Katy Trail Forum

Does anyone know how the trail is between Columbia and Jeff City for biking?

Open all the way. Just once rough stretch near Easley. No water in N Jeff, but bathrooms were open at Hartsburg.

Lots of trees down between 203 - 205/ Pilot Grove due to storms today.
Most are daily passable, but we couldn't move them. Take time and be carefull

Any recommendations for nice place to stay in Boonville? I assume that most of the hotels would be pretty close to the Katy Trail and world be biker friendly.

The Comfort Inn is pretty close with a short ride on a connector trail just north of I-70 on the east side of the Katy. The Hotel Frederick is right across the street from the Katy at the north end of Main Street. It is an old very well restored hotel. Both are bike friendly.

I loved the Hotel Frederick. Planning to stay there again. Right off the trail.

My boys and I have biked the KATY three times and stayed at the Hotel Frederick each time. Loved it. Great restaurant there for dinner and a diner on the diagonal corner for breakfast. Right on the trail.

Is it okay to leave a car along the gravel road for accessing the Katy at Bernheimer.There's a little wooden bridge there that someone uses to access their house across the creek.

Just my opinion but I would say no. Went through there yesterday. Maybe could leave a car for a day or afternoon. Wouldn't overnight.

We are biking R/T Rocheport to downtown Jefferson City in next few weeks and MDC says it's a bit of a mess but it's not a recent post. Has anyone passed that way recently and can give a description of condition for bicyclist.
Thank you

Anyone know if you can still camp at Chilhowee City park?

Yes you can camp in Chilhowee. I just checked Fri. with the store.

Next week I'm going to attempt to do almost the whole trail biking and tent camping in three days. I've gone St. Charles to Sedalia twice before so I have some experience with what can go wrong (flats, rain, detours). I have a couple of questions for those who've been out recently.
Are there major detours or problems with the trail (washout, fallen trees, broken glass) that I might anticipate?
Are the trailhead water fountains and bathrooms operating? Any other unusual conditions related to the pandemic?
Any info would be appreciated!

Looking for advice for cycling with kids. What sections would you do? Stops would you make? Accommodations? Thanks for any tips!!

Hi, I always find these forums so informative and helpful...thanks to all who contribute!

My husband and I are starting to plan a West to East ride from Sedalia to St Charles later this year....hopefully some of this crazy COVID stuff has calmed down by then. Plan would be to park at the Kirkwood Station, and take the Amtrak across to Sedalia where we'd like to start the ride. Looking for the options to get back to the Kirkwood Amtrak Station (for our car) once we pedal back to St Charles.

Suspect here may be shuttles or other options. For those that may have experience with this, please send us some options...thanks!

Actually, looking at the Amtrak schedule, the Amtrak does not run from the Kirkwood Station to Sedalia as I thought. Only the Missouri River Runner train out of the Gateway St. Louis Station runs to Sedalia.
So, I guess my next question would be what options are there to get back from the St Charles area of the trail to the Gateway Station in St. Louis?

Thanks...Pat

Amtrak is only running one train a day between St. Louis and Kansas City right now. Normally, there is a morning and an afternoon train - they both stop in Kirkwood. By the time you are ready to travel, they may be back to a normal schedule .... or not. No way to know.

Which is the preferred way to cycle?

I prefer west to east starting at Clinton or Sedalia. It's slightly more downhill especially when dropping down into the Missouri river valley at Boonville. Also there's a much better chance for a tail wind going that direction.

In my opinion the only downside is that you are riding into the sun if you like to get on the trail early in the morning.

Most people ride west to east due to slight elevation drop and normal wind direction.

Buckle up for a science discussion. I am kind of a geek about this!

There is an insignificant elevation drop West-East (the grade is a fraction of a percent). You are far more likely to notice the hills between Sedalia and Boonville than any gain/loss of elevation.

A bigger factor can be the wind, which is very unpredictable. The textbooks talk about the "prevailing Westerlies", but those are trade winds. Here in the Midwest, we like to be different! 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 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 8 times the resistance, not twice, 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.

Thanks to all for the information!

Yes, the campgrounds are open. Cabins are also available. Please call in advance to check on availability. 660-525-2032. Thanks!

We stayed in the small cabin May 14. We came off the Katy trail after a full day of riding; tired and hungry. We were overjoyed to find cheese,sausage, crackers and fresh fruit waiting for us. Keep in mind, this establishment is not a bed and breakfast, so this was extra special and much needed for us as most places were still closed due to the pandemic. The room had everything we needed and had so much character. We remarked later that it really added to making our ride unique. I could be wrong but I believe it’s the best price you’ll find in Augusta too. Our hostess was great!

We stayed in the small cabin May 14. We came off the Katy trail after a full day of riding; tired and hungry. We were overjoyed to find cheese,sausage, crackers and fresh fruit waiting for us. Keep in mind, this establishment is not a bed and breakfast, so this was extra special and much needed for us as most places were still closed due to the pandemic. The room had everything we needed and had so much character. We remarked later that it really added to making our ride unique. I could be wrong but I believe it’s the best price you’ll find in Augusta too. Our hostess was great!

