Katy Trail Forum

I'm trying to plan a 6 day ride with stays in B & B's or hotels near the trail. I'm having a hard time figuring out the Jefferson City stop. Is the city easy to bike in? I prefer no street riding. Every place near there is booked for the dates in September but a couple of hotels.Help!

Jeff City is considered a hilly city. MY limited exposure there is that it is not much of a joy to ride within the city limits. Lot of controlled intersections and vehicle traffic. Once out on the trail, it's very different, obviously.

We've stayed at the Capitol Plaza hotel several times. It's any easy ride from the trail and is bike friendly.

Like Bill said, Jeff City can be hilly and/or busy if you venture very far into it.

However, you will not experience much of this if you stay within a few blocks of the river. The Jeff City webpage at https://bikekatytrail.com/jefferson-city.aspx lists a few B&Bs and hotels that are all easy to reach.

Getting to Jeff City, from the N. Jefferson trailhead, is not hard. You'll ride maybe a mile and a half to the river, then up a series of ramps to get to the bridge level. Riding across the bridge, you're rewarded with great views of the river and the capitol building. The bike portion of the bridge is totally safe and separated from car traffic.

I've found the streets between the bridge and the state capitol to be very easy to navigate and usually really quiet. Most of the buildings around there are state agencies, so the traffic only picks up when state workers are heading into the office or leaving for the day.

Jefferson City is like any other small town, traffic? sure morning, noon, late afternoon work traffic. Use google maps set to bicycle to get directions on how to use the bike/pedestrian bridge over the Missouri and to get around in Jeff. Google maps has an advantage over Apple Maps in that it shows more restaurants,hotels and B&Bs there are many once you cross the river. Just avoid the main highways and Missouri Blvd which are high traffic areas. Google maps will show you how to get to get where you want to go on side streets. Hills? Of course, the secret is to ride east/west directions as much as you can to avoid the up and down hill rides. You will see the exceptions to this general rule.

I’ll just add to Rays post, Google maps set on bicycle mode is a great tool to use to get around in Jefferson City and find hotels, restaurants, and B&Bs.

Prison Brews is a kinda cool place to dine. Craft beers. Great burgers/fries. Ice cream? Central Dairy, of course. But only get one scoop. They are HUGE!

http://katytrailcottage.com/ ... Katy Trail Cottage is about as close as you can get. From there you can walk or bike on sidewalks for a few blocks to restaurants. If you are willing to ride a few blocks then Central Dairy Ice Cream is well worth the adventure.

I really appreciate all the responses. Google maps set on bicycle is a so helpful getting around - new places especially. I went ahead and booked at the Capitol Plaza, Katy Cottage was booked. Thanks for explaining the city and how to navigate it.
Looking forward to our September ride. I may post again. You guys are the best!

All the above comments give excellent advice. And you chose well to go with the Capital Plaza, wonderful hotel, you will be able to get there without much stress. I lived in Jefferson City and know what's what there. Biking over the Missouri River on the safe bike/pedestrian section of the bridge is a wonderful experience, especially seeing the capitol building from that vantage point.

Once you check into the hotel, consider taking a Lift or Uber to the Central Eastside (corner of Ash and High St): O'Donoghues Steaks and Seafood, Prison Brews, The Mission (a cool bar with live local music, open mike night every Wednesday) and JQ's on High.

You might consider adding a day to your trip to spend in Jefferson City so that you can tour the Capitol building, enjoy their lovely downtown and everyone's favorite, ice cream at Central Dairy. If you can fit it in somehow, add a tour of the Missouri State Prison (MSP), Missouri's historic prison site, opened before the Alamo (I'm not kidding, book a tour and you'll hear all about it!).

I forgot to mention that back in the day (2017 and before) when I lived in Jefferson City, they used to joke about the "traffic jams" in the city core: 7:30 am to 8:30 am and 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm when state employees started and ended their work days. So avoid biking during those times and you'll be fine. But like someone else mentioned, stay off Missouri Blvd, stick to getting from the trail to the Capital Plaza and then back to the trail. You can bike to the places I mentioned above (Prison Brews, etc.) but if it were me I'd just Uber to avoid the hills, or biking back to the hotel after enjoying the night life.

