Katy Trail Forum

Looking for a list of shuttle services between St Charles / St Louis and Clinton. I will be arriving in St Charles / St Louis later this summer and would like to hire a shuttle service over to Clinton so I can start my KATY trail ride back to St Charles. Another option would be to simply rent a car and drive it one way. Thank you.

Use the Trip Planner above and select Shuttle to generate a list between the towns of your choice.

Thank you!!

Contact Bike Stop Cafe in St. Charles (or check out their website). They offer shuttle service anywhere along the trail. My wife and I used them last year to drop us off in Clinton, MO and we rode the entire trail back. It was $240 for the both of us, hope this helps and enjoy the Katy Trail!

Amtrak is another possibility, but you may need to modify your itinerary such as where you start, etc. Sedalia is probably the closest to Clinton where you would ride to Clinton and then back to Sedalia. Or take Amtrak to Lees Summit, but LS would require about ten miles of road to reach Pleasant Hill to then get on the Rock Island and then ride to Windsor. There is a ten mile gap in the Rock Island trail between Lees Summit and Pleasant Hill.
Note that only regular size or type bikes or e-bikes allowed on train, not recumbent or trikes or tandems. The Amtrak River Runner doesn’t have an official baggage car, only passenger cars which is where the bikes are stored, either in a space created by where they removed a few seats in the coach section, OR if you upgrade to business class they might have you store it in a corridor against a railing in the business class car which is what I did. I made a video about this last September in the Fans of Katy Trail or the Katy Trail Riders Facebook page. Also, Amtrak only allows four bikes per the entire train due to the storage limitations. I suggest booking in advance and/or booking on a weekday for better chances of getting a spot. The only way to see if space is available is to reserve a spot for you, add that spot to your “cart” and then as a part of the reservation process is to add your bike as cargo. You don’t actually have to “check out” (and pay) you can simply exit the reservation process.

Is there a less expensive way to shuttle than what the bike shop cafe shows?

We're thinking of camping at the Katy Trail Campground on the trail and going out east from there. We don't have ebikes but we are wondering if there is a service that would take us back to the campground. We have our old regular bikes.

I'm not aware of anyplace named "KATY Brail Campground." What city/trailhead is it near?

I meant KATY Trail. Sorry.

The camping area is about 2 miles "west" of the trailhead in Hartsburg. As others have noted, there are no facilities besides a fire ring.

That said, the trailhead (2 miles away) has water and flushing toilets. If you are there on the right night of the week, you could find a restaurant open in Hartsburg. Or, you could cook a meal in city park near facilities, and then head to the camping area.

If you take the trail uphill from the fire ring, there is a mowed area about 30 yards up the hill, as Rick 76034 stated, which could be a little quieter and more private.

If you follow the trail up to the top of the ridge and walk out to the scenic overlook (about 0.7 miles) there's a pretty amazing view of the river valley.

This should take you to a little photo album.
https://www.facebook.com/bill.rodgersjr/posts/pfbid02cGaqYPnYUMMXiVAcJ1p7xDwzo8ygYHabdh2aaMDhCp1yAWPP35o6yELDxpbnPFKHl?notif_id=1773614244568483¬if_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

Why would you go here instead of camping in the town park?
quieter
fewer people around
you want to have a campfire
hammock spots

This place has reopened. Check their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HartsburgGrand) or call them for hours. As usual, do not trust hours shown on any other source.

We are going to ride sections of the Katy trail in early April.
We can't do long sections - no ebikes. And we need to have a campground close by to the trail.
We could go out and then shuttle as I see some shuttle service is available.
We like historic sections and rural sections and small town sections - no cities.

Please advise.

Thanks so much.

Travels with Nellie

Many enjoy Windsor as we're the crossroads of the Katy and Rock Island Trails so you can ride out three directions! A beautiful rural area with great lodging, restaurants, coffee shop and stores! We're surrounded by a large Amish community with two bulk food stores and Tues/Fri produce auction. There are two campgrounds - Katy-Rock Junction next to the trail and Farrington Park which has RV hook ups also. Enjoy your Katy adventure!

The Hermann area, east and west of McKittrick is a peaceful small town area. Hermann itself is a nice town with a rich German heritage. The wine cellar tour at Stone Hill winery offers a throwback prohibition era cellar. For camping options along the trail, check out the trip planner on this site to locate options.

Maybe 3 days in Windsor to do both directions on the Katy, then one way on the Rock Island.
Then 2 days at Cooper's Landing.
Then 2 days at the campground at Portland.
Then 2 days at Klondike Park.