Hey Katy Riders! I just wanted to check in and give you an update on our current operating status. We are OPEN for business and noticing an uptick in riders checking into the hotel...finally!! We are so excited to see you all! We are still offering carry out/room service from our onsite restaurant and bar. We have drastically reduced pricing on our menu to help during these tough times. We also as always offer our special KATY Trail discount for rooms of 20%. Our bike washing station is open in our parking lot and we also have a select number of repair tools available as well.

Remember we are less than 1 mile from the trail.

Be safe and enjoy nature. We look forward to having you stay with us.
Hotel Bothwell
103 E 4th St Sedalia, MO 65301
660-826-5588

This is one of our favorite stops on the trail. This historic hotel is very bike friendly. They offer self serve laundry, a nice bar and restaurant and comfortable rooms. The hotel is centrally located downtown. It doesn’t get any better.

Agreed, one of my favorite places. Stayed there yesterday on my way through on the trail. Dinner was takeout only but it was fantastic. Salad, salmon, potatoes, asparagus and chocolate desert with a great bottle of wine.

We are so glad to hear how much you enjoyed your stay with s, we hope the rest of your trip was equally enjoyable! Thank you for mentioning laundry, I always seem to forget about that. :-)

Are the campsites open currently?

I am starting on Sunday and going west. Plan on staying in Washington on First day. Cheapest nicest place to Stay. First time and need some help.

Is there a question there somewhere?

Hiking or biking?

Trip planner has tons of information. Keep looking on this forum, Youtube and FB.
I've been planning for over a year and will finally take my first overnight in a couple weeks. Hoping the Grandson goes with.

is there a bike path that goes from the Katy train into Washington,MO ?

The bike path does not go into Washington. I rode from Katy Trail to Washington a couple weeks ago. The road to Washington was busy but there was nice wide shoulder all the way to Washington. The trail does have a couple detours that took me on some less than desirable roads.

Is there a trail from the Trail to Herman ?

You also have to ride the road from Katy Trail to Hermann. Road has nice shoulder. You can jump on a trail to get across bridge but bridge also has a wide shoulder. Looks like they are working on a trail to the Katy.

Two riders planning an all trail ride from St. Charles to Clinton during the last week of May. I've got lodging for each night, but are there trail closures along the way?

There are two closures that require detours via MO Hwy 94.

The first is west of Rocheport. The bridge at 38°59’31.03”/-92°36’58.16” was washed out, and most likely will not be repaired this summer.

The second detour on 94 is around a rock fall west of Portland.

If you use Strava, you will be able to find me and my Katy Trail ride of October 2019. At the very least you can see the map of my ride, and if you like you can down-load my GPX files.

Some people are uncomfortable about riding on MO Hwy 94, but I am primarily a road cyclist, and my brother and I had no difficulty with either detour.

Thanks!

Hello Dear riders! Yes the trail is open and our trailhead in McKittrick has been busy. Joeys Birdhouse is open for business serving safely breakfast in your room with no shared public spaces. Come Visit soon. Happy spring

Hiking the trail from Machens to Clinton, starting in a few days. Looks like the beginning of the trailhead at Machens is closed down. Any suggestions best place to start our hike.

St. Charles is where most east to west trail users start.

Yes this is true, but the hike from st Charles to Machens is really worth the effort! I hiked from Clinton to Machens loved every moment!!??

You can start at Machens if you want. You will just need to have someone drop you off (there has never been any parking at Machens). A half-mile after you start, you will encounter a large washed out area. Easy for you to hike through (about 50 ft). A little tougher for cyclists.

If you want to park, then Black Walnut is the first place on the Eastern end. But like others said, St. Charles is the best place to park if you want your car to be safer.

Start in Black Walnut ??

It’s approximately 5 miles from Machens, it’s the last spot you can park a car , before Machens.

My family is doing an overnight trip from Hermann to the 64/40 bridge. I want to leave a car near our endpoint and am looking for advice for a safe place to park a car. For example, is there a suitable lot at Missouri Research Park? How about on the Chesterfield side? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

The chesterfield side has an outlet mall you can stash a car for 24 hours at.

I would be cautious about this right now, the parking lot is (last weekend) closed and blocked off.

Looking for the best 100 mile stretch of the Trail..We wanna do a out and back(200)...In July or August coming from Minnesota..We prefer woods to open plain..hills are welcome :)...Just started to plan this and thought I would ask before I dig deeper....If anybody has any questions about Minnesotas 2 longer paved trails Paul Bunyan and Mesabi,both 100 or so miles of paved trail ask me anything...Thanks in advance..Steve

My vote would be Rocheport to Marthasville. A couple of sections of open farmland but mostly covered with several sections along the river.

I have many folks stay, and return to stay, as they love that Windsor is the crossroads of the Katy and new Rock Island section. They stay two or three nights and can have 3 day rides to Clinton, Sedalia, and out the Rock Island into Amish country. We have the outdoor Amish produce auction, beautiful City park and lake, and never know when you'll see bald eagles fishing. Tree canopy over much of the trail, open stretches, wood bridges, and deer, red fox and turkey on the trail.

Lol, there will be no hills :D


I did the full thing in 2017, if I were only doing 100/100 I would go from Booneville to Marthasville and back. That'll be a little more like 110-115 each way, but beautiful parts of the trail.