Katy Trail Forum

Thinking about taking a trip across the Katy Trail and back this summer. I live in Indiana so I need long term parking options. I was thinking of parking at the St. Louis Airport and taking a cab to the trail head. Any thoughts? Also, do I need to make reservations for accommodations, or can I just hop on and get a room when I am ready to stop for the day? Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

If your trip is during the summer months, I would do a little more planning on where you plan to stay. Some of the towns have limited accommodations and are likely to be booked up, especially on weekends. You shouldn't have any problems leaving your vehicle at the St. Charles trail head for the week.

Definitly park in St. Charles across from the trail. No charge!

I agree that the St. Charles parking is a good idea.

I would definitely have reservations. I know it makes the trip a little less "spontaneous" but it beats the heck out of not having a bed (if you're not carrying camping supplies).

I always have reservations when I am going end-to-end.

Enjoy!

Definitely make reservations. I did West to East and back last September. I did 50/50 camping, B&B/hotel. Places I stayed and recommend: Lococo House I or II in St. Charles; Rendlemann Home B&B in Bluffton; Myer's Hilltop Farm B&B (Hermann); Bothwell Hotel in Sedalia; USA Inn in Clinton.

Parking at St. Charles is abundant. No worries. Really.

If you don't have reservations at B&B's or cabins, bring a tent, you'll need it.

You need to let the St Charles Police know you will be parking long term. They patrol the parking lots. This has been stated in another discussion on this forum.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a breakfast place near Klondike park? We can drive or ride.

Dottys will be open this weekend regular hours and also Monday if it doesn;t rain, with limited menu and limited staff, but would like to be there for you because as far as I know no one else is open. Hope to see you at Dottys!

need help where does one camp past Augusta-Klondike Park? there is no place around St.Charles.I dont have the money for a room..Tent camping..

The only place I know of is 370 lakeside park. It's 6 miles from St Charles via back road and trail.

Is there any place to legitimately camp in a tent near St. Charles? Sundermeier's is RV camping only.

I don't know. There is no place that I have found yet. I just started planing my trip starting on May 09 in Clinton. I cant find anyplace to camp near St. Charles.

In the past, to finish the trail, I have done a 27 mile (one way) out and back from Klondike Park, a nice campground at Augusta. It is a nice ride to the St. Charles riverfront area, but now, on to Machens to the end would be a pretty long out and back ride.

Klondike is at MM64 with Machens at MM29, that is a 70 mile round trip. I don't know of another place that you could officially camp along the trail, but if you are desperate, I would call the City of St. Charles Parks and Rec department to see if they had any suggestions.

Since you're coming from Indpls, are you looking for a place to camp then ride the next day? Or do you want to look around St Charles? The place I've stayed is the KOA Kampground in Granite City, IL. (618-931-5160) The price is $25 for a single tent and you're camping on grass. The campground is in an industrial area but is nice place. Take IL Hwy 3 south which is the last exit before you cross the Mississippi River. Call them for directions. I've stayed there five times before riding the Katy or seeing my son.

Brett Dufur's Katy Trail guidebook has tent camping at Sundermeier. Give them a call
(800) 929-0832 or (636) 940-0111 www.gocampingamerica.com/sundermeier

5/17/2013 Just spoke to Sundermeier and was told... NO TENT CAMPING AND NO I DONT KNOW WHERE YOU CAN CAMP NEAR HERE.

Not exactly helpfull. I thought the Katy Trail was bike friendly, why in the world is Sundermeir even listed as an option for camping. I've not yet seen someone pulling a RV with a bike....

There is a new 370 lakeside park in St. Peters MO that has tent camping. It's not on the Katy but you could get there by back road and trail it looks like. It's about 6 miles from St. Charles

I've never seen bikes on the back of RV's but maybe some people with big campers ride bikes too.

I thought the corn was tall in Iowa but it was barely up last weekend.

I want to bike the Katy Trail from Creve Coeur park to Augusta, spend the night in Augusta, and then bike back to Creve Coeur park. However, the park does not allow overnight parking. Any suggestions for a safe place to park nearby?

crave coeur airport?