If I had to cut back, the first cut would be to skip Portland.

If you have any idea how far out from your overnight spot you'd want to ride, then I could sharpen up the recommendations.

Found the Enchanted Owl through a FB posting. It is not listed on the bikekatytrail site. It is a few miles off the trail, but they offer a free shuttle with pickup at the Augusta Trailhead.

This is a really nice place to stay. Very peaceful. We were able to see the northern lights! We got a to-go order from Holzhausers to bring here for dinner, since I don't think that there are other food options. If I recall correctly it was pretty expensive, but it is a big, comfortable place.

The House rents for:
Friday & Saturday
$350 per night for up to 6 people. $58 per person

Sunday-Thursday
$250 per night for up to 6 people. $41 per person


The apartment rents for:
Friday & Saturday
$125 per night for up to 2 people. $62 per person

Sunday-Thursday
$75 per night for up to 2 people. $37.50 per person

Either option is very cost effective IMO.

Found this place on FaceBook when searching for a place to stay between Rocheportand McKittrick.. It isnt in the trip planner.

Good catch. I had searched for it recently on Google Maps. It might show up for someone if they search for Katy Caboose Hartsburg. It is listed in AirBnB, VRBO, etc.

The address would be something like 14 E Main Street.

I suppose that this is the old listing.
https://bikekatytrail.com/katyrest-caboose.aspx

Does anyone know if they close for the season? Unable to reach to make a reservation.

According to Google Maps, this hotel is permanently closed.

Thank you for catching that. I have removed it from the listings.

The trail drainage can improve if we get rid of the leaf filters. The last time the trail was clear was Memorial Day 2004, when the filters were washed out. I've seen the trail better since then, but the runoff is still an issue. The runoff should be addressed. The runoff is typically higher after larger storms, but even during smaller storms there is still standing water in some areas. The leaf filters seem to trap the water rather than allow it to pass through.

Wondering if Deon's is still open. going to be on the trail the last week of March, 2026 and camping at the city park Wednesday March 25th. Would like to swing by for some food!

So does anyone including Ray the Webmaster have any "juice" with the State Parks Ride Foundation people to start the organized ride back up in late June? I believe they cancelled the last one in 2022. They had a maximum 300 rider limit. Was it a resource funding issue or not enough volunteers or not enough vendor interest? I did a couple of them and they were great. Who can shed light on this subject?

Well, to start off the annual ride was organized by employees of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Many of the original employees retired or were promoted and no longer were available. It was a major commitment on the part of those employees to organize the events and manage what I would call herding cats for five days. I had the experience of volunteering as a sweep for many years. Our job was to follow the group, keep the stragglers moving along and assisting with mechanical issues and call in for rides when needed. Then COVID hysteria came along and the DNR employees had to shut down the ride. I’m guessing it was hard to get back in the rhythm of working the annual ride plus other commercial organizations stepped in, filling the need for the DNR‘s organized rides.

The ride was fun to do each year, I met many good people while volunteering.

There are options today even though the DNR does not do their sponsored rides.

The Big BAM on the Katy is upcoming June 7-13 and October 11-17 2026. Also a Big BAM Route 66 ride September 4-10.

https://www.bigbamride.com/

Besides Covid, floods were an issue. Also there are tours run by commercial interests like Big BAM and Bubba's Pampered Pedalers to name just two.

Thanks for the info. about the DNR ride. Most people don't know what a sweep is or does and it is a valuable position. I liked talking to the volunteers at the rest stops.

Also I've ridden the KT several times end to end both directions, try to shoot for May and August. I've run into the BAM groups in the past. Pedalers Jamboree people from Columbia too. The BAM Route 66 (Joplin to Eureka) looks good. Bicycle Illinois (St Louis to Joliet) is having one also Sep 20-27. I believe both MO and IL have invested some money for the combination 250 USA and Route 66 100 yr anniversary.

Thanks for your comments. Sweeps are valuable positions and wear many hats for rides. I liked the DNR ride especially the rest stops. I've ridden the KT several times since discovering it in 2005. I try to ride it twice a year with my wife as SAG. The Route 66 BAM ride looks interesting. Illinois is having one also Sep 20-27.

This year, 2026.\nI will be offering shovel service from point to point on the Katy Trail.The name my company is katy trail shuttle i will have two bike racks , one on the front one on the back that will possibly hold ten bikes. My name is Marvin Cotten then retired for 6 years and now I'm back some of you might remember me.I ran missouri river taxi in Boonville Missouri. Hope\nTo see some familiar faces, looking forward to meet new people.You can get a hold of me buy calling 660-621-2688, thank you. Have a nice day looking forward to spring.

