people were bike friendly. You do have to be comfortable riding in the city a bit. Just getting there is a little tricky, and then if you ride out for dinner, you will be on city streets.
Unfortunately it's pretty hard to find a place to stay in Jefferson City. Many B&Bs want 2 day minimum, if my memory serves me correctly.

I mean, no matter what, you have to get ice cream at Central Dairy, and the Baymont isn't far from there. :)

I have ridden on the streets in Jeff City a couple of times, and it's been like a ghost town both times. A little hilly for this flatlands guy though. :)

I definitely agree about Central Dairy

We're staying at the Baymont now. It's a thumbs up hotel
The room is newly renovated, clean and The bed is ucomfy. Really good Mexican restaurant 3 min walk away!

Sorry for the typo
Beds are very comfortable!!

We arrive at Union Station and are looking for a recommended bicycle friendly route from there to the trailhead at the Truman Sports Complex.

google maps will show you the low traffic side streets most likely end up on the brush creek bike trail[take statium road to raytown road] that will take you close to gate 5 north lot of truman sports complex go thru gate go between statiums rock creek trail on soth end of statium easy ride.

Yes! Many people don't know that there now is a very good bicycle route from Union Station to the Rock Island Trail at the Stadium Complex. I will try and prepare a Google Map link for you, but in general the route goes from Union Station a few blocks east along 22nd Street to the newly extended Gilham Road cycletrack, south on the cycletrack to the Brush Creek Trail system, east on that trail where you eventually cross Brush Creek and transfer over to the Blue River Trail, and when that finally ends, you have a couple miles of street riding along Stadium Drive and Raytown Road until you get into the Stadium Complex and hop on the Rock Island Trail. Union Station is located in a valley, so you get to enjoy a big hill right away as you head south on the Gilham Road cycletrack, but after that first big hill the riding is not bad at all. I will mention that much of the Gilham Road cycletrack is new so you will have to zoom into street view on Google Maps to see and understand what it looks like.

Here is a Google Map link of the bike route. You will notice that the line for the Gilham Road cycletrack is not perfect because Google Maps won't let you draw riding the wrong way in traffic...and that is what a cycletrack looks like because both cycletrack bike lanes are striped and "coned off" in the northbound direction.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1OYIjOfANRA58pfcJo0mvI6x4JFZ7fT0&usp=sharing


I will mention that the Rock Island Trail has an 8 mile gap between Lee's Summit and Pleasant Hill and there are about 4-5 pretty good bike routes onstreet to get through that gap. It just depends what kind of riding you like: two lane roads with light traffic, but no shoulders, weaving through residential neighborhoods and linking up multiple sidewalk trails, or just the shortest route and you can deal with traffic.

I saw this posted on Facebook tonight. I reviewed the route and don’t see any issues. You might consider riding over to the Country Club Plaza to see it (arts, shops, food, architecture)
If you’re on Facebook I suggest joining the very large private group Fans of the Katy Trail for extensive posts, support, reviews and helpful speedy advice.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41339606?fbclid=IwAR0j-NId0x7Elo5qUU1KhgJvaysX5f1C8Tk_LgXHHN8KOjqyZ6c0caywQew

also make sure the royals arnt playing parking lot people might give you a hard time

Wow, thank you all for your suggestions! We had researched a number of possible routes but really appreciate the local input. We start out on Monday morning from KC and will ride back to Mentor.

Hi All, Can you get food at Joey's birdhouse in McKittrick or do you have to bike into Hermann? Thank you

You could ride in to Hermann, but it's quite a jaunt for dinner. You have the option of walking across the cornfield - well, you can probably walk around the field - to the little market and find something to eat. It wont be your most memorable meal, but you wont starve.

Loutre Market is a pretty popular place for people to eat. Check them out on Google Maps. Call them to see if they will be open when you are there.