October 2026 ride

I have ridden the length of the Katy Trail from Clinton to St. Charles ten times, and looking for anyone interested in riding from the west end in Clinton to St. Charles in October. I plan to do a "leisurely" ride over the course of six days. I like to pass through the lil town of Hartsburg on the 2nd Saturday of October for their annual Pumpkin Festival. My itinerary over the six days is:
1) Clinton-to-Sedalia
2) Sedalia-to-Rocheport
3) Rocheport-to-North Jefferson (usually cross the river to Jeff City for my hotel stay)
4) North Jefferson-to-Hermann
5) Hermann-to-Augusta
6) Augusta-to-St. Charles
In years past, I have enjoyed the company of my brother and/or my brother-in-law. This year will be one of the few times I will be on my own, unless (hopefully) I can find some people to ride along with me. If interestex, please respond to this post and we can try to set something up. The bigger the group, the better, as far as I see it!!
P.S. I like to park my vehicle at my sister's house in St. Charles and catch a ride to Clinton with any one of my siblings or in-laws.

Hey how's it going Dogbert - I was looking at coming up and doing the Katy trail in September solo, but would be willing to wait if I could find others. I was looking at doing a similar itinerary (driving up, parking in Clinton and then doing a similar 5-7 day thing in most of the same stops you have listed, then taking Amtrak back when trail is done.)

This would be my first bikepacking trip, so I'm sure your experience would be invaluable - LMK what you think.

Hi D, yes, that would be great! Hopefully, more interested parties would go along. (I have also ridden the GAP and C&O canal towpath from Pittsburgh to D.C. Hope to do that again, as well. But that's a discussion for another time!)
The Katy is my "hometown" trail. The first time I rode it, I just happened to pick an itinerary that put me in Hartsburg on the Saturday of their pumpkin festival. I had no idea, and as I approached on the trail, I noticed a LOT more people walking, pushing strollers, pulling wagons, etc. Then as I came out of the woods surrounding the trail, there was a huge mass of people, tents, booths, all kinds of commotion. I had lunch and a beer at this lil place where there was live music being played in the gravel parking lot!! All over there were whole pumpkins, carved pumpkins, crocheted pumpkins, pumpkin taffy, pumpkin pie, pumpkin gooey butter cake, you name it!! Been going each time for that weekend in Hartsburg. *One year I rode it as a benefit for one of my brothers who was going through treatment for leukemia, and solicited donations per mile. Even put up flyers at each one of the trailheads. Must have worked, because I noticed more than a few unrecognized deposits into the dedicated bank account for him.* Hope to see you and more peeps along for the ride!!

That's awesome! Great to hear that you've got such a great hometown trail - My nearest equivalent is the Northeast Texas Trail which is apparently in a constant state of destruction and disrepair lol. I've looked at the GAP and C&O as well, those were on my shortlist but figured Katy is probably the most beginner friendly. It sounds like the Katy trail has all sorts of stuff and lots of good activity going on based on your stories!

Could we exchange emails so I could ask you a few more questions?

Mine is: modulemoon@proton.me

Hey, D, a fold-out, glossy map of the Katy Trail, with lots of information like mileage charts, points of interest, etc. can be obtained by calling the Katy Trail State Park Office @ 573-449-7402.

Seeing your apreciation for the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival, I must share this story. I lived in Missouri for 40 years, 30 of which were in Jefferson City. I was blessed to meet a lovely couple, Nancy Grant and Mike Rodemeyer from Hartsburg. By the time I met them, Nancy had retired from politics. But in her heyday she was the Mayor of Hartsburg. She used to talk about how somehow they came up with the idea of having a Pumpkin Festival. Once the community was on board she and a couple of others went on the local tv morning news programs, with pumpkin muffins in tow, to talk up the festival. The rest is history. I hope you guys are able to do your ride so that you can enjoy this unique event.

Good evening D, hoping you are still considering the west-to-east ride in October. If so, I can pass along some lodging options I have availed myself of in the cities/towns I have listed on my tentatuve itinerary.

We are also looking to ride from Clinton to St Charles the middle of October (14th-19th). It looks like our itineraries match almost exactly. The only difference is we planned
5) Hermann-to-Defiance
6) Defiance-to-St. Charles
We thought we would add in the St Charles-to-Machens but have to return back the same way.

We're planning to be pretty "casual" because we're riding a tandem and self supporting. We may only be averaging 8-10 miles per hour. We plan to stay in B&Bs and hotels and eat out all meals.

I was actually checking the Forum to see if someone needed a car driven back to Clinton on the 20th because we're coming from Colorado with a truck and camper. The shuttle services are great, and a wonderful option, but a little steep on price.

We have a place to leave the truck and camper in Clinton at no cost for the week, so I am needing to get a ride back to Clinton at the end of (day after) our trip.

Hi Don & Nance! The days I plan to ride are the 8th-13th of October, in order to enjoy the unique atmosphere of the Pumpkin Festival in Hartsburg on Staurday the 10th. If there is a chance that you might be able to change your riding schedule, that would be great. I pack my lunch for each day on my bicycle, and have breakfast and dinner in the layover towns along the way.