Windsor MO on the Katy Trail and Rock Island Trail

I second all these nice comments about Kim's Cabins. Great plane to stay. Kim is so kind and welcoming, and the cabins are perfect after a day of riding - comfortable, clean, and charming. I had to tear myself away the next morning!

Spent the night at Kim's Cabins and what a pleasure it was. Cabins are fully stocked with everything but food. Great firepit, shwd to lock ypur bikes in, plenty of shade and comfortable beds. It is literally steps off the Katy Trail. Highly recommend staying at Kim's Cabins on your way through.

We stayed at Kim's Cabins and it was fantastic. Kim's communication was above and beyond. She texted on the day of arrival, assuring we had the directions to find the Cabin and that she was able to meet us there. After we checked out, we received a Thank You text from Kim.
We had dinner at Cinco de Mayo (the only place that serves alcohol) and it was great Mexican food and excellent, friendly service. We had breakfast at the Side Track Cafe in Windsor. It was fair. Not the best breakfast of our trip . It was a cold morning so we stopped in Green Ridge at the Parkside Cafe. This is about one block north of the trail. It was immaculate with excellent service. We only had pie and coffee but the pie was very good. Next time we would wait for breakfast to eat here.
Kim is talking about adding extra cabins and even maybe a "Kim's Cabins of Pleasant Hill". Wouldn't that we great. She is a true supporter of the Trails.

Is there any camping between Pleasant Hill and Windsor? Thanks for any reply.

I believe we were told over the weekend that there might be a few camping spots in Chilhowee. I'm not sure who you would contact about those. We were also told the mayor of Chilhowee was turning a house into a hostel in town.

I have not heard of any. If I were you, I'd contact the Chilhowee Corner Store and see if they know anything. They are close to the trail, and probably would know. They have a Facebook page, you could probably message them. City of Chilhowee is also on Facebook.

Leeton and Whiteman Air Force Base volunteers built a new pavilion in the Leeton park hoping to attract trail riders, according to this article:
http://www.dailystarjournal.com/news/local/raising-the-roof/article_f4516d06-2e5e-54ff-a5f8-d963adfd2194.html
It also says that the city voted to allow camping in the park, so you should probably call to see if it is now allowed (and then Ray can update the Rock Island website).

Just an FYI to anyone using the western end of the trail, I just received the following email. This would be on the side of Windsor closest to Clinton.

I live in Windsor and frequent the Trail. I wanted to make you aware of a potentially dangerous area just at the south end of Windsor. As you are leaving Windsor on the Trail and go under Hwy 52 by the Windsor Livestock Auction the entire area on both sides of the trail there are some kind of bees in the dirt nesting. Maybe bumblebees or something - not just honey bees. This is in all of the dirt up under the bridge and there are a large number. My fear would be someone getting off the trail and not realizing these are there. I wouldn't have noticed except for the noise.

We were on the trail Saturday morning and the bees were swarming low right in the middle of the trail. They were hard to see until you are riding right through the swarm. All four of us were luckily unharmed and not stung, but they she scared us.

It sounds like a nest of ground hornets, although not aggressive they can become so if threatened.

rode that area thursday the 9 th didnt notice it

Thanks... Good inputs

I'm curious if anyone has any recent updates on the bees situation described in this forum.

I rode under that bridge the past two weekends, I didn't notice any signs of bees.

We came off the trail in Windsor around 1230 Wednesday. We couldn't find anything open except Subway and a Chinese place. My riding partner said, "We didn't ride all this way for Subway and I'm not sure riding would go well with Chinese." I stopped in the post office and asked a local gent where I could find the best food in town. Without hesitation he said. "Raymonds...two blocks down."

How lucky we were to find this guy waiting in line at the post office! We drank 3 or 4 gallons of iced tea while we waiting for the finest fried chicken I've ever eaten. Make sure you give it a try on your way though town!

I enjoyed a very good breakfast there too !

Good food! Good prices! Friendly people! Close to trail! Best of all, no smoking! (Unlike the Wagon Wheel cafe down the road. Although, the Wagon Wheel also had good breakfast, friendly folks, and good prices.)

I just called and she no longer has the B & B in Windsor Mo...

The last day on the trail we stayed here, it was a nice warm welcome. It was very cold and rainy, we were soaked and had a washer and dryer to use and nice hot showers. We went in to town and got chinese take out. Big group and had a wonderful dining table to sit around and eat and than ended by playing board games. Nice place and nice people. I really like Windsor.

What is the price per night?

Stayed one night on June 22. Very enjoyable, cleanc quiet and comfortable with excellent access to the trail. Had the entire house to myself.

Fern's place was great. It is much larger than expected. The house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen and the best part it faces the Katy trail head. When we visited on a Sunday the restaurants are closed by 3pm so I went to the local grocery store and bought what we needed and just chilled out around the house and watched tv, very relaxing.

Fern's place was great. It is much larger than expected. The house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen and the best part it faces the Katy trail head. When we visited on a Sunday the restaurants are closed by 3pm so I went to the local grocery store and bought what we needed and just chilled out around the house and watched tv, very relaxing.

