Retirement Location on the Katy Trail

I've been an avid Rails to Trails rider my whole life. We're in the process of researching retirement areas. A must is to be located on a Trail System, like the Katy Trail.

If you could settle into a quiet, rural surrounding on the Katy Trail, and in close proximity to other bicycling trails where year round riding is available where would you suggest?

We are looking for a few wooded acres to put up a small manufactured home on the trail or adjoining trails that offer the most avialbale miles and scenic diversity while being high & dry.

Can we get this done for under 140K?

Jeff, I too am very close to retirement and the same thought has crossed my mind concerning retiring close to a Rail Trail, Bike Trail etc. First if you haven't done the KATY, you need to, and take your time so as to evaluate all of the small towns along the way. Winter will be dicey for cycling unless you do that already up in Wisconsin. Other trails for year round....Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga in Georgia/Alabama, Pinella Trail in Florida. These are pretty much the "year-round" and longer of the Rail trails....there are others in Mississippi and Louisiana both damaged heavily during Hurricanes Katrina/Rita (which would not be an endorsement by the way in terms of living there). These trails are nice and in the 30-40 mile range. I am looking at the KATY, I've done it, lots of country around, and it goes three quarters of the way across the state of Missouri! It gets chilly in the winter and can get downright am-I-in-Kansas blizzard like but its the exception rather than the rule in terms of heavy snow. Traillink.com lists almost 100% of the trails in the US which has links to world Rail Trails including those in Canada....those Canucks they are ambitious with their Route Verte which is part of their Trans-Canada Cycling route. Enjoy the Voyage....Mark of the Dalton Boys

Retiring near a Rail trail is a great idea and I would like to do so someday also. Great response Dalton Boys as you saved me some typing. Traillink.com is a great resource. I have been on the Pinellas trail and it is an urban trail with a fair number of street crossings. It is also oppressively humid in the summer, worse than here in MO but gorgeous in the late fall/winter/early spring. There are other trails in Florida but they are very flat albeit most are asphalt.If you are close to a retirement age then I would surmise that you would getting close to the age in which you have to think about easy access to medical care also. Columbia MO is a great source of such, having the second highest per capita hospital bed number in the country behind Rochester, MN. So although it may be a bit hot in the mid summer and cold in the winter, a little country place near striking distance of Columbia would be an appealing spot for an avid rail trail person. You could do weekend trips to other trails in IA and NE also.

I'm biased, of course, since I live here, but I would suggest looking into the Columbia area. There are several SMALL towns near Columbia right on the trail (McBaine, Huntsdale, Easley), where I think land would be pretty cheap. Rocheport is farther away, but more of a town. Same with Hartsburg. The spur trail into Columbia from the Katy is a very pleasant ride. Columbia itself already has quite a few miles of beautiful in-town trails, and is well on its way to developing a very good system of interconnected nature trails and bike paths/bike lanes. For information, check out www.pednet.org, or follow the links to the trails portion or the Parks and Rec page at www.gocolumbiamo.com. I ride the trails in Columbia most of the year. There are usually a few very cold weeks, and the trails can become tough riding when we get our one or two big snow or ice storms during the winter. And yes, it is hot and humid in the summer, but you are from the Midwest! You knew that!

....again have to weigh in. Left Columbia in l968 when I joined the service, came back for a couple of years and then moved to Austin, TX. when Austin was like a Columbia on steroids. Since then and a ride down the KATY with my brothers I can say that Columbia has retained that quality that I also would vote to live if looking for a place to move to. I know I will end up back in the Central part of Missouri...s-h-h-h-h don't tell everyone. I would share my thoughts of how Austin has handled growth but I can't bite the hand that has fed, and I remember who "brought me to the dance". enjoy the voyage.......Mark of the Dalton Boys

I've always wondered what was going on in the Austin Area?! My perception is Austin must be one of the most bicycle friendly areas on the planet?

Thanks for all you great replies. For some reason I haven't been able to get down to peddle the Katy. Been to busy peddling around here.

The Columbia Area sounds fantastic, I'll be checking it out.

Thanks again, going to go ride up the Lake with a 35 mph side wind!

Jeff

Jeff - you are sir, an animal to intentionally go out to do a ride in a 35 mph wind going/coming in ANY direction. Your perception is correct to a degree....the city council of Austin would have one believe that they are at, or near the top in terms of being bicycle friendly (what with Lance Armstrong living here most of the year). Austin is a little above average in that category. The cycling community puts out a lot of effort but the growth of this city is burgeoning i.e. out-of control. If you want to live where there is a Home Depot, Wal-Mart, or major grocery store chain at every 3-5 miles within the city limits then Austin, TX. is for you my friend. Of course the average temperature is 80 degrees over the course of a year and that''s attractive, and the one thing to consider is with this growth it brings more people who are driving vehicles. If Wisconsin vehicular law is like Texas, a cyclist has the legal right to "take one''s lane" and like everywhere else in the country that is urban, that makes us full-time cyclists a nuisance at best. Austin does have a very decent trail system and I do not own a car so I am acutely aware of the pluses and minuses, but contrary to some magazine ratings in this regard Austin is a little more hype than reality. As I always say to folks though....check it out yourself...you will be the best judge. Austin is better than most, true, but not as good as its billed and certainly WAY less than its potential. Enjoy the voyage...Mark of the Dalton Boys

I think that downtown st.charles would be a great place because you have they katy trail real close. Then there is the creve couer trail and that is nice because it leads you to the creve couer lake wich is very nice to sit around on hot summer days. St.Charles is a great town with historic homes and such. You have mainstreet which is very nice around christmas but also has some good restaurants.