Information for Thanksgiving Trip

My family and I (mom, dad, 14-year old son, 9 year old daughter) are looking for a bike trip for over Thanksgiving week. What would biking the trail be like in late November be like? Would businesses and campgrounds be open? Would the weather be awful? Just trying to find out a realistic expectation for the Katy Trail. Should we make the trip at this time? Or should we plan to bike the trail during another season?

Susie, if you go to the home page of this site I believe there is a FAQ section that has a question about the best time to bike the trail. I went to a link on there to the average temperature and it looked like in Nov. the average is 44 degress. For me, that's a bit on the cool side for a bike ride. Living in Central Missouri I can tell you that at Thanksgiving is might be ok, or it might be wet and miserable, cold, yukky, unpleasant. Also, I believe DNR turns off the water at the trailheads and locks the bathrooms at the end of the season. I could not find where the date for that is given, but if I recall it is 11/1. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. I think most businesses will be shut down for the season at Thanksgiving.

If it were me, with my two kids (who are grown now, but I have vivid nightmares I mean memories of their teen years) I would not try biking the Katy Trail at Thanksgiving with them.

Find out when DNR turns off the water, etc. Also, I believe that October is a beautiful time of year with the fall colors. There are pleasant temperatures in October. I suspect most of the businesses are still operating during that period.

I do hope you can scheduled a ride on the Katy trail with your kids. They will remember it for the rest of their lives.

Missouri weather is generally cold in late November. As it was said, the average is about 44 degrees, that goes higher and goes lower. On the day I went in that month, the low temperature was about 38 with a high of about 50, and that was one of the better days. I didn't have to be as bundled up that day as I would have some others, but cold weather riding is still something that needs getting used to and will be a stressor on those that aren't used to it.

There's also the potential of cold rain, snow, and ice. Indeed, the state facilities will not be available (they close Nov 1. and open Apr 1) and most of the seasonal businesses will be closed as well.

Then if you're from the Austin in Texas, remember that plants tend to go dormant (as well as a lot of the wild life) when the temperatures get around freezing for a good while, so you will see a lot different Katy trail in November than you would see in the warmer months. I have a picture that is roughly equivalent to the one on the front page (same general location) that looks much different for the differences in plants and the general effect cold has on things.

For planning a time, you would probably have luck considering what you are willing to see, what your goals are for the trip, and what the group (overall) is willing to endure. I definitely recommend going sometime, though.

I often joke it snows in MO on Thanksgiving but not Xmas. Don't let that discourage you. We regularly ride into Oct. However, as with all Katy trips plan well. After a long days ride, there's nothing worse than a closed restaurant or a few stops to find a hotel.

You also might check weather.com for avg temps and winds for that time of year and make sure that fits your comfort level.