Katy Trail Forum

What is the best way to get from the Amtrak station in Kirkwood to a hotel in St. Charles? Any recommendations for taxis or shuttle services? We'll be getting in on the train from KC at about 9:00 pm and hitting the trail the next morning. Looking forward to a great trip, thanks for any advice!!!

we have a B&B just three blocks from the trail in St Charles ----we would pick you up, you spend the night with us and be on the trail next morning ---call us at 636-946-0619 if we can be of help to you

Last year there was a cab company that would haul you and your bikes. We plan on using them this year. I'll have to search for the name.

We stopped at the Doll House when we passed through Rhineland (March 2010) and I highly recommend it. The house was beautiful and Amanda was SO NICE! She helped us plan out our next few days on the trail and suggested the bar and grill across the street. (We were pretty hungry!)I plan on staying there when I bike the trail again some day with my parents.

We stopped at the Doll House when we passed through Rhineland (March 2010) and I highly recommend it. The house was beautiful and Amanda was SO NICE! She helped us plan out our next few days on the trail and suggested the bar and grill across the street. (We were pretty hungry!)I plan on staying there when I bike the trail again some day with my parents.

My wife, 15-month old, and I are planning on doing day trips on the Katy Trail on March 31

and April 1-2. Can anyone tell us what trail conditions are like right now? I've read a little

about flooding and muddy conditions, but I don't know the trail very well, so I can't

determine where conditions are poor and where the trail is rideable. Thanks!

We've just had some rain in that area and the trail is soft but rideable. However, the forecast calls for sun and clear skies for this week so you should have good riding conditions for your trip. The flooding has not been over the trail in this area. (Treloar to Tebbetts)

Any advice on riding the trail with small children (7 and under)? I believe we will ride in Rocheport but stay in Booneville.

When are you going? My 6-y.o. and I will be on the trail next week Sedalia to St Charles.



Advice depends on how the kids are going. If on their own bikes, just go at their pace and

don't turn into a field marshal. It's got to be fun or the whole thing spirals into misery

quickly.



Better still, get a tag-along. They can pedal when they're fresh and just get pulled when

they poop out. This has worked very well for me and my soon-to-be 7 y.o. for the last 2

years with many hundreds of miles of touring and day riding. We just upgraded to a

tandem with independent coasting: basically the same deal with a better and lighter rig.

Thanks for the idea about the tag-along. I had only thought about the trailer for the 2 year old. How long of a ride should I prepare for? What's too much? I do want to make it fun for the kids and not overly exhausting. We'll probaly go through Rocheport to Booneville.

East of Rocheport is a good kid friendly ride with some points of interest between town and the petroglyphs. And the tunnel west of town is neat for little ones. You might consider turning around at the depot in Boonville to keep from having to ride up Lard Hill. It is a rather long grade that might wear on small legs...not much to see past there anyway.

I've done the trailer behind tag-along behind bike thing. It looks ridiculous. Ok, it

actually is ridiculous, but you'll make a lot of friends. Handling is ok. You're simple not

going to go fast on the flats. Braking is the only big concern, but on the KT that shouldn't

be a big issue given the relative flatness. Distance then becomes a function only of your

own fitness/determination. Keep the kiddies fed and hydrated. Mine will go dawn till

dusk like that. The caveat is that the 6-y.o. rides his own bike daily and so doesn't get

saddle-sore. Your milage may vary.



Good luck

If you are planning on staying in Boonville, I would recommend the Hotel Frederick. Great place and rooms that can accomodate families. Also you can park in Rocheport, ride along the river, great scenery, and then drive to Boonville. Easier on little legs. The Frederick gives $25 discount for riding the trail, has bike storage and free continental breakfast, DVD player in room and movies at the front desk for the kids. Call 660-882-2828 or visit the web-site at HotelFrederick.com

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources takes great pleasure in announcing the 20th anniversary of Katy Trail State Park. To commemorate the anniversary, the department will be sponsoring several events throughout the year. An opening event is planned for May 8, 2010, at 2 p.m. in Rocheport, to honor founders who partnered with the department in making Katy Trail State Park a reality. Following the opening ceremony, there will an unveiling of the 20th anniversary exhibit panel, a cake-cutting ceremony, and a walk to the Ted Jones memorial. Additionally, a round-trip bicycle ride to McBaine and other community-sponsored activities will be held. We would like to cordially invite you to join us for this event.