I rode from Clinton to Windsor the evening of 6/13. I arrived in town about 8:20 and wanted to get my tent set up at Farrington Park before it got dark and get some dinner before the Subway shop closed. Several people were fishing on the near side of the lake and I did not see the designated camping area (never did find it for sure), so I pitched my tent on the far side of the lake near a shelter house and bathrooms, beyond a gate with a sign stating that the gate was closed after 10pm. While not exactly secluded, this looked like a very quiet spot with the added benefit of no vehicle traffic (I would not be locked in - I could easily ride around the locked gate if i needed to leave).

While back in town getting a sandwich, I spoke with a sheriff's officer and told him where I was camped and asked who I should pay for camping. He replied that he did not think there was a charge for tent camping, but that I may need to move my tent from behind the gate that would be locked. He added that he had no problem with where I was camped, but he could not speak for the night officer. I decided to stay where I was, but be ready to cheerfully agree to move if told to do so. Shortly before ten a man in a pickup arrived to lock the gate and bathrooms. He was a councilman and park board member, worked for W-K Chevrolet, and I think he said his name was John. He said there was no charge for tent camping and that I was fine where I was, if anybody asked to tell them he said it was okay. He also left the mens bathroom unlocked for me. He said they were happy to have Katy Trail users visit Windsor and camp in the park and he invited me to come back and watch the cardboard boat races across the lake on July 4th. My only complaint about Windsor was the backyard dogs barking during the night. Farrington Park is beautiful and everyone I spoke with was freindly. I plan to make a small donation to park board and would camp there again.

Thank you for your comment on the camping. We will be going in that direction over the weekend and were planning on camping there.

My daughter and I stayed at the Farrington Park in Windsor last Sept. when we biked the trail. There was a house to the right of the lake as you rode up from the trail (you had to go up a hill and then down) who took money for camping, so I assumed it cost to camp. It wasn't much, $10 maybe, but there were no bathrooms where she directed us except for a porta-potty. It was a nice grassy area, but would have been nice to have known about the above place and that it really didn't cost. We found out the next morning that we could just continue on down the street (gravel) we were on, hit the Sonic, and then a short distance to the trail. The way we came the night before was longer. That happened a lot - especially at Booneville - go there to read our saga on that.

Started out and we were going to ride one long day versus staying at a B&B and come home the same day. We live in Lansing, KS so this is an all day affair. Our plan was to ride from Clinton to Sedelia have some lunch and ride back to Clinton. On our way back, it started storming like crazy! Lots of lightning! The hair on my head was standing up because of the lightning and it was spooky! I walked over and talked with the Guy (Buzz?) who owns the B&B and he said he would drive us back to Clinton. Thank God! We were soaked but he still took us to Clinton in his newer truck. What a Good Guy! I saw the B&B and it is very nice for the $$. There is a Casey's general store accross the trail and that would be nice. this B&B is right on the trail so you could sit on the deck and watch the riders from your B&B. I would stay at this B&B and probably will! Thanks Buzz(??) you really helped a couple of exhasted and drenching wet Guys out! I appreciate what you did for us!

Only food place visible from the trail. Good enough when you're hungry.

The people that run Fern's are very nice. I was scheduled to stay there on my trip. The morning I was supposed to arrive I hurt my knee. I called to let them know I wouldn't be able to make it and find out how much I owed for cancelation on such short notice. They refused to charge me anything. I look forward to staying there on my next trip.

Don't do it!



I stayed at Fern's because of the above comment, and because I wanted the first night/morning of our trip to be nice. I think someone refunding your money when you cancel that day is nice but beware, as this place is bad news.



I would have to say the whole experience was a mixture of creepy and dissapointment. The creepy part started when we were shown to the B&B, which is a seperate house from where Fern stays. On our way in to the house, Fern offered us the information that it used to be a "drug house." Gee, what a comforting thought for my mom, as we enter our place to stay in this unformiliar town. I can only imagine the things she was thinking as she is naturally worried most of the time anyway!



Then she showed us the house. The TV in the front room was broken. (Not that we wanted to watch TV, but some may.) She showed us the two bedrooms, and said we could have both, as no one else was staying in the other room that night. (More on this sly trick later.) She also told my mom not to use the "roll-away" bed, as it was "uncomfortable." She then dropped off the keys, and left back to her house, and we never saw her again.



Continued below...

We unloaded our stuff, and went to grab a bite to eat at the local resturant, and when we got back, we found that Fern had gone out to get our "breakfast" for the morning. Apparently, Fern's idea of breakfast is to go to the Casey's across the street, and buy some packaged cinnamon rolls, some green bannanas, and milk and Sunny D to drink. To say that we were dissapointed at this was quite the understatement. This is not the kind of breakfast that can power you through the morning, and I knew it, but I managed to force down a few rolls anyway, as I knew I had to eat. (I HATE green bannanas.) Is it too much to ask to have some effort put into breakfast at a Bed and BREAKFAST. (However, Fern and Co. cannot even SPELL Breakfast...just look at the sign out front. They spell it "breakfeast!"...rediculous!)



More below...