I'll be walking the trail. What is the distance from the trail to Klondike Park? Thanks!

It is just a short (200 yards?) paved path up a STEEP hill to get to the camping area of Klondike. It is further to get to the scenic overlook and other park amenities.

Thanks Dave..very helpful! Now, just wondering if anyone has any favorites or suggestions on tent sites? (I have a choice between 1-3 or 8-10, which look to be right off the trail) Thanks again.

I cannot recall which site is which, but all those are fine. 1-3 may be closest to the showerhouse, while the others are closer to the spur to the Katy (but all are in the same nrighborhood).

Yes, 1-3 are a little closer to the shower house and 8-10 are a little more private. They are all actually pretty close together.

There are B (basic) and P (primative) 1-3 so be sure you are looking at the right one. B are the ones by the showers and Katy trail.

Just wandering what snakes normally do when you bike over them? Normally I try to avoid them but ran over a black snake the other night, I didn't look back to see how he reacted. I know how I reacted :)

Well, don't stick around long enough to see a recation. Like any living thing, when attacked, they will attempt to defend; thus bite you.

If you were walking, jogging or riding a bike slowly, there is a distinct possibility that you would get bit. If the snake has the ability to coil a bit and launch itself, it can travel vry quickly for a few feet. Of course, having a bike tire parked in the middle of it's back will limit that distance a bit (you hope).

Rule of thumb, stay clear. Should you get bitten, relax and call for help. Don't do anything to make your blood flow faster. You'll live through any bite, but you won't be terribly comfortable for a while.

Normally, you'll break its' back; they'll usually manage to crawl off but die later. The chances of getting bitten by a snake as you run over it are pretty small. Unless it's a huge snake, they can *NOT* strike "a few feet".

I've often wondered the same thing!

when walking the trail and you see a snake not far away and not wanting to move, what should you do???? should you throw a rock and hope it moves out of your way??

Just walk around it, and let it be. No need to be poking it or throwing anything at it.

When I was here last week I saw that the place was open at 3pm, not 11am on Tuesday-Thursday. It was on their front door, unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it

Did you get the name of this place?

It's on the front door. In the missing photo.

just passed through Saturday,didnt go to the market but stopped at the bar..Cheese burgers are to die for,best i have ever had.They filled our water bottles for free. will always stop at the bar and grill thanks for the great food and service

also there phone # is 573-676=3119

Definitely a much needed food and water oasis in that part of the trail from Hermann to Jeff City.

I was so happy to see the bar and grill after biking most of the day. Food was good and the owner was friendly

Just went on 5 day ride (END TO END) of KATY with Todd and friends. Todd has his act together. Knows the trail well.

Spaced out the SAG stops very well. Did not have one one bad moment on the trail with Todd.

His rental bikes were FIJI cross-towns which was an excellent choose for this style of riding.

After hours with Todd and crew was just as good.
One would be foolish to use any other bike shop on the KATY trail.

My wife and I were running this morning from the Providence entrance toward Stadium Blvd in Columbia. We both work in law enforcement, so don't take what I'm saying lightly, we know what we're talking about. There was a white male in his 40's with shoulder length brown hair and a brown/gray mustache acting very suspicious. We first noticed him when we saw him staring at a female running with a stroller and two small children. I feel confident that had we not intervened, she and her children would have been his victims. This guy is definitely a predator. Keep your head up and eyes open when you're on the trail. Make sure you have your cell phone and be prepared to report anything or anyone suspicious.

Good Advice and thanks for the heads up Aaron.

On a related note. In the last couple weeks, a killer, who recently killed two women in the KC area and then committed suicide in jail had made a confession to investigators that he had ambushed a woman on the KT and drug her into the woods along the trail where he raped and killed her. To date, there have been no matches made to any missing persons, nor has there been any remains located that would match this confession. But, it does help to highlight that we need to keep our eyes and ears open and look after one another while riding/jogging/walking along the wonderful KT.

PS Aaron- I too work in the "blue industry".

It's important also to know where you are in the event you have trouble and to know who to call.

I carry emergency numbers to call by the county that I'm in. And I most always know how far I am from the next town or landmark.

