Accommodations recommendations

Looking to cycle the Katie trail from Columbia to Machens and back toward the end of August. Plan to stay 4 nights along the way. Any advice on good places to stay / eat would be appreciated!

In St. Charles, I like the Country Inn and Suites right on Main Street and right on the Trail. Not the cheapest, but it works well for me. Easy walk to Trailhead Brewery or other eating places along Main. Have also had great service from Lococo House in St. Charles including help with transportation to the MetroLink Train. Very helpful folks. I'm just not a B&B person really.

Have also been pleased with my stay at Dollhouse B&B in Rhineland. Again, not cheap, but it was where I needed to stay. Restaurant an easy walk across the highway...but that's the only choice and in my opinion the quality of the food has gone down there over the past couple years. Again, that's just my opinion.

The ride down to Hermann is an easy one and a safe one now. I think it's worth the trip. Several good places to eat down there. I've stayed at the Vinchester in Hermann a couple times. As Hermann goes, its pretty cheap....unless its some kind of festival weekend when everything in Hermann is (in my opinion) outrageously priced. Vinchester is basic, but clean and meets my needs just fine.

Hope that's useful. Have a great trip.

Although we've started trips in Columbia, for the out of towner I'd suggest either starting in Rocheport or riding there before heading on eastward. Abigail's and the Rocheport General Store are good places to eat in town, as well as Les Bourgeois on top of the bluff northeast of town. The A-frame at Les Bourgeois has a good river valley view. Boonville can be seen from the bluff to the west ten to twelve miles away. There is also a good BBQ restaurant just behind the bike shop at the trailhead. Rocheport also has the tunnel on the west edge of town and just east of town are several interesting railroad related things such as the old ammunitions bunker. We've stayed at the Schoolhouse B&B which was nice, but our room was pretty small for the dollar charged.

Hartsburg has Dotties Café which is a welcome spot, very friendly and good food. We haven't been to the Hartsburg Grand, but it gets good reviews here. We've not stayed in Hartsburg, but would like to stay in the Caboose sometime.

In Jefferson City, which is a short ride off the trail, we've stayed at Cliff Manor B&B and several of the hotels just south of the capital grounds. All were nice accommodations and reasonably priced. We've eaten at Madison's a few times. Aris pizza is good food (Columbia location anyway) and the Central Dairy is a good stop too. All three of those are just a few blocks from the capital.

We've stayed several places in Hermann in years past. A lot of the places there now require a two nights stay, which at the rate charged is no longer a good deal for us. Nice places like Hermann Hill and Hermannhof are good stays, but are pricey. There are other places though. The Stonehill Winery is a good place to eat German food and the tour of the prohibition period wine cellar is worth seeing. If you're going to buy wine, Loutre Market just south of McKittrick is less expensive than at the wineries and they have a decent selection. Hermannoff winery has a nice patio

I would agree with starting in Rocheport over Columbia. The ride down the MKT spur from Columbia is the same distance as riding from Rocheport but if you ride from Rocheport you won't have wall-to-wall walkers, runners and kids on bikes for the first 5 or 6 miles.

We have started in Columbia at Flatbranch park. It is right across the street from Flatbranch Brewery, so had a bite of lunch before hitting the trail. We roadie to Jeffeson City and stayed at the Baymont Inn close to the capital. Pedestrian / bike bridge is fun to cross and the views of the river are amazing. Aris Puzza is always good, too. We rode the next day to Washington. Had a large group with us, so stayed at the Super 8. Bridge into Washington is scary, so we had a private shuttle take us to the hotel. From Wahington, rode to St. Charles. Stopped for a bit at Augusta Brewery. Beer is good but you will wait awhile on food. Stayed at Country Inn and Suites. Right on the trail and in the historic district. Within easy walking distance to several restaurants. We have also stayed overnight in Hermann at the Wine Valley Inn. Hermann is easy to get to now with the bike friendly bridge but you will have some hills in town. Have a great trip.

I'd definitely check out Hermann and Augusta. The last comment about not making the trip to Washington is dead on...nice place but road is not really bike friendly. Rendleman in Bluffton is a real bike guy...at least stop and say hi! If you can stay over for a fun nite there.

I will just put in a plug for my place, Joey's birdhouse in McKittrick, right on the trail, reasonably priced, no two night minimum and I will always happily make a delicious supper for my guests with advanced notice.

I would agree with starting in Rocheport, or your going to miss a very nice part of the trail.