Reply to Ride Advice for One Person

May I ask some ride advice about the Katy Trail? I plan to come to Missouri in early
October but do not have the equipment to ride self-contained. My plans are to camp where
possible. What I have been thinking is drive my truck to a town, camp for the night, ride part
of the trail each way then drive truck to another location.
If you would be most kind to offer suggestions for locations to camp and ride, I would
appreciate it. I probably won't be riding the entire trail.
Gene

Using the Plan a Ride feature above....you can generate a list of campgrounds along the trail. We've camped at Steamboat Junction.....it's an easy ride to Hermann and back from there....handy if you want to consume or pack and carry some good wine. We've also camped at the Roundhouse in New Franklin....an easy ride to either Boonville for lunch or to Rocheport for some river views and bluffs. You can rent both the tent and the camping spot at the Roundhouse.

suggest throw minimum needs in a backback, strap it to your bike and stay in the numerous B&B's along the trail.. Cost you 60-70 bucks a night but so worth it. Always take the Amtrak back close to your starting point.

Your plan is solid. Your vehicle will allow you to find food and safety every evening, while realizing that some of the local cafes and markets are not open all the time. You’ll also be able to tailor your distance riding to the weather or how you feel at the time.

As you might know, in addition to the several out-of-park campgrounds along the trail, a few fishing camps and B&B’s allow camping for a small fee. Also, many of the small towns have community parks with pavilions which can be used with permission, depending on how much camping is to be done..merely sleeping overnight, heavy campfire cooking, or skinning, gutting, and butchering deer, big fish, and other wild game? :) :)

If you ride the middle parts of the trail, you might consider the Turner Katy Trail Shelter in Tebbetts for a night or two, $5 a night. It’s a two-story bunk-house hostel having running water, hot showers, bathroom, heat, cooling, bike room, fridge, microwave, and coffee maker. The door key is kept on a utility pole outside.

Because Tebbetts is very small, and if you use it, you might want eat somewhere first, or take your own warm-up food with you, including coffee grounds and creamer. :) The convenience store there closes at 6-pm, and I hear the bar-grill doesn’t keep regular hours. Still, you can drive to it fairly easily for inside camp-outs, if desired. (See the Shelter Story under the run/ride/hike-reports section of this website.)

I agree with both previous posters: if you can afford the B & Bs that is the way to go. Use this website to locate B & Bs on your route and call ahead and book your room, so you won't be left without a room. But if you can't affort that, then as the other poster said, the Turner Shelter would be a place to camp, ride as far as you want to go in one direction, go back to the shelter for the night, then go in the other direction. Since you'll have your truck you can easily drive to Mokane to the east or Jefferson City to the west for food.

If you're coming in Oct., the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival is 10/10/09-10/11/09 per this website. I've heard it's a great time. Place will be packed, but it still should be fun.

After your trip, get back on this forum and let us know how it worked out for you.

Yes, the B&B's and their whomping breakfasts are a real treat for tired aching bicyclists. However, the ones in the winery areas get a bit pricy for solo bikers, even at weekday prices.

Still, several moderate ones provide along the trail give the basics, like, the one(s) in Marthasville, Hartburg, Rhineland, Rocheport, Pilot Grove and so on. I hear the Peers Store (near Marthasville) has an historical two-bedroom one that gives the basics: full bath, TV, and hamburger-sized breakfast sandwich. Cost, $45 plus $5 for each additional person. That's my speed. :)

Correction: Peers has a two-regular-bed in one-room one plus secure bike storage on the backporch.

Except for the all-night gas stations and certain convenience stores along the trail, it's hard to believe anything else opens at 5-am. :) But, it does.