Good to know Marvin. We will be needing a shuttle in May. I will get with you when are plans get a little more locked down.

Been there twice and got stolen from both times.

What was stolen? From while you were inside? Reason I ask is because I went last year while riding the Katy and we left our bikes outside. Had a great time. Plan to stop again this year but I’m super cautious. So I want to know what to be careful of. Thanks so much!! Appreciate the insight.

I've been there a few times, also. It's a quaint little town. I never had a problem. Heck, the original jail is right by Post 153. I wouldn't want to spend any time in that slammer. Surely that would deter someone. :) Curious as to what was stolen.

Hmm, while you were camping, or while you were in the restaurant? What kind of stuff was stolen?

Steedman is only 4 miles or so from Mokane.
Maybe a local with axe to grind?

Damn, Dave, did they lift your candy necklace outta the handlebar basket of your Huffy, or did they swipe the ABBA tape from your Walkman while you were snoozing off the Natty Daddys in your Coleman Insta-Dome or what the hell happened there, Man? And Twice! We have a right to know.

My guess is - and I'm quoting Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" - "you can't handle the truth!"

Yikes, you’re probably right about that, Bills!

Skeptical about this comment; author seems like a troll. I've been on several Katy Trail tours; thievery has never been as issue anywhere. I've left my bike in yards, porches all night without locking it up. No longer carry a chain or cable. Parked outside of Casey's, cafes, etc., while getting lunch or supplies. After settling in for the night, have walked to restaurants, convenience stores, Deon's, etc., in the dark; might run into a possum but that's about it. In short, nobody on the trail wants your stuff.

I believe the Mokane area has some history of a Halloween slasher since it’s isolated. I’d protect those ABBA tapes.

I heard the Applegate is being sold or has been sold. Anyone know how to get hold of the new owners?

Where is the safest multi day parking in Clinton, Mo

Clinton Community Center. You'll see a listing for it on the Clinton page.

Is the barn closed?

I believe that it is closed, and has been sold.

What about steamboat Junction? We’ve stayed there two or three times but it’s been at least three years. Does anyone know if it’s still in operation and available for camping?

Is there any information available on current trail conditions, similar to the ones given on the State of Missouri State Parks?

I want to ride this Monday, but the gravel roads in my area are still very soft and I do not want to damage the trail surface. The closest access to the trail for me is almost an hour's drive and I do not want to waste my time.

Biking Clinton to St Charles in August. Hoping this blog is still running. Last input was 2024. Wondering about long term parking. We are planning about 8 days for the ride. Thx!

I was in Clinton a few months ago, and there were vehicles in the long term parking area of the lot. Their maximum official allowable duration may be shorter than 8 days. Just call them and ask. Happy Riding!

The Clinton Community Center is collocated with the Senior Center and contains the gym, swimming pool and showers. There is designated parking for trail users at the center. When you arrive, check in with the front desk and complete the trail user form, or you can call ahead of time. I've parked there several times on extended trips without incident, and have never seen the parking lot full. From the center parking lot, take the off-street bike trail to the trailhead off Highway 52, about 1/2 mile. There is some camping available on the center grounds. Clinton's easy to navigate if you need trail supplies, restaurants, lodging, bike shops and so on.

can bicycle be brought into room for safety? what arrangements are available for storing bicycles overnight?

660-200-9527
Operators are standing by.

My group of three cyclist stayed there a few years ago and kept our bikes in our rooms. For that matter I've overnighted in many different motels and have always brought my bike in the room.

I’ve taken my bike into quite a few hotels, including several nowhere near a trail and no one has expressed any concern ever. Those bike tires don’t touch anything that shoes don’t touch. Or two wheel delivery carts, etc. You could bring a microfiber to dust the tires with as a gesture of goodwill. If you or the bike are really muddy that might make someone speak up, but if you practice Leave No Trace principles in your life it’s a moot point. I have no experience with that hotel, but since they are on or near the Katy, they’ve had plenty of cyclists before. If in doubt, call and ask them and of course get a name. I would add that I have seen signs that request guests don’t use hotel towels to clean bikes.

Has anyone stayed at The Silos at Prairie Vale near Green Ridge? I like to stay in non-standard places and wondered if anyone has stayed here.

Stayed at the silos during 2020 thru ride. Great ride off the trail, easy to find, hospitality from both hosts & farm animals was superb. Enjoy the Katy