Mark from Lee's Summit on 10/7/2025 2:01:21 PM:
The hills in Alton are no joke, so many people take the Amtrak train all the way to Downtown St. Louis where you can ride the paved (and flat) Mississippi levee trail back up to river to Alton. Coming from Downtown St. Louis allows you time along the Mississippi River and you get to cross the historic Old Route 66 Chain of Rocks Bridge back into Illinois before you get back to Alton. If you do want to ride to Machens from the Alton Amtrak station, most cyclists get to Hwy. 67 as quickly as possible so you can ride on that wide paved shoulder towards the river crossing. The two lane small sidestreets through Alton from the Amtrak station are narrow, wind around all over the place, and are really steep up and down. Either way, once you cross the river into Missouri along 67 Hwy, you will want to take St. Charles Street, then 94 Hwy for just a short stretch, Saale Road, Dwiggins Road, then 94 again for just a short stretch, and then Machens Road to the Katy Trail. If you want to ring the bell at the Machens trail head, you do have to double back a short distance before you start bike west towards St. Charles.