Reply to Which way is best, St Charles to Clinton or reverse ?

Just wondering if people had a preference for starting and ending ponts.

Hi! We are going to KT in May and according to some friends they said to go West to East. We are starting in Clinton, which is a small town but I had little trouble getting a room.

There is (apparently) a city parking lot that is free so you could park there and go to St. Charles and then shuttle back. The shuttle is $110 a person and goes daily from STC to Clinton at 0800.
If you decide to go to Manchens, then that's a 30 mile round trip to get back to STC.

Of course you could cycle back.

The trail is downhill going west to east. Maybe not all that much beings it is a rail trail, but the hill in Boonville wasn’t named Lard Hill for nothing. The elevation chart at the bottom of the mileage chart shows the elevation of each town along the trail. Best—downhill.

Wind direction changes often and it can swirl along the bluffs making the headwind/tailwind debate kind of a moot point to me. Best—either direction.

Which way is best? Based on what? Slope of trail…wind direction….travel plans before and after riding….required amenities before and after the ride…time of day riding into the sun or on your back….etc? Best—depends on you.

I rode the whole trail last summer. West to east is a bit easier, especially the western most part of the trail. Like was said before, Boonville offers a lot of exercise going east to west. It's not a "hill" but rather a slight "grade". Grade equals no coasting for maybe a mile or better. Sedalia to Clifton City was pretty gravelly. I was really glad my tires and tubes were new when I did that stretch. Otherwise it might have been pretty iffy. Enjoy.

Thanks for the info, I really appreciate that. Does anyone have the name and number for the shuttle service from St. Charles to Clinton?

There's only about 500 feet of elevation difference from the high point to the low point so the trail is pretty flat. The only other physical reason for choosing one direction over the other is the wind. Some people will argue it doesn't matter because the wind changes so much and geography affects it too much, etc. However I've ridden sections of the trail a lot and I did a round trip of the entire trail last year and yes wind direction will vary but from my personal experience most of the time it's easier going west to east.

I've done the entire trail 11 times with about half each direction. I prefer west to east as the tailwind is 'usually' that way. Plus there is that nice downhill into Boonville. However there are two downsides going that direction.

1. If you are an early riser, the sun will often be in your eyes.

2. Some businesses, such as restaurants, are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in the smaller towns. However this issue can be avoided by starting in Clinton on Monday then spending the night in Sedalia. On Tuesday spend the night in Boonville.

"There's only about 500 feet of elevation difference from the high point to the low point so the trail is pretty flat."

That's over roughly 200 miles....so yes it's pretty flat.

But from Boonville to Pilot Grove the elevation gain is 220 feet.

From Boonville to Sedalia the elevation gain is 290 feet.

It's pretty flat from Kansas City to Salt Lake City too...except that part where ya have to go over the Rocky's.

Oh Anonymous, you're such a party pooper.

I did a ride from Rocheport to St. Charles and I don't recall elevation or wind being an issue. I do believe the elevation challenge is probably west of Rocheport.

I've ridden a lot between Huntsdale and Rhineland and the wind is catch as catch can.

Some people prefer to get those long stretches of slight inclines in the west part out of the way early when their legs are fresh than to do them when coming at the end of the ride after you have ridden the relatively flat east part of the trail.

Yep....reality can be a party pooper. Or it at least can make a bike ride less enjoyable than it could have been.

That's what really makes Gary's post relevant.

Of course there are some hills. It's Missouri after all. Between Sedalia and Booneville there are a few that go on for what seems like a mile but they are a very slight gradient. Overall the trail is pretty flat and pretty easy, even with a loaded down bike.

My preference is also W to E. And driving from OKC to Clinton is about 5 hours. So instead of trying to camp or hotel in Clinton, we choose to roll the easy 17 miles to Winsor and stay and Katy Rock Junction! It a great place with little "home depot" type shed cabins. RIGHT off the trail on the left, just past the Star Spangled Caboose, which will be on the right. There's a Casey's right there too and several nice small town eateries in Winsor. This way you can make your trek from your home town and still get a few miles on the first day.

**Take WARNING though... The Clinton Community Ctr will not let you leave your car keys for the Bike Stop Cafe transport. The first time I rode the KT with my adult sons in Oct '22, we were able to fill out a form and they took my keys and the form. The BSC came and got my truck and it was waiting for us at our hotel in St. Charles. This past Oct when hitting the trial with my wife, the lady at the Comm Ctr said - "we don't do that, never have". Well I must have imagined that then. But i didn't. She said you can leave your car here, fill out his form, it can stay here for up to a week before we have it towed. She was surely NOT the friendliest person in Clinton. I called the BSC and they had their transport driver, Tony, meet us along the trail at Green Ridge, on our second day.

Scotty Mac - OKC

Just another 2 cents worth. I've been on four trips on the MKT, either all or parts, and direction doesn't make much difference, although going west to east with the downhill into Boonville preferable. I've never been on the trail when the winds were favorable; more often than not, there was no wind or there was a headwind. It is more important where you overnight, as you will be at your best in the AM. A great option, which eliminates a shuttle, is to head west from Clinton to St Charles. The out and back to and from Machens is an easy 24 miles round trip, so you can do the entire trail. Then double back from STC to either Washington or Hermann, and catch the train back to Sedalia. Then ride from Sedalia to Clinton. You bypass all the grades around Boonville, and the trail from Sedalia to Clinton (east to west) is really pleasant. You do need to be flexible, as you have to be in place to meet the train, and it doesn't always keep on schedule. Also, it adds some time to the trip. It's more complicated than I can explain in a comment, as there are many options for waypoints and overnight locations, but with some research a rewarding itinerary is possible.