Category Archives: Missouri

Cycling, Missouri, Rail Trails

Cycling Along the Mighty Mo’ – Missouri’s Katy Rail Trail

Leave a comment

The Katy Trail is a rail-trail located in central Missouri traversing nearly the entire width of the state. The western terminus is in Clinton, Missouri and the trail extends nearly 240 miles to the eastern terminus in Machen, Missouri – a few miles east of St. Louis. It is the longest continuous rail trail in the United States and was an early member of the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame.

A large part of the trail follows the Missouri River and intersects the path of Lewis and Clark’s 1804-1806 Corps of Discovery Expedition. There are a number of signposts along the trail commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition and as well as the ancient McBaine Burr Oak.

My Katy Trail Experience

My Katy Trail experience began in early October of 2020. I decided to take my time riding the entire length of the trail over a span of 5 days, going west to east to take advantage of any prevailing winds. I even convinced my ever-patient wife to drive SAG (Support and Gear) for me and we overnighted in the small midwest towns along the way.

We drove from our home in Tennessee across southwest Kentucky and finally crossing the Mississipi River into Missouri at St Louis. From there we continued westward to Sedalia, Missouri. . 

The Plan

Over the span of the 5 days of riding, my itinerary was the following:

  • Day 1: Clinton back to Sedalia
  • Day 2: Sedalia to Boonville
  • Day 3: Boonville to Jefferson City
  • Day 4: Jefferson City to Hermann
  • Day 5: Hermann to St Charles

We spent the first and second nights of the trip in Sedalia at the Hotel Bothwell; a well-kept, older hotel which offers a number of perks and a discount for Katy Trail riders.

Clinton to Sedalia

The morning of day 1, my wife ferried me to the western terminus trailhead in Clinton, Missouri where I unloaded myself and my bicycle, saddled-up and rode 30 miles back to the old railroad station in Sedalia. We spent an enjoyable afternoon and evening exploring the town and its businesses, spending the night again in the Hotel Bothwell.

Here is a short video with some highlights of this first day of riding:

Sedalia to Boonville

Day 2 began with a short shuttle back to the old railroad station. The trail traverses some city streets before it reconnects to the old railbed, which required some initial route-finding. You can find a useful map for this here: https://www.katydepotsedalia.com/general-6-1

The trail to from Sedalia to Boonville is more rough and has more of an elevation gain than any other part of the trail, but none of it is terribly difficult.

After arriving in Boonville, we stayed in the delightful old Hotel Frederick.

Here is another short video with highlights of this segment of the Katy Trail:

Boonville to Jefferson City

The ride on day 3 was probably my favorite. It included a picturesque tunnel and a creek crossing (due to a washed-out bridge) near the lovely town of Rocheport, Missouri.

Then, near McBaine I stopped briefly to see and ponder the McBaine Burr Oak. This huge old oak tree is nearly 400 years old and was already 200 years old when Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery Expedition passed through.

Our hotel in Jefferson City was an uncharming Hilton Doubletree.

This is the final highlight video in this blog post of the ride from Boonville to Jefferson City:

Jefferson City to Hermann

Hermann, Missouri was our stopping point on the fourth day.

Hermann, Missouri was founded in 1837 by scouts sent by the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia. The society was concerned that their German heritage was being lost through assimilation into American culture. These scouts purchase 11,000 acres of “the steepest, most rugged terrain to be found anywhere on the Missouri River”.

When the first settlers arrived, they pondered what to do with this landscape and planted vineyards on the largely vertical landscape. That was the beginning of a booming wine industry that continues today.

Here is a photo overlooking Hermann from the grounds of the Stone Hill Winery, founded in 1847.

Our hotel for the evening was a charming old guesthouse in Hermann’s downtown, the Hermann Crown Suites.

Hermann to St Charles

This section of the trail was the most uninteresting part of the trail for me. I found that as I approached the more populated region surrounding St Charles and St Louis, the trail became increasingly congested and less desirable.

The plan for this final day of riding was to begin in Hermann and ride all the way to the end of the trail in Machens and then spend the night in the St Charles historic district, across the street from Frontier Park.

This plan was thwarted on the outskirts of St Charles by a Missouri State Parks work crew that was felling large, unstable trees near the trail and had thus closed a significant length of the trail for safety reasons.

I was forced to exit the trail several miles short of St Charles, ending my ride of the Katy Trail

Virtual Riding with Kinomap

I video my rides and then edit and syncronize them with the GPS track of the ride. I then add the GPS-syncronized and tagged video to the Kinomap app video library.

The Kinomap app, which is available for iPhone and Android, allows people with a smart bike trainer, or even a not smart trainer, or an exercise bike, or even an elliptical trainer, to experience the Katy Trail virtually in the comfort of your own home, whenever desired.

The advantage of using a “smart” exercise device is that the Kinomap app on your Android or iOS device can control the difficulty level based on linked GPS data while you exercise.

Here are links to Kinomap videos of my ride of the Katy Trail:

Return to the Katy Trail

Every year there are two instances of an organized ride of the Katy Trail called the “Big Bam on the Katy“. In 2024 I returned to the Katy Trail for the Big Bam on the Katy event. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish the ride. You can read why here:
Well, That Didn’t End Up How I Expected