If you want a great treat to eat, right across from the Capital is Arris' Pizza. Best pizza and Greek food around. Every time I go back to MO I eat there and get a few pizzas for the road. When riding the Katy I stop in Jeff City and take the loop to Columbia and go to Arris' 1020 Green Meadows in Columbia.

Just had to say the comments about this place are spot on. We were biking to trail as a family and decided to spend 2 nights in Boonville for some rest. This place was amazing. My wife was taking pictures of stuff she wanted to see at our house! We loved the bike repair tools in the garage. My son spent about 2 hours tuning his bike up.

Can I park my vehicle overnight at Weldon Springs trailhead

From the website:

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.

Personally, I would NOT leave the 'length of stay' on my vehicle. Why let people know how long the vehicle will be 'unattended'.

So they know how long they need to keep an eye on your car??

They are not asking you to leave the length of stay on your vehicle. They want you to provide to the person you contact.

Marna, about a month ago I was trying to get a good video of the bikes in your yard, and I veered off the trail and crashed! I waved at the house in case anyone was watching. :)

Thinking of riding the Katy for 60 miles/2 days in October. What is the most scenic section with decent accomodations?

Rocheport to Hermann pretty well cuts it.

Yup. Get on at Rocheport, and ride east as far as you like.

Sadly Mark Hooibrink, owner of the Claysville Store died in accident involving a farm implement. This a great loss to us all but especially his wife Laura and kids. This was a must visit place on the trail with an outstanding family operating it. Our prayers to the family.

I am thinking about riding the Katy Trail next year. I ride a Catrike Villager recumbent trike. I have the stock 20” wheels and tires on it. Will I be able to ride the trail with those tires?

Sure. See similar trikes all the time.

I have ridden the trail on my recumbent trike while pulling a one man camper..
I have 20" wheels on front
700c on back..
And my camper has 16" wheels..
If you want to watch a video go to
https://youtu.be/Cwgj-PeAG2k?si=M30DUFE8dyXk3Cl5

You have to clip and paste to google chrome and then it works...

https://youtu.be/Cwgj-PeAG2k?si=AtiH1hdPxMIOnpYA

Love this place, after a day of riding its paradise. Cabins are clean and cool. The showers are clean and refreshing. Charlie is a great guy to chat with.

A big “Thank you” Dan to you and Dawn for your kind words and being such good company on multiple visits! We are looking forward to your return soon!
Happy Trails!

Excellent place to stay when biking the Trail.

My daughter and I camped here on May 18th, on our eastbound ride, after a long day on the rock island trail. We stayed in our tents, but I'm sure the cabins are perfect.

Charlie and Stacey are excellent hosts and their place is fantastic - they have thought of everything you might need for a comfortable stay. The location is perfect.

Charlie took the time to answer all our questions and made us feel totally welcome. You can tell he really enjoys helping people have a great experience.

I would definitely book a stay here if you have the chance.

Thank you, Jeff, for the kind words! It was so cool to have you and Bella stay with us and see you two sharing the adventure of the Katy and Rock Island trails. Thanks for including Windsor and our camp in your ride. Happy Trails!

Schoolhouse B&B was just the ticket. Prose room was llsrge and had a built in spa, which was very nice post-ride in hot weather. The breakfast was well worth staying for( served at 9:00). Peaceful and easy to enjoy. Coffee is provided in the hall, games books movies etc are on demand. We did not use the TV. Comfortable temp even though I’m unsure we had access to thermostat. Would recommend this place!

My husband and I stayed to Joey's Birdhouse recently. It's literally right off the trail and about 2 - 2 1/2 miles from Herman. Joey was a great host and cooks a very yummy breakfast. Great place and we plan to come back on Katy Trail trips through McKittrick.

I am seeing more and more motorbikes on the Katy. This morning a Suron went by me doing 30mph. It's a motorcycle, no pedals.

A week ago, I saw someone on a powered tricycle pulling a big trailer with a oversized cooler on it. I hope it wasn't full of beer.

So called "E" bikes with throttles are really motorbikes and should be treated just like gasoline powered motorbikes. They will kill you just as dead.

I've travelled thousands of miles on the KATY and never encountered one. Where was it that you saw one?

Frontier Park in St Charles City

Oh, okay. Why am I not surprised. That stretch from the boat ramp at Olive Street all the way to just past The Family Arena, has to be the worst stretch in St. Charles county, if not the entire trail. I hope it's nice when the contractors are done with it. They still have a lot to do.