Additionally, the department is partnering with Katy Trail communities on other events throughout the year. For more information on these events, visit www.katytrailstatepark.com.

That would be a great time for bikekatytraildotcom to have a booth set up promoting this website. Set up a computer so folks could get a good grasp of how to plan a trip, find info, etc. And you could sell caps, tshirts, etc. to generate some revenue also.

Riding TransAM from Portland, Oregon and want to do the KATY Trail during middle July 2010. Want to leave the TransAM route at Chanute, Kansas and head to Clinton, MO.

Thanks todd

Try out the new google feature. Go to Google map , get directions, drop down menu has bicycle route option. Give it a try, I will be curious to see if it picks the correct/best route for a bike.

Todd.....it appears that you made the post below in January:



We are riding the TransAM route from Portland, Oregon and want to ride the KATY Trail. What is the best route to get to Clinton via Girard or Farlington,KS ??? Thanks

- posted 1/23/2010 12:50:09 AM by Todd Morrison , Portland, Oregon



The posters here didn't dupe ya.....there were several suggestions on how to find a viable route. You have changed your route appearantly, as now you want to cut over from Chanute instead of Girard or Farlington. But most of the advice given probably still applies as the towns that you want to cut over to Clinton from are pretty close together.



Did you read the replies to your previous post?? Gotta help yourself some ya know.

A set pathway there doesn’t exist I think. From the cross-country journals I’ve read, however, the riders often head northward from several KS towns toward Iola. From there, they zig-zag to Butler, MO anyway they can, and from Butler to Clinton by the seat of their pants. :) Sounds like fun.



They tend to enjoy whatever unique things, place, sites, and cafes they run across on the backroads, taking pictures along the way. Some have also taken a 25-mile stretch of the Prairie Spirit Trail from the northwest end of Iola (on N. State Ave) to Garnett, and from there, have cut over to Butler on the backroads and state routes there. Looks like a hodgepodge of adventurous road choices in one general direction.

What is the best route to bike from Kansas City to the trail head? Also does anyone know of a good bike shop in Kansas City to rent bikes suitable for riding the trail with panniers etc?

Karen, This subject has come up before. I tried to search for it, but had no luck. Anyway, traversing the KC metro area by bicycle is not an easy thing to do. I would be happy to research a route for you and possibly offer other logistic support. Feel free to contact me at dwalc [at] netzero [dot] com. When are you planing your trip?

BTW, you live in a beautiful part of the world! I spent three days riding around the San Juan Islands on a tour in 2007.

I screwed up my own email address!

Dwalc [at] netzero [dot] net

Hi Karen,



KC has several rivers, interstates, and hills with only so many bridges allowing passage thru the city. If biking to the Katy's west-end trailhead in Clinton from KC is the intent here, consider shuttling to the south side first, where the back roads and/or MO-7 will take you there fairly safely.



Both the KC and JC bike clubs here list bikeshops on their websites, below.

http://www.kcbc.org/shops

http://www.jcbikeclub.org/

I agree with the previous poster in that it seems the best path would be to get yourself to Harrisonville somehow outside of biking it yourself, and then take 7 down to Clinton. If Sedalia is your intent, however, you can look into the routes the MS150 run out of KC has used (that's its usual destination).



In a way, it's still a good deal of riding in traffic (38 miles from the 71/7 interchange to Clinton), so hopefully you are very used to it and are fit enough to do it. I would also plan on staying in Clinton.



The state also has a good resource in the biking/walking road maps that the DOT produces.

This is more daunting than I expected. It makes me ask whether it is reasonable to plan to fly to either St. Louis or Kansas City, rent bikes, do the trail, return to the rental city by trail and fly home? Has anyone done this? Or have a clear idea how to manage it?

Thanks, Karen

Whoops! I meant "return to rental city by train. . ."

I am on the KC end of the trail and have done business with several local KC area bike shops....Olathe, Overland Park, Liberty, etc. and am not aware that any have bike rentals.