Aarons suspect was seen on the MKT Spur well inside Columbia and not on the Katy Trail. That's not to say that a similar suspicious person couldn't be seen on the Katy, but the information is a bit missleading.

Update: The police are familiar with this guy and he is a long time resident of the city. That means, he's not going anywhere, so be alert when on the MKT.

has there been any kind of trouble like this closer to the St. Louis, Augusta, Marthasville portion of the trail. Need to hear any suspisious activity as a group of middle aged people are planning on a walk in that area...

Drove up to Hartsburg Friday afternoon and spent the night at the Katyrest Caboose, neat and clean little place for the night. Ate at the Hartsburg Grand, a little pricey but the food is magnificent! In the morning we had our usual great breakfast at Dotty's Cafe. The Big Muddy and The Bistro apparently have closed. The Hichin Post is still open for beer and pizza. Rode to Rocheport Saturday. The winds were fierce and it looked nasty at times but it never rained on us. Spent Saturday night at the Katy Trail Bed & Bikefast. We have stayed here several times and it is always clean and well stocked with snacks and continental breakfast items. Had dinner at the Rocheport General Store. The food is always decent, but the music is always way too loud for a small place, so we never stay long. On Sunday morning we traveled back to Hartsburg. The weather was beautiful and the trail is in great shape. There are lots of geese along the bluffs east of Rocheport for amusement and photo ops. Got back to Hartsburg in time to have a great roast beef dinner at Dotty's before loading up for home.

MidSouth, I know you are an experienced KT rider. I do not live around the KT but when I have only a few days, I do what you have reported and ride this section of the KT (Boonville-Jeff City) since it has the best of everything to offer on the KT. Also when newbies ask which section to try out first I always suggest this section. I will be back in May definitely.

This is also my favorite portion of the trail, but in all honesty, it's the only portion I have done. I really like the area from Rocheport over to Hartsburg, as far as scenery goes, it pleases me the most.

We ate at the Hartsburg Grand when we were out there last October. I loved their food. Home made chicken and mushroom soup. If anyone from the Grand reads this, I will be back out there Memorial Day weekend for Pedaler's Jamboree and would love some of that soup Sunday!

I ride all the sections and usually camp if going alone. When the wife wants a weekend getaway this is the section she loves to do. This will be our third year to ride the Pedaler's Jamboree also.

We will also be there over Memorial Day Weekend. I have never eaten at the Grand, but I saw someone mention that there is outside seating that is pet friendly, and since we will have our little dog with us, I would love to give it a try.

This is a report I emailed to a friend who wants to ride the Katy this year. I am posting it here for those who are lurking, but may want the information themselves.


There is a guidebook available. The author is in the process of revising it for the 10th edition and it would be available in about June. Info on the Katy Trail website. http://www.bikekatytrail.com/default.aspx I used the 9th edition and the website for all planning info, then I called each place at which I planned to stay or eat to make sure it was open and get the hours of operation. I read all the comments below the info on each of these places on the web site to see what the folks thought about them. There was one place that had lots of negative comments, but we were pleasantly surprised when we ate lunch there.

We drove to St. Charles and the Lococo House B&B. Leo and Rhona Lococo have a shuttle service we could use, if we stayed at their B&B. I booked them for the end of the ride and they took us to Clinton the day before we started.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Clinton. About a 1.5 ride to the trailhead. Total miles that day 41.66 to Sedalia and the Hotel Bothwell. We ate lunch at Raymond's in Windsor and had beers and ate dinner at the hotel. Very nice lady running the bar. It rained several hours in the morning, which made the crushed limestone kind of soft, about a gear or 2 lower. The first 2 days are a little hilly, not nearly as much as the GAP, but we had a support wagon on that one.

Next morning, we spent some money at a trail depot in Sedalia, then rode to Boonville's Holiday Inn Express. There was a cutoff a couple miles short of town that we took to the hotel. Total miles 35.89. We took a taxi to town and ate at Glenn's Cafe at the Hotel Frederick, walked to the casino and took their shuttle back to hotel. We stopped in Pilot Grove for lunch at Becky's Burgers and Cones. We stopped mid morning for Ed to make some hot water for