Reply to Katy Trail Mid Oct.

Hi, I am planning an RV camping trip and e-bike ride on the Katy trail mid Oct. 2023. I need some local knowledge re: where to camp. I am thinking of spending 4 nights at River's edge in Boonville, 4 nights in Herman City park in Herman, and 3 nights at Sandemier RV park in St. Charles. Does this seem like a good plan to ride most of the Katy Trail? Thanks in advance!

One thing to keep in mind as you plane your trip, depending on your E-Bike and charging capabilities, you need to take into account the west of Booneville stretch will require more juice due to the long inclines than the east of Booneville stretch which is mostly flat. Also since it is mostly a pea gravel trail, it will take more juice than paved roads will. All falling into the disclaimer of your mileage may vary from the stated range of your e-bike.

Thanks Gary!

My wife and I just did Clinton to Machens on our Rad Rovers. It was a blast!
First timers, we packed too much but the bikes did fine. We stayed in Sedalia the first night and did notice the slight grade. I actually rode the first ten miles on zero assist, wasn’t too bad. We are used to riding in a hilly area where we live and it will use some battery for sure.
We were not sure how far we could go on the Katy, not having the same terrain as we were used to, but they performed well. The next day, Sedalia to Boonville was better, I rode with more assist and finished with plenty of battery life remaining.
Boonville to Jefferson City over 50 miles we rolled in with roughly a third of our battery life, we were more comfortable and did use more assist power.
Being the weekend, our next planned stop was to be Hermann, however we could not get accommodations there. So decided to hang out in Jefferson City an extra day and see the sites. Well worth it!
Our next section was the longest, Jefferson City to Marthasville , ended up being a 69 1/2 mile day! Not really what we wanted to do, but again no accommodations available in Hermann, so we decided we would drive back and visit Hermann after we finished the ride.
This day was long but good, we actually stopped in Portland at the Holzhauser’s bar for lunch and some beers, and charged our batteries. They had no problem letting us plug them in.
The remaining stretch to Marthasville went well, and had roughly a third of battery life remaining.
We did Marthasville to St. Charles the next day 43 miles, no problem. And did the round trip to Machens and back to St.Charles! Ready to do it again!
E-bikes are definitely harder to pedal than a regular bicycle when the battery is dead, but it is doable on the Katy.

If you want to ride some of our beautiful west end Windsor is a great place to stay and ride out three directions - toward Clinton, toward Sedalia, and into Amish country on the new Rock Island Trail State Park toward Pleasant Hill. Full servie RV spots at our beautiful Farrington Park

Hello Kimtus!

There is nothing like the Katy! You will love it!

For the southern/western/end of your ride (and anyone else), I would consider a town a little further down the trail for the last section. Windsor is where the Katy and Rock Island cross. There’s a couple of really nice places there.

Clinton is the end on this side. One could even take the Rock Island from Windsor to Lee’s Summit to the trail station.

Thank you for coming this way to enjoy this wonderful resource for bikes.

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Happy Trails!