Turner Katy Trail Shelter Hostel

The Turner Shelter in Tebbetts will be closing for the winter to drop in traffic on November 15th. Reservations for winter stays can still be made by calling the office 3 days in advance - (573) 634-2322.

Bump

The ac works great! Hot showers! And the $15 dinner from the Collins family was worth every cent. A wonderful stop on the trip.

Shawn "Ruk Runner" Whitcomb, an American Discovery Trail hiker, shares that there is no more hanging key, a security camera is installed, and reservations are now required. Still $10/night, though!

www.conservemo.org/reservation-form.html or call
(573)634-2322 x 101 - M-F 8-430pm

Hopefully, this will cut down on the unexpected midnight visitors?
John.

You won’t need to make reservations after the shelter opens for the season in March. That said, it’s always a good idea to check with the office to make sure a youth group hasn’t reserved the whole shelter for the night you want to stay. That happens 3 or 4 times over the summer.

Rained all the way from Cooper's Landing to Tebbetts, a little over 30 miles. The Shelter was a much welcomed site. It is a bit through "town" and on your left. You will have to exit the trail, but can still see the trail. The Shelter is not far off trail, maybe less than a 100 yards.

There is a little connected "garage" for storing bikes. BUT, MAN that thing needs to be cleaned out. There is a lot of just jUNk in there that could be thrown in the dumpster. All together that evening, Tues Oct. 11th, there were 3 parties there, our 4, a guy and young teen son from Springfield and 2 guys from Dallas. So only 8 and the trash filled garage was hard to walk thru with our 8 bikes and 3 trailers, much less, repair the 2 flat tires we had.

Much to our welcomed surprise there was a flyer stuck to the fridge.
Rachel Collins - CALL HER! She will bring you a hot dinner, lunch or breakfast! She and her kids just started bringing meals to wearly bikers. WE had an OVERabundance of pasta, red sauce, meatballs, broccoli, garlic bread. Along with 2 chocolate cakes and a pan of brownies --- $15.00 per person! Did I say CALL her?! Do it. You'll thank me later... :) BEST food of the whole trip - hands down.

The hostel is a decent place to stop over on the trail. There are plenty of beds and all of the facilities work. I am not sure we will stay here again.

Like another commenter from early this summer, our stay was fine until a couple arrived at the shelter at around midnight. They were not hikers or cyclists, they arrived in a dark-colored compact car. They initially turned on the lights, then apologized and scurried around the house. They left within 5 minutes.

I would advise that anyone staying here bring the key inside when the last person goes to sleep and place it outside in the morning. It is common knowledge that the key is outside.

Good advice. Lock your doors to keep intruders out.

I am a native Missourian now residing in Ohio. First two visits went well and as expected. My third visit was disappointing as two individuals entered the shelter at midnight and were neither cyclists or hikers. The male and female wandered upstairs. then left and returned about thirty minutes later. The front door was left wide open and when I got up to close the door the male's attitude became aggressive. Upon daybreak it seemed as though the couple had left via the shelter side door, leaving it open. Shelter key was found laying in front of building in the gravel. Not a pleasant experience nor restful night.

Perfect place to stay during a stormy night. There were 5 others staying in the bunkhouse besides us. It has a lot of room. Beds for at least 30 people if using the top bunks. The air conditioning was perfect and the hot showers were just what we needed after a full day riding. The donation is $10 per person and a bargain.

We spent one night there and it was perfect for what we needed. Great place!

Stopped for the night on 7/14 after a long hot day on the trail, and felt lucky to find a place like this to spend the night.

Pop machine on the porch worked and the drinks were ice cold. Fridge, microwave, hot plate, coffee machine, a room to store the bikes, hot shower, a bed to sleep on, etc. All that and we had the place to ourselves.

That was my experience, yours may differ but I'd recommend this place as a stop for the night. The recommended donation is $5, but in my opinion it's worth more. Bring some food to heat up (seriously, there's not much in Tebbetts), have a cold pop and relax.

I agree! I stayed for night in June. I had the place to myself. Very quiet. Clean. Incredible bargain at $5.

I agree as well. The only thing that would make it better would be some Square Donuts from Terre Haute!

Does anyone know how many beds in the Turner Hostel? Thinking about taking a group through and staying there.

How large a group are you talking about? If it’s more than 10 I would contact them to make sure there is not a youth group staying there at the same time.

Stayed inside one night each way on our end to end to end Katy Trail ride with our human powered fat tire bikes. It was a good break from camping since it rained each night. Shared with 3 others one the way out and just one on the way back. An unexpected plus on the return trip was a trail angel dropping off bbq and potato salad and baked beans...Thank You!

More than likely the trail angels were members of the Tebbetts Community Club and/or the Tebbetts Odd Fellows lodge. The folks in Tebbetts have always been great supporters of the Turner Shelter.

Good timing on your part, sounds like you hit Tebbetts during the annual picknic.

I think it was the 1st Friday of the month supper. They sometimes take a couple of leftover plates to the shelter.

Are there any private rooms?

I don’t know that I would call it private but there is a small room upstairs with 1 bunk bed that has a door you can close. There’s no guarantee that someone else won’t be using it though. Depending on the trail traffic you may have the shelter to yourself or you may be sharing it with other riders or a youth group. You just never know.