The bridge replacement west of Tebbetts is complete and the trail is open.

Great! And I bet it's really nice. DNR always does great work on the trail.

I would like to ride The Katy on an Ordinary (penny farthing) I am a solid rider, but am I going to be able to do it?

I wouldn't want to. Too many recurrent obstacles (rocks, sticks, squirrels, ruts). I like to be closer to the surface. But Hey! U do U.

I saw a group of cyclists riding pennyfarthings near Sedalia a few years ago. Can't say how far they went or where they had come from, but it was interesting. The biggest obstacle (IMO) would be the road crossings where the edge can be abrupt and the difficulty in seeing approaching vehicles on curving roads. But maybe that high up in the saddle would provide better visibility. Might want to consider riding in the fall when the weather's nicer.

Depends on your skill level and bike. I have a good friend who has been riding HighWheelers for years in all sorts of conditions and has done the 5 Bourough bike Tour for at least the past 15 years as well as lots of riding around Manhattan (NYC not Kansas). It can definitely be done. the trail is gently graded and fairly smooth for dirt. Bigest challenge would be carrying gear and water and dealing with some of the softer sections. If it rains you are going to not like it much as the trail can get soft but seems to generally drain reasonably quickly. I would not recommend it on a Ridable Replica as they are not very well made and you would be risking serious mechanical's. We welded then replaced the forks on my friends RR over the years and now the "tire" is almost worn to the rim and the spokes are constantly needing adjustment. We just rode the 5 Bourough Bike tour together this year and he was constantly adjusting spokes, and the headset and the fork ends were needing regular attention.

However with a higher quality machine with a skilled committed rider it would be possible but would be challenging at times with soft or loose surface conditions. Road transitions can be a bit sharp but that big wheel and adjusting speed accordingly it should be fine (nothing as bad as riding up a concrete curb). If you are riding a farthing on dirt and gravel and can manage 30 to 50 mile days then you should be ok. Just rinse and repeat for 240 ish miles and you are good to go.

http://www.63xc.com/erikf/highwheel.htm

This is an old article about my friend for reference. Sadly the Edlee in the top picture is the one that got wrecked when Erik got hit by the car and I haven't gotten an chance to fix it since I moved out of NY after the trade centers came down. Plus fixing a taco'ed close to 50" wheel with glued tire/spoke nipples is not an easy job. We are planning on riding the KATY this fall or spring but he will probably be on my 80's Ibis not a Farthing.

If you do ride the trail please post. I'm sure Erik would love to hear about it and would possibly like to give it a try when he gets his new bike.

OrdinaryTim,

There is a journal entry by someone who rode a penny farthing on the Katy trail on https://www.crazyguyonabike.com. If you go there and search 'penny farthing Katy trail" you may gain some insight from their Katy ride.

I live on the trail between Pilot Groves and Boonville. I would LOVE to know what day you will come by here so that I can see your bike!

If you have been reading the PennyFarthing World Tour and the guys riding to Sedalia and thought "that looks like fun" then absolutely do the KATY. It is mostly well packed crushed and pea sized limestone that seems to drain well over a hard packed 100 year old railroad bed. When dry the surface is typically very hard with only a couple of sections of recently applied loose stone. When wet the upper layer gets soft and slows you down but it wasn't deep muck on our trips. There are no real obstacles other than low branches. The hills, such as they are, are train graded and gentle. The highest point on the trail is under 1000' so no real elevation. The state seems to do a great job of maintenance on the trail. In season flush toilets and potable water are very nice.

On my most recent ride I did think an Ordinary KATY trip would be just the sort of thing Erik would be interesting in doing. The KATY is probably in better shape than most of the roads from the late 1800's, and with proper planning you could do the trip with a minimal amount of gear due to reasonably available food stops and the very handy planning resources on this web site. Logistically the shuttle might take a little work due to the size of the bike but otherwise I think it would be a great adventure.

DO IT!!! come do the entire trail in September. East to west!!!

