Katy Trail Forum

The Katy Trail is temporarily closed east of Clifton City from mileposts 213.8 to 214.1 while three bridges are being replaced. A detour route on Mt. Moriah Road (which is gravel) is available and signs are posted to direct trail users around the closure. Users will need to exercise caution on the detour and watch for vehicles. Construction is anticipated to be completed by Nov. 30.

Thanks for this information. Mt Moriah Road appears to run parallel to the trail so I'm guessing it doesn't add much/any distance. Do you know how long the closure will last?

Lets see about 15 days in August. 30 in September + 30 in October + 30 in November. That comes to what? Bout 105 days give or take a few for mathematical deviation. Not all months have 30 days ya know Chuck. I just tried to make it easy for ya. New math I know is kinda difficult tho.

Thanks, Dick.

What kind of "gravel" is the detour? I am not great on loose gravel and a little concerned about the detour. Thanks in advance!

OK Anon. Since you were insulted for posting a simple math instruction; interesting that your reply was read and comprehended but not the original posting, I'll take the flak this time. I am not trying to slam you gmbs as I know that even a few feet of deep loose gravel can put you down, but I doubt if three tenths of a mile would be too daunting a task to walk if the gravel were to prove too difficult to ride in.

The gravel detour is about the same as the gravel trail. It is only .3 miles.

We will be leaving our vehicle in Hartsburg for 4 days. Is this a safe area and where would you suggest we leave it? Any info would be appreciated.

We leave our vehicle at the Hartsburg trailhead parking lot for a few days several times a year with no problem. The Hartsburg trailhead is right at the town center.

We are planning a family ride in a few weeks, and will be taking the train from Jeff City back to Sedalia. Can anyone provide details about how accessible the train station is from the Katy Trail Park and Trail head?

Click on Jefferson City or Sedalia on the top of this page and scroll down to the maps and zoom out once or twice and you will see the location of the train station icon in relation to the trail in those cities. Both are an easy ride from the trail heads.

From Jeff City, you are on city streets for a mile or so to the bridge, which has a bike/ped path. From there, it is path or lightly trafficked streets to the trailhead. About 3.5 to 4 miles, total. Easy riding, although there are a couple of hills in JC between the station and the bridge.

Can't tell you about Sedalia, though. Sorry.

Sedalia Train Depot is just a few blocks from the Amtrak Station. Straight and flat.

My sister and I discovered a cool new place (with bathrooms and drinking fountains!) on the trail adjacent to the Greens Bottom Trail Head, Thies Farm. They just opened (I think) but its a great place for a breather, fresh produce, drinks, PIE! and gifty items. They were very welcoming and said they are trail friendly- so if you would prefer a bathroom without the spiders I would check them out!

They also allow trail riders to park in their lot free!

My friend and I have booked a shuttle van from Kansas City to Clinton on Oct 1st. Anyone wanting to share the costs and ride, please let me know. Room for 4 more people. The costs are for the van (not per person). Quoted approximately $185 for van. Call 928 502 1057

Planning to ride the Katy trail ithe last week of September. What kind of weather can we expect? Thanks

I always us a site such as the Farmers Almanac to get recent weather history when planning a trip to a location that I'm not familiar with.

http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/MO/Jefferson%20City/2012-09-25

Obviously, variable...but in my experience some of the prettiest days all year can happen in mid-late September. Good luck.

We will also be riding from Clinton to St Charles the last week in September! Usually beautiful time of year in Missouri then. But mother nature can surprise us. See you out there!

I'm also riding Clinton to St. Charles on Sept 25-27. This will be my 4th time riding this trail, I use accuweather.com and use the app on my phone while on the trail. Very accurate, with a forecast for all locations along the trail. I check it daily for a couple weeks before the ride to track local trends along the trail. It also gives an accurate wind forecast and an hourly forecast for all locations along the trail. It is already giving a forecast for that week. Good luck & hope to see ya on the trail.

Thanks Charles for this tip. Very helpful.

Looks like the trail will be crowded the last week in Sept. I am also riding and a few of the B&B's along the way are already booked!

Our family is planning a 2-day bike trip in September. We are considering leaving from Sedalia, ending in Jeff City and taking the train along with our bikes back to our starting point in Sedalia. Any tips on how easy or not it is to get to the train station would be most helpful. Thanks.

It's easy to get to the train station, except for a hill or two in Jefferson City. Just make your way to the bridge over the river, go around the Capitol, and turn left on Jefferson. It's only about four miles from the N. Jefferson trailhead.

The train has room for 4 normal bikes, and you will need to reserve a space in advance.

I actually did a very similar trip in July, except we did it in reverse...we started in Jeff City, rode to Boonville the first day, then rode to Sedalia the second day and caught Amtrak back to Jeff City.

Nonetheless, both Amtrak stations are easy to bike to (just map them out ahead of time) but the Amtrak station in Jeff City is located by the state capital building. It's probably about a 3 1/2 mile ride from the main Jeff City trailhead (North Jefferson) and includes crossing the river on the bridge to get into Jeff City. There's a spur trail that takes you from the Katy Trail to the bridge and the bridge to Jeff City has a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane which is completely separated from traffic by a barrier, very safe. You then have to ride on the city streets to the capital but there was very little traffic.