Not sure exactly what you're looking for, but the room that has the door has to share a bathroom and shower with everyone else.

Stayed at the turner hostel on 3-5-21. Glad they are still there and operating. Be advised that there are no stores-restraunts-bars left in Tebbetts. Bring food or snacks if you plan to stay there. There is a pop machine on the porch of the hostel though.

We hoped to stay here on 10/10/20 but didn't want to share an indoor space at the time of Covid. The host said we were not welcome to camp outside because of a testy neighbor. We DID visit the place anyway to get out of the heat and take a shower. We left a $10 donation that was well worth it. The place is cool on a hot day.

This hostel is spartan, but no less sanitary than sleeping in a park.

When in Tebbetts, the Hostile is the only place to go
Na, na, na, na, na
Living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na, na, na, na, na
Living in a poor man's Shangri-La

This one is for you Jim

While I am occasionally hostile, the hostel is not hostile.................

Dang autocorrect strikes again!

P.S.
I enjoy the math problems at the end in order to post to exercise what remains of my grey matter.

Dang autocorrect strikes again!

P.S.
I enjoy the math problems at the end in order to post to exercise what remains of my grey matter.

Just be glad it is simple addition and not compound fractions........

I’ll be on the trail thanksgiving weekend, does anyone know if the shelter is open or closed for the season. Thanks in advance

It’s open.

JM Thanksgiving afternoon I will have a traditional dinner. If you are in the area stop by. Might be paper plates and eating by a bonfire but you will be welcome.

I stayed there for one night in July 2020. Perfect place for a short stop over, shower and quick dinner fix. One additional thing to note is that there is no cell reception for Tmobile and Verizon here.

Walked through the hostel today. Looks like a great place to stay. The only thing is needs is guests! Next time we will stay here.

Is the turner hotel open yet,? I was hoping to use it around marc20

I meant hostel

The shelter is open. Probably be turning the heat up over the weekend.

Stopped in to rewarm and make coffee, but stayed for a shower and waited for the rain to pass. Volunteers have put great effort into this place. Their time and thoughtfulness is evident in so many details. Thank you! Please take care of this little treasure, and put your donation in the envelope and drop in the mailbox across the street.

Spent a night here recently. It is $5 per person, which is a great price for a place to sleep indoors. They have bunk beds and mattresses, but bring your own sleeping bag. There's also a decent kitchen to cook in. Warm showers included. The only issue was that the heat was turned up way too high! And there's no one at the site, which brings me to how do you get in. When I reached there, someone was already there, so the door was unlocked. But I was told by another group about having to hunt for the key on a utility pole to the right of the house.

The key has been on the utility pole for many years and is not really a “hunt”. No public facility is going to allow the public to control the heat, there are window air conditioners there.

Not open in January. No food around.

Thank you, Mrs. Leone Turner for leaving us this place to use. It is the brightest gem on the whole Trail, in my book. What a generous act, Mrs. Turner's pic is on the wall. Fridge, hot plate, microwave, A/C. A Bike Room w/tools, and spare parts, leave a donation, the key hangs on the post. There is an upstairs, w/ a patio. Great showers, and bunk beds. The idea, the history of it, is great. God Bless you, Mrs. Turner, you did a fine thing for us.

We HEART the Turner Shelter! Me and a friend stayed here last Saturday (6/7) and had the shelter all to ourselves. It was a much needed stop after riding 30mi from Hermann through rain and thunderstorms. The shelter is extremely clean, air-conditioned, and has HOT showers. Although we were two girls staying alone, we felt very safe. I can't wait to stay here again!

I stayed there on June 4th. It was great! There was a group of about 15 in the ground floor, but I had the upstairs to myself. I had some bike repairs to do so there was a place to do that as well. I ate at the P4 Pub & Grub next door and it was great!

There are some pics of the Turner Shelter on my Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/acrossMO

Thanks for the info and pics. My daughters and I plan to stay here in a few weeks as we enjoy a trek on the KTrail.

Will I need a sleeping bag or sheet sack or do they have bedding available?

You need to provide your own bedding or there is a local lady that will provide at a small price. Her contact info is inside the shelter.

Just called to verify that bedding was available and the lady no longer does that...

The bunks have vinyl-covered mattresses, if I remember correctly. My go-to bedding is a lightweight sleeping bag, which is flexible enough to use at a campground or on the bunks at Turner Shelter.

Is there indoor storage at the Turner Katy Trail Shelter for your bike?

Yes there is a room for storage and a stand for bike repair in it.

Allen

When I stay at the Tebbetts shelter, I always take it inside and don't even take my panniers off my bike: I just bring it inside and prop it against my bunk.

Good thing you don't use those skinny road tires. They'd cut right through that wood floor.

Always surprised by how little basic high school physics the Anonymous actually understand...

Anonymous have we met before? Your real name isn't Dick is it?

I believe those dog packs would definitely go for your bikes if you leave them outside an that beef jerky in the panniers.

Nah. You're thinking of your brother Richard that lives down Midsouth area.

Is there a safe place to keep your bike or can they be store indoors?

Ours are always stored indoors. In the garage out of the way. If I had to leave them outdoors I'd lock them up good and invest in a cover to keep the rain and snow, etc. off.

Where, when and how long? Safe to cover an lock most places but if a long time, lock may not be good enough. Businesses or B&Bs may store for a small fee.