Anyway, after getting that bite to eat I was talking about, we decided to rent two bikes for the people dropping us off, as Fern's also has bike rental. The creepyness continued as we introduced ourselves with a "Hi!" to the man renting the bikes, and he just looked seemingly right through us, and said nothing. I joked with my mom after he had passed that he was thinking, "Yes, come into my lair of bikes from whence you will never return..." At least we can still laugh... Please don't rent these bikes. BIG MISTAKE! They are Wally world bikes, and they have maitenence issues. Or if you do, take the time to look and make sure everything is okay with them. My brother's bike had a very rusty chain, and on my girlfriend's bike the seat was so loose that it shifted back and forth the whole time we were riding. The next few days, she had major pain from this. My brother's bike also had this problem, but not as bad. Bottom line, you should be able to ride a rental bike with no issues because they should all be in reasonable condition. I can imagine someone getting one of these bikes to ride the trail with, and getting out a few miles, only to have the seat come loose, and be out of luck. Not a pretty picture.



even more below...

I am not finished. I know this seems long, but this was truly a horrible experience, and I want to make it very clear to all that this place is not safe, and a bad choice. We returned from our ride, and started to get our stuff together for the next day, when my brother locked the front door, and, oops! The door pulled right open. We checked again, and tried to do what we could to push the door closed, but it would not stay shut. There was no deadbolt, and we were all just standing there in an old "drughouse" with no way to lock ourselves in, and one worried mom! So, we made a doorjam with a chair that was there, and tried our best to feel safe, although that was probably no easy task for mom, considering her being uneasy in the first place. Can you believe the front door wouldn't lock? I mean, come on! Is this really happening?



even more below...

Well, we made it through the night, and luckily, we had no crackheads trying to break in to get drugs, or maybe our doorjam worked? We will never know! But we left for our first day on the trail, and after awhile, my mom told me some disturbing information. We had set up our reservaion for 4 people with Fern on the phone. She told us we could use one of the Queen beds with a rollaway, and that the price was $70. Fine. Mom sent a $35 deposit to Fern before we left, and when we got there was about to pay the rest, so she said, "How much do I owe you?" She expected Fern to say another $35, but she said, "$105." So, she WAS going to charge us with both rooms! Well, my mom is non-confrontational, and accepted this, but I wish she would have just walked away. I contacted Fern about this, and she told me that she thought my mom said she wanted the other room. I said we had a verbal agreement for one room, this is evidenced by her accepting of $35 for the deposit. Then she told me it was silly to put 4 people in one room. Well, if it was so silly, why didn't she tell us that in the first place? I mean she is the one with the rooms, so she should have been able to say it was unworkable before we would have been there! Come on, Fern, do you really think we are dumb enough not to see a scam in progress? We trusted you and you let us down. If we would have had the option of staying in the Windsor motel for $40, or the B&B for $140, which would you think we would have chosen...

Next time you're looking for a place to stay around Windsor, try Cruces Cabooses. You get to spend the night in a refurbished train car, which is very cool and appropriate for the Katy Trail. Very private too.

Hey, anything that locks would be better than Fern's! We only avoided Cruse's because of the higher price, but in the end we ended up paying a rediculous $140 as explained above, so what's the point?!

We camped here last week. It is pretty much right in the middle of town and the campsites are next to a fairly busy residential street. There are about 5 campsites, a porta potty, water, and fire rings. The manager of the park was very nice. We didn't have any problems camping that night and will probably camp there again. It's not much, but it's not bad either.

hey nice to know about trail for horses but where aare the horse camp and how does one avoid the bikes where are therre accomdations for the horse an the person .\\?

The only place with horse accommodations along the trail (that I'm aware of) is Cruces Cabooses, in the Windsor/Calhoun area. They have refurbished train cars where you sleep, a pen for the horses, and a place to build a campfire.



If anyone knows of any other camping or lodging which can accommodate horses, please let us know.

Have free air compressor for your bike tires. Filled up my water bottle for free. Very close to trail.

Hi! The cabooses look like a really interesting, fun place to stay! Do you have any pictures of the insides of them?

Tracy Cookson

Unforunately, I think Cruces Cabooses may have gone out of business. Their website is dead, and no one is returning phone calls from the last number I have for them. If anyone knows anything about Cruces Cabooses, please let us know whether they're still open for business.

I'm happy to report that Cruces Cabooses is still very much IN business. I spoke to the owner last night, and he says they've been having website problems, but you can still reach them by phone at 816-229-8389. This is definitely one of the most unique B&Bs around.


To answer Tracy's question: sorry, I do not have any photos other than the exterior photo showing the two train cars. Maybe there will be some on the Cruce's Cabooses website, whenever it's back up again.

Very nice stop on the trail! Casey's General Store is about a stones throw from the trail----good deal since we needed GatorAid ASAP!!!!

The Subway was excellent and about two blocks south. Good Stop!

There's also a little main street just beyond Casey's. We ate at a great little ma and pa cafe whose name I can't remember. Does anyone know? After turning left coming into town, it's about a block. There's also a cafe the other directions.

Raymond's is a fantastic spot to eat. Great breakfast and good service. It is about two blocks from the trail.