Katy Trail Forum

I’m planning on riding KT trail Sep 29-Oct 2 from Rocheport to St Charles. I plan to stop through Hermann on Saturday Oct 1. Does anyone know if Hermann is having Oktoberfest this year? I can’t find any websites that confirm the event is on for 2022 or show a schedule.

https://www.funtober.com/fest/hermann-oktoberfest/

Thanks Bill..
I find it strange that the actual website maintained by the town doesn’t mention any Oktoberfest plans despite showing other planned events for the rest of the year. In previous years, they posted a detailed list of events, contests, bands etc during Oktoberfest but I couldn’t find that either. This makes me think it’s been cancelled. I hope not, as I was looking forward to the festival when I pass through on the KT trail in early October.

https://visithermann.com/festivals-events/?utm_source=Madden&utm_medium=GoogleCPC&utm_campaign=Festivals&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7L2ZxdT2-QIVn21vBB3QcgdGEAAYASAAEgJMdvD_BwE

When it's October in Hermann, it's Octoberfest. No worries. The town will be full of drunk partying revelers all month.

“Prost!”. I’ll bring my training wheels so I’ll be able to ride out to the next town. Thanks for the confirmation!

What are some of my options for camping in or around Jeff City, either pay or Stealth camping. If I pay I want electricity? And a tent site or hammock site?

Recently stayed at the Grand Victorian Manor in Boonville, While there we biked to downtown Columbia and back, and also to Pilot Grove and back. The detour at Salt Creek is easy. The trail has a lot of cracks and fissures due to the hot dry weather, but they are marked with orange paint. The Grand Victorian Manor is only one block off the trail on High Street. Accommodations are first class. Linda and Ken are great hosts and the breakfasts were fantastic.

https://boonvilleluxurylodging.com/grand-victorian-manor/

Also a visit to Warm Springs Ranch to see the Clydesdales is a must.

https://www.warmspringsranch.com/

Our group stopped there for lunch today. It was wonderful. Best lunch we had on trail. Sandwiches made to order. John even picked the basil from his garden as he made our sandwiches. The caprese wrap was great. Everyone loved their sandwiches. John also filled our water bottles.

I camped there heading east and stopped in for a smoothie heading west. John is a super host and makes great smoothies. Very convenient, being Located right on the trail. I highly recommend here If you are looking for a place camp for the night. (Hot showers are included!) or just stop in on you way through for a healthy meal. It’s a great place!

hey there friends. I am planning a ride from boonville to st charles. Is there a place to park in Boonville over night... for a few days?

I'd try to arrange that with whatever place you are staying in at Boonville at the beginning/end of your trip. Most places are used to stuff like that.

Menu and hours?

I am doing an end to end to end on the Katy starting next week and was curious when the Katy/RI loop would be completed. I pulled up the Missouri Rock Island Fact sheet and it hasn't been updated since 2019. Has any progress been made? Is there an estimated completion date? Any news at all?

Nothing much has changed since 2019. Jackson County has a section that goes from KC Royals/Chiefs stadiums to Lee's Summit (about 13 miles) with a nice lighted tunnel. Then there is a gap (the Greenwood Gap) of about 6 miles that is still needing to be completed. From Pleasant Hill to Windsor, nothing has changed except that the trail is getting more packed down (which is nice).

As far as the rest of the Rock Island, the only change since 2019 is that the State of Missouri (Dept Natural Resources) now owns it. Last year, the draft state budget had appropriations to start developing the trail, but it got nixed at the last minute. Hopefully it can get back into the next budget cycle. Even if they only did 20 miles at a time, it would be a big deal to get the momentum going.

Debating stopping here a night or two on my out and back. Does anyone know if they allow small woodfire stoves at this park? Thanks in advance

I'm not sure. If not there, then maybe down at the park that's a little bit south, at the corner of S Bush Landing Road and River Road. I can't tell if they have grills or not, but it looks like they might.

Is it okay to park a pop-up camper at Volunteer Park in Hartsburg? We’re the size of a pick-up, not large. Where would be a good place to charge the battery on my husband’s bike? It takes about 3 hours. Thanks in advance.

I found a photo that says Tent Camping Only. I'll put the links in the next post. The forum is picky about links.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6948548,-92.3100092,3a,41.1y,91.47h,90.3t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMHJ4W-Tz80h3Tj7sIVif2Gaddmc0MsYsBE9ZNK!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMHJ4W-Tz80h3Tj7sIVif2Gaddmc0MsYsBE9ZNK%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya148.18263-ro0-fo100!7i4608!8i2304?hl=en

I understand the prevailing winds are west to east, but for the past several weeks and looking ahead up through labor day, the wind has been east to west. Is this common this time of year? I was planning on riding from KC to STL starting Sept 7. But now I am starting to wonder if I should do the opposite direction? Thoughts from those who are Missouri residents?

Two years ago, my wife and I did the Katy in mid-September. The winds were out of the east that week, which I found unusual. I've done the Katy 8 times in June and the winds were almost always from the west. I only remember a few days when the wind made a significant difference.

If you like to start riding shortly after sunrise, there is one big advantage to heading west: the Sun won't be in your eyes.

My wife and I will be leaving St. Charles on September 10th. If you start from KC, you just might see us on a silver tandem.

The question of wind comes up every so often, so I will copy-paste some of what was discussed in the past here. The only thing predictable about the wind is its randomness. The textbooks talk about the "prevailing Westerlies", but those are trade winds. Here in the Midwest, our winds come from every direction, but the most common is out of the South (and bringing up lots of Gulf moisture). Just today alone, the wind shifted from East to Southeast to South and now to West. So you really can't count on a consistent direction. And when the South wind hits the river bluffs that run East-to-West along the Katy (Rocheport and eastward), it splits it. So you can have it in your face and a half mile later, it is at your back. If you are interested in wind directions for your area, look up "wind rose", which is a graph that shows the predominant winds for select cities. Here is one for Jefferson City, about mid-point of the trail (scroll down to the bottom). https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/historyclimate/climatemodelled/jefferson-city_united-states-of-america_4392388 As you can see, by far the prominent direction is from the South, followed by the Southeast. Another interesting fact is that the resistance caused by wind is a cube of the speed. So if you are riding into a 5 mph headwind and later it becomes a 10 mph headwind, then you are facing not twice, but 8 times the resistance as you would expect (take the factor and cube it, in this case, 2^3=8). Certainly starting off your day into a strong wind will make for a tiring day. The best way to plan/prepare is to assume that the wind will be your enemy for part of the trip. Also note that the winds in Missouri are much calmer from about June 1 to September 1, as the jet stream moves farther North during the summer.

Hey folks, looking to get dropped off in Hermann and ride home to Kansas City via rock island at the end. Anyone done this stretch recently? Is water fairly plentiful, and where are your favorite places to tent camp if any? I know when I rode the whole thing a few years ago, Sedalia would supposedly allow camping at the fairgrounds.

New campground with showerhouse a little west of Sedalia- Lazy Liz Campground. In Windsor two camping options

Steamboat Campground is on the trail between Rhineland and Portland.

Planning on trip starting in Pleasant Hill to Katy trail then on to Herman. Is the trail surface on the Rock island similar to the Katy. Also has anyone stayed at the Crossroads motel in Windsor wondering how it is.

rock island trail is good to go

The Rock Island is similar to the Katy, but a little rougher. Not as many riders have pounded down the Rock Island trail yet.

I highly recommend Kim's Cabins in Windsor. The wife and I spent 3 nights there earlier this year. It's very close to the intersection of the Rock Island and Katy.

https://bikekatytrail.com/kims-cabins.aspx