You'd probably be better served by renting from a bike shop along the Katy...Rocheport has rentals as well as Defiance on the eastern end. Maybe St. Chuck has a bike rental shop...check this site for more info about businesses there. You might consider flying to St. Louis with lodging in St. Charles with someone who will pick you up at the airport and take you to St. Chuck. The Lococococo B&B does that sort of thing to my knowledge with a stay at their place. A good deal, but she is rather vague on what the rate is.(doesnt like to post it here.....would rather you call her than let everyone know what the tab is) Or.....rent a car.... or try to arrange a Uhaul pickup with a drop in Clinton or St. Chuck after you get your bikes rented.

Hi Karen. It's probably been done. Yet, I suspect most arrivals have brought their own bikes, and have shuttled to the trail rather than riding their bikes to it. I’ve met folks on trail who’ve shuttled to it, but do not recall any posts about riding to it, although it’s been done by locals and visitors.



Assuming you’re bringing your packed panniers with you, you might buy a used bike outfitted for the trail just as easily as renting one. You can check with some of the local ones to find out. A few shops on the trail also rent bikes for casual riding (phone numbers this website).



Even the cross-country riders who use the Katy come to the trail from south of the city or from around it where it’s illegal to ride on the Interstates passing thru it. Thus, bicycle bridge passage here is limited, but possible if riders know their way around well during the daytime. Some of these passable roads do not have shoulders, and the traffic can be heavy with the construction and orange barrels here now.



If flying into the KCI airport with the intent to bike ride to a westside Katy trailhead, I’d be tempted to shuttle over to Leavenworth, KS from KCI, just west of it, buy a used trail bike at a shop there, and ride south on KS-7/10/69 (which have shoulders) to KS-68. Then turn east; KS-68 turns into MO-2 to Harrisonville. From there, south a short distance on secondary Hwy-71 (with shoulder) to MO-7 (has shoulder), which will take you directly to the Clinton trailhead at MO-7/52. That’s at least 100 miles of heavy road traffic to ride fairly safely. The Katy will look great after that! :) :)



Other Katy trailheads accessible from different starting points would include: Sedalia (112-miles from KCI at least) and Rocheport (134-miles at least). Apparently you like to tour.

It has definitely been done before, many times, but of course requires quite a bit of planning. As JD pointed out, many fly-in riders bring their own bikes, so at least they don't have to worry about how to get to a rental place and how to return the rental bike. But of course there are plenty of other issues to deal with when transporting a bike by air.



You may find it much easier to fly into St Louis rather than KC. The St Louis airport is less than 10 miles from the Katy Trail, whereas KCI is about 100 miles from the trail. Also Amtrak is pretty easy to reach from the St Louis airport, via "Metrolink" (which may or may not matter to you, depending on how rail figures into your plans).



One idea: Katy Bike Rental in Defiance, which is on the St Louis end of the trail, does both bike rental AND shuttling, so they might be able to help you out. Suggest you talk to them anyway just to help you figure out what your most feasible options are (this time of year the shop might be closed on weekdays): 636-987-2673



If you are considering the St Louis airport, be sure to look at this web page (which also includes a shuttle listing): getting from St Louis Airport to the Katy Trail.



Sure it takes a lot of work and planning to pull off a trip like this, but that's part of the adventure, right? Good luck!

If you take amtrak from Kansas City to Warrensburg, then it is only 35 miles of road hell you have to contend with.



Better yet. If you take amtrak from KC to Sedalia. Then it is 35 miles of riding pleasure on the katy trail to get from Sedalia to Clinton.



Seriously, if your coming into KCI, your best bet is to take the train to Sedalia and then ride the 35 miles on the Katy down to Clinton. 35 miles on the Katy versus 35 - 100 miles of road riding on busy roads. It really is a no brainer.

Oops. One more thing. I believe the kcata bus 129 connecting the airport to downtown KC (amtrak station) has a bike rack. Double check kcata.org

I really appreciate all the comments. This trip is much more complicated than I thought it would be, but there are a few lights at the end of the tunnel based on the posted suggestions. Thanks to all of you. Karen

One thing I must keep in mind is that bicyclists definitely come into these MO cities to rest and refresh, although I don’t know how they do it in the bigger ones. On their bikes? I know of one cross-country pair that come to KC from the Katy at Sedalia. Most such riders will enjoy KC’s Plaza and the more recent Power Light Entertainment District.