Rideable? Still a dotted line on the map at top of page as "future trail", but is it passable on bike (looking at St. Charles to Raytown) but I may need to make other bikepacking plans

You will need to ride on lightly traveled roads and very wide sidewalks. It was very calm and not stressful. Here are the excellent directions and guidance from Mark from Lee's Summit.
Map Route from the Lee's Summit Amtrak Station to the Rock Island Trail in Pleasant Hill
Mark from Lee's Summit on 09/19/2020 09:15 AM:
There are several other on street routes (like Hamblen, Ranson, or Smart Road), but if you are looking for the least amount of traffic then I would use this following route. Please note that you still have to be prepared to ride quite a bit on rural roads and through residential neighborhoods, so this isn't a route for little kids. Leave the Amtrak station by going NORTH (right) on Main Street for about 200' where you will then turn left before the bridge and take the ramp down to 2nd Street. Turn left onto 2nd Street (there is a small 3' wide striped mini shoulder next to the curb that the city loves to use as an unofficial traffic calming mini bike lane. Stay straight on 2nd Street for about a mile until you see a QT gas station where you will turn left onto Blue Parkway. Go past the QT and turn right onto 3rd Street. For about 800', you will have to ride in traffic along 3rd Street so you can go under the 50 Highway bridge and then turn left onto Oldham/Ward Road. Go straight on Ward Road for about 1000' and as you pass the Walgreens ride up onto the sidewalk because from there for another 4 miles the sidewalk becomes a wide bike/ped trail running straight south along the west side of Ward Road.
Take the trail south along Ward for 4 miles until you reach MO 150 where you will cross the road and turn left along the sidewalk (if you don't want to ride in the lane of traffic). Go east along the MO 150 south side sidewalk for about 1.25 miles where eventually you will have to use the wide shoulder to get across the 291 Highway interchange.
Now you have to make a choice to either ride for 1/2 mile along the busy two lane 150 Hwy. with no shoulders (in order to reach Doc Henry) or immediately turn right and take the east 291 outer road which has almost no traffic. If you take the outer road route , you will add another mile to your trip because of all the looping back that you will have to do inside the residential subdivisions.
If you look on a map, you will see that you are trying to get to Doc Henry Road/Cherokee Drive/20th Avenue/Allendale Drive and finally South Allendale Lake Road. The key is to weave through the subdivisions to get to South Allendale Lake Road which has a nice paved sidewalk trail heading south (for at least the first mile). Once you get past the residential area along South Allendale Lake Road please note that the pavement gets rougher, but that rough pavement also helps to limit the number of vehicles you will encounter. These last 5 miles will also have quite a few rolling hills that you get to enjoy before all of that flat, gradual railroad grade along the Rock Island and Katy trails.
You will take South Allendale Lake Road for 2 miles south where you will turn left onto County Road which eventually weaves around becoming 167th Street, Groll Road, 171st Street, and then South Gray Drive (just 1 mile total, but the street keeps changing names after each curve)...finally turn left (eastward) onto 175th Street for 3 miles until you reach the trail which is right past the railroad tracks. Turn right onto the trail and into Pleasant Hill. Once you get into the town of Pleasant Hill, follow the signs because they have to weave you around another active railroad line.

Wow Bill in CoMO--THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH

You're welcome! The real credit goes to Mark from Lee's Summit.

Great instructions. I will keep those handy!

Willie ... I will try and add a Google Map link that you can copy and paste in order to see this route in more detail. I have edited a map that includes how to ride on roads with the least amount of traffic from the Rock Island Trail in Pleasant Hill across the trail gap, to Lee's Summit, along the Rock Island Trail again to the Arrowhead Stadium complex, then continuing on mostly trails and separated cycle tracks to the Amtrak Station at Union Station near Downtown Kansas City. Most people are trying to get to that train station because you can take more long distance train trips as compared to the Lee's Summit train station. It all depends where you are trying to go. You will notice my bike route is not the shortest route because I have picked the absolute lowest traffic routes where you can use sidewalks or sidewalk trails to take a break from road traffic (like along 150 Highway or Ward Road).

Here is my Google Map link: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1lUHjbxZp89GJAql4MPeGpzq-NPtwBwk&usp=sharing ... hopefully it gets posted to the forum and doesn't show up as SPAM.

Thank you for figuring out and sharing these routes, Mark! Local knowledge is so valuable.

There is a tree across the entire trail between mile markers 29 and 30 (just north of Black Walnut). You can walk your bike down the side of the embankment but it's tall thick weeds. Bikes with trailers or wider frames will have an issue getting around it.