I had no trouble making bike reservations using the Amtrak website. I think it's 10 bucks per bike or something like that. We were the only ones boarding with our bikes. We boarded onto the cafe car. We had to carry our bikes onto the train and then we strapped them to the new bike racks which were set up in the cafe car. The Amtrak guys even offered straps to secure the bikes to the rack.

I hope that helps you plan your trip.

Thanks - this is helpful. We have small children, and have access to other arrangements to avoid having them on any city streets. Thanks for the input.

Does anyone walk/bike on the MKT trail between scott and flatbranch park at night? In a group it doesn't seem like it would be that unsafe? anyone had experience with this?

I've never had any problems

Rachell, I've ridden the entire MKT many times and it has many isolated areas which challenge safety. I would suggest running, walking, biking during high traffic times and with partners and groups if possible. It does have some emergency call boxes too. Not sure if it is patrolled.

I am planning on doing another full Katy ride in late September, however this will be my first one alone. I would like my "less fortunate" friends to be able to track my progress on a website of some kind, without having to develop my own page. Does anyone have a suggestion for an Android app and corresponding website on which they can check my progress? Thx.

To share your distances and locations, I'd recommend an app called MapMyRide. It's GPS enabled, so it tracks location, speed, distance, and displays your day's travel on a map. At the end of your daily ride, when you save your trip, it gives you options to post the info on social media sites like Facebook. If you save your trip as "public", other people can see the details (location, distance, map image) at the MapMyRide website.

However, be aware that there might be some sections of the trail where your smartphone cannot get a data signal. In those locations (mostly remote), your app will not be able to save the trip info.

Thanks, Ray, I use MapMyRide all the time, but I forgot about the Public option. I had been using Instamapper, but that shut down late last year. It was simple but worked.

Ray.. You are the best...

You can also set up a journal on Crazy Guy On A Bike if you want to keep a narrative of your adventures. You can update it from a phone.

I have used the free "Real Time GPS" Android app from greenalp.com. It works pretty well and I can set the update interval which is nice. You just add "friends" on the greenalp webpage and they can track your progress. It's amazing how far the technology has come in the last few years. Like Ray said, though, I have found some spots on the Katy where there is little or no data service on Verizon. I actually kind of like that. It's nice to get away from the instant work email updates once in a while!

It's 6 years and $60M away, but it will be nice to be able to bike into Washington from Dutzow or Marthasville. The current bridge is scary even to drive across in a car. Link:Washington MO River Bridge, with bike/ped connection, officially added to regional funding plan

I am a Washington native and the bike lane can't come fast enough. As you may know the Washington City Council in 1995 I believe had a chance for a grant to put the bike lane on but refused. It may be the single dumbest move they ever made.

Regardless they will have now and it will transform biking in the area. I have been quietly lobbying for a connection east toward Augusta, and I think eventually this will happen. MoDOT is widening the shoulders on 47 north toward Dutzow, which is great, but the Augusta Bottom Road connection to the east shortens the trip and is just a "natural" for westbound Katy traffic heading into Washington.

Long story but yes, Washington will be a hub of Katy traffic once the bike lane is through. Washington to Chesterfield will be only 30-35 miles. The 40-64 crossing at Chesterfield is also getting a bike lane as you may know.

Good times ahead for St. Louis area biking!

That will be totally awesome. That will create a safe gateway to several of the ACA trails across the country. Can't happen fast enough.

I'm heading west on the Katy early October and looking for camping suggestions near Jeff City and close to the trail. Are there any options that don't require crossing the bridge (ie: north of the river)? Is there a bike path on the bridge if I want to go into Jeff City?

I suggest you think about Hartsburg (Volunteer Park, plus food options) or Tebbetts (hostel) instead: Much better options there.

Yes the bridge has a bike path. From the southern end of the bridge it is an easy ride to Clif Manor B&B as well as a few hotels just south of the capital building if those were an option over camping for a night.

Thanks for the feedback! cgb

I believe there are a few primitive camping sites at the Noren river access just west of the bridge. The same route that you would take to cross the bridge into JC goes right by the access.

What are some of the more scenic (and shaded) sections of trail, 5-10 miles in length?

The area on both sides of Rocheport is beautiful. Heading toward Boonville, there is a cool train tunnel, as well as some interesting walking paths right by that. (Even if you decide to go the other direction, the tunnel is very close by the town and not to be missed.) If you continue in that direction and go farther toward Boonville, there is less shade and more farm land on either side. Heading toward Columbia, I think there is at least one cave and again some beautiful shaded areas right along the Missouri river. Beautiful riding!

What are your recommendations for lodging in Sedala, Boonville & Hartsburg. Thanks

Hotel Bothwell-couple blocks from the depot
Hotel Frederick-right on the trail at the bridge
Hartsburg Inn-right on the trail

The High Street Victorian B&B in Boonville is also a wonderful choice for the Katy Trail! We are just a few steps from the trail. Check out our website.

Hotel Bothwell is a unique experience, so don't miss it. They are very bike-friendly and yet you get an historic experience to boot.

We've stayed several times at the Hotel Frederick in Boonville and have always enjoyed it. We've also stayed at the Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn Express just off the trail north of I-70. The Frederick has secure indoor bike parking and at the Comfort Inn, the bikes always go in the room with us.

As Don mentioned, the Bothwell is also a good experience in Sedalia. It is close to the trail as well as a grocery store and a few restaurants.