While on this subject, I wonder about the possibility of any bicycling hospitality sources in this area. Aren’t they the no-fee volunteer services that will help touring bicyclists get around, or give them a place to bathe, eat and stay? Recently, I’ve read about such bike-friendly services on the crazyguyonabike.com and warmshowers.org sites, something most viewers here have already done. One cross-county journalist type went for hundreds of miles before paying for overnight lodging.



Even tho bicyclists are expected to execute most of their planning on their own, including pulling themselves out of any unexpected jams whatsoever, these hospitalities could be nice to have occasionally. Most of these services seem to be offered by committed bicyclists who like to help other touring ones. Might they be worth checking into in this area?

I can only devote 1 day along the Katy Trail. Would others please advise me on the most scenic stretches of the trail so I can make the most of my 1 day. Thank you.

In my opinion, the best of the Katy is just east of Rocheport. I'm sure some others will disagree.



Paulie

I ride the katy a lot and have done everything between Clinton and Hartsburg. I'd agree that the stretch heading south out of Roacheport is the most scenic. For a one day ride, I'd suggest Roacheport to McBaine and back(~20mi total) or Roacheport to Columbia(turn off the Katy onto the MKT; one way ~20mi).

Columbia to Rocheport is a good ride....if you want to log a few more miles Rocheport to Hartsburg or North Jefferson gives you a good representation of the trail.

The trail from Rocheport to Hartsburg is closest to the Missouri river with large bluffs along the way. Its probably the most scenic, of course I'm biased living in Hartsburg. Come see us.

I vote Rocheport to Hartsburg. Bluffs on one side, the river on the other.

Sorry, I really can't help you with this. The best part of the katy Trail is the part I'm on.

Thank you to all for your input. Much appreciated.

What a great B&B!! The house is just beautiful, very comfortable, clean

and an incredible breakfast!! We loved the way each of the guest rooms

had their own private door onto the big wrap around porch!

What a great B&B!! The house is just beautiful, very comfortable, clean

and an incredible breakfast!! We loved the way each of the guest rooms

had their own private door onto the big wrap around porch!

YEAH!! LOOKING FORWARD AGAIN TO THE VISIT!

YEAH!! LOOKING FORWARD AGAIN TO THE VISIT!

The two ruts across trail at mile mark 121 have been filled and are much smoother! Thanks to whomever!

Fabulous salads-Charming atmosphere. The owner even let us park our bikes inside. Great prices!

Fabulous salads-Charming atmosphere. The owner even let us park our bikes inside. Great prices!

RIGHT AT THE UNION PACIFIC TRAIN STATION/STOP. EXCELLENT FOOD, FUN PLACE TO STOP.

RIGHT AT THE UNION PACIFIC TRAIN STATION/STOP. EXCELLENT FOOD, FUN PLACE TO STOP.

Has any of the streams or river backed up on the trail anywhere? Any flat land flooding on the roads or trail or any trail washouts now?

Any big mushy areas?



Will ride the trail west to east Mar. 30 - Apr. 2.

Apparenly so, according to a comment on the '4 guys' post. Rain and snow at the moment.

Ran across a group Monday 3 electra's and 1 hilbilly nice bunch of guys other than the one on the townie without fenders had quite the physical presence other than the tail he had flapping in the wind! Trail was in great shape between north jefferson and Hartsburg

Yes I saw the 4 in question don't think they saw me though they did notice my blue lawn chair I believe. The one with the tail was langing behind not sure why. Those Townies with fenders and those pan seats are really nice! The Ironhorse hilbilly was also a very nice ride. Hope this weather doesn't mess with the trail too bad!

Just had a dissappointing visit to the Katy. Cloudy, cold and a very wet muddy trail. Felt like plowing through sludge - killed the knees, killed the trip. Won't be back until I KNOW the trail is dry and not covered with river mud. Great folks along the way, though.