TBGibb
October 12th 03, 10:38 PM
We report here on several segments of the Katy trail state park in Missouri.
Our overall trip was a mixed one (two weddings, a visit with family and a
vacation for us) so we couldn't focus on the trail as much as we would have
liked. We rode four segments of the trail as "out and back" day trips. The
trail is old rail bed that runs part of the time in the Missouri river flood
plain. It is 225 miles long and about 8 feet wide, making me suspect it is the
skinniest park ever.
The first segment started in Defiance, MO. This is a tiny town with a large
bike rental place. We rode 20 miles total in an out and back from there. We
went west because of advice that the scenery was better to the west. The
trail was very flat and traveled along the edges of soybean fields where we
were often shaded by trees. The trail is very smooth and composed of fine
white gravel, possibly the local limestone. The worst trail hazzards were the
occasional clusters of black walnuts lying on the trail.
That night we camped at Hermann, MO. We had to drive across the Missouri river
on a bridge that is not suitable for bicycling. It is just wide enough for
two trucks to pass by each other. The camp ground, which is part of the city
park, was nice, showers and nice grass for the tent for $10 per night.
The next day we started in Rhineland, MO. This is another tiny town. We rode
another "out and back" for a total ride of about 26 miles. Then we drove on to
find a camp site in Hartsburg. The campground here is the city park and we
decided to move on to a more formal campground. While there we ran into Gary
Creason, the operator of a Katy trail shuttle service. He advised us to be
sure to see the stretch between Rocheport and McBaine. With this information
we drove on to Franklin (next to New Franklin) and camped at the Katy
Roundhouse. This served our interests well. We took a short ride after
setting up our camp, to give us a total for the day of 32 miles, to the one
place the trail crosses the Missouri river. We were disappointed to cross on
the highway bridge rather than the old rail trestle. The camp ground is set up
to accommodate bicycle tourists with bike racks sprinkled around the tent
grounds.
Our last day took us from New Franklin, MO to McBaine, MO and back for 38
miles. The ride included the recommended scenic segment and a 50 yard long
tunnel. Midway on the ride we came to Rocheport. This is another small (but
not tiny) town that boasts "The Cracked Crab" restaurant. It is a very nice
looking place and seemed out of place (how far is the Chesapeake?).
All the sections of the trail we rode were quite nice. There were occasional
warnings about "rough surface" that made us laugh after all the trail insults
we've endured here in the last year. The most amusing warning came in the form
of cautions about ">5% grade." On the two such spots we encountered (the river
bridge didn't count). I was looking forward to a nice brisk climb, but the
longest such challenge was all of 5 yards long. I think this would be
essential information for a wheelchair bound trail user. We had quite a few
non-biting flies on the first day and saw two nice large black snakes on the
last (stretched half way across the trail).
We now want to go back and ride the whole thing, probably in the fall. Now we
must decided on using Amtrak, Mr. Creason's shuttle service or roping a family
member into providing shuttle service to connect us with our car once done.
Gary Creason told us that his was the only shuttle service to survive the
aftermath of the 9/11/02 bombing. It seems that most of his clients were from
overseas. Many Americans do just what we were doing, "out and back" rides.
Mr. Creason can be reached at 1-573-694-2027 and gives a URL of
www.katytrailstatepark.com
Tom Gibb >
Our overall trip was a mixed one (two weddings, a visit with family and a
vacation for us) so we couldn't focus on the trail as much as we would have
liked. We rode four segments of the trail as "out and back" day trips. The
trail is old rail bed that runs part of the time in the Missouri river flood
plain. It is 225 miles long and about 8 feet wide, making me suspect it is the
skinniest park ever.
The first segment started in Defiance, MO. This is a tiny town with a large
bike rental place. We rode 20 miles total in an out and back from there. We
went west because of advice that the scenery was better to the west. The
trail was very flat and traveled along the edges of soybean fields where we
were often shaded by trees. The trail is very smooth and composed of fine
white gravel, possibly the local limestone. The worst trail hazzards were the
occasional clusters of black walnuts lying on the trail.
That night we camped at Hermann, MO. We had to drive across the Missouri river
on a bridge that is not suitable for bicycling. It is just wide enough for
two trucks to pass by each other. The camp ground, which is part of the city
park, was nice, showers and nice grass for the tent for $10 per night.
The next day we started in Rhineland, MO. This is another tiny town. We rode
another "out and back" for a total ride of about 26 miles. Then we drove on to
find a camp site in Hartsburg. The campground here is the city park and we
decided to move on to a more formal campground. While there we ran into Gary
Creason, the operator of a Katy trail shuttle service. He advised us to be
sure to see the stretch between Rocheport and McBaine. With this information
we drove on to Franklin (next to New Franklin) and camped at the Katy
Roundhouse. This served our interests well. We took a short ride after
setting up our camp, to give us a total for the day of 32 miles, to the one
place the trail crosses the Missouri river. We were disappointed to cross on
the highway bridge rather than the old rail trestle. The camp ground is set up
to accommodate bicycle tourists with bike racks sprinkled around the tent
grounds.
Our last day took us from New Franklin, MO to McBaine, MO and back for 38
miles. The ride included the recommended scenic segment and a 50 yard long
tunnel. Midway on the ride we came to Rocheport. This is another small (but
not tiny) town that boasts "The Cracked Crab" restaurant. It is a very nice
looking place and seemed out of place (how far is the Chesapeake?).
All the sections of the trail we rode were quite nice. There were occasional
warnings about "rough surface" that made us laugh after all the trail insults
we've endured here in the last year. The most amusing warning came in the form
of cautions about ">5% grade." On the two such spots we encountered (the river
bridge didn't count). I was looking forward to a nice brisk climb, but the
longest such challenge was all of 5 yards long. I think this would be
essential information for a wheelchair bound trail user. We had quite a few
non-biting flies on the first day and saw two nice large black snakes on the
last (stretched half way across the trail).
We now want to go back and ride the whole thing, probably in the fall. Now we
must decided on using Amtrak, Mr. Creason's shuttle service or roping a family
member into providing shuttle service to connect us with our car once done.
Gary Creason told us that his was the only shuttle service to survive the
aftermath of the 9/11/02 bombing. It seems that most of his clients were from
overseas. Many Americans do just what we were doing, "out and back" rides.
Mr. Creason can be reached at 1-573-694-2027 and gives a URL of
www.katytrailstatepark.com
Tom Gibb >