R. Vaughn from St. Charles on 4/7/2023 9:49:47 PM:
Previously, when I've been to Machens, I've been able to exit the trail to the east and ride beside the railroad about a block to the left to reach Machens Rd. (which connects to Hwy 94).
Today when I went to do this, somebody had left a pile of rocks blocking access to the trail from that direction. It didn't seem like something that would be done "officially" -- it's not the same rocks used along the trail and it was just outside the gate. It seemed strange. There were no official looking signs saying that the exit from the trail was closed in that direction... Also, there was a rope across Machens Rd at the railroad tracks blocking off access and a sign facing to the north (away from Katy Trail) saying "posted, no trespassing" or something like that. I thought that was all public, even though it's a dead-end road. It seems strange that there would be a standard looking exit from the trail to the East if that's feeding out onto private land. But somebody seems to think it's their private property and has blocked it off.