Rock Island Trail Forum

just returned our chicken for a refund. Inside the juices still ran pink. did not feel that the shift supervisor was appropriately concerned about this culinary hazard. Will not return!

Get the grilled next time.

Or better yet, got to Fitters on 5th street.

Or even better, quit whining about something that has nothing to do with the Katy Trail here.

I have one better than that, quit responding to a post from 2004!

I am planning to ride the Katy Trail from Clinton to Greens Bottom in St. Charles this Oct. 10-14 and enjoy a few hours at the Pumpkin Festival in Hartsburg on Saturday the 12th. I wonder if the affects of the Missouri River flooding will all be remedied by then.

Hi Dogbert
When I read the recent posts below about the trail conditions, it seems to me that we just don't know. There is plenty of speculation, and some welcome optimism, but it looks BAD out there from the photos. In addition, the weather reports state there is more rain recently and we are told that the upstream dams will release water, so there will be damage and a mess to clear when the waters subside.
We're planning a ride Sedalia to St Charles 26 September to 1 October this year and we are just holding our nerve; we have Plan B to ride the western sections and the Rock Island Trail.
We've booked accommodation all the way; how about you? Are you hanging on or planning an alternative?
Michael
ps - it has stopped raining in London, for a while.
pps - for anyone who asks why we fly 3,500 miles to cycle, we have close family and friends in the Eastern USA so cycling over there is a bonus for us.

I have not planned any alternative route. It is just easiest for me me to park my vehicle at my sister's house in St. Charles and have her drop me off at the other end of the trail. I've done that maybe 10 times now. It is such a nice, relaxing break from work.

Can anyone tell us about the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival, in October.
The Hackman's and Nahler's appear to be wiped out as far as pumpkin's are concerned. Will there be a festival?????????????

Probably; however, they will likely have pumpkins shipped in to Hartsburg from other places not affected by the floods.

For those not familiar with the entire Katy Trail and considering riding some of it I would

highly recommend Rocheport to McBaine or visa versa. It has to be one of the most

spectacular parts of the trail running along the Missouri River Bluffs with cool cave air

actually air conditioning the trail along the bluffs. If you are driving through Missouri on

I70 during a vacation Rocheport is located right off of 70 and has a bike rental shop called

Trailside Bike Shop that rents bikes. It is about an 8 mile ride one way and is worth the

stop on I70 for a break! I see vehicles traveling with bikes drive by this area on I70 all the

time, and if they only knew what they were missing I'm sure they would stop! Rocheport is

located approximately 15 miles west of Columbia Mo. right on I70. Give it a try you won't

be sorry!

We would love to "sample" the Katy Trail while we are traveling west on I70. Can you suggest a campground anywhere near Rocheport or McBaine? THANKS

Is the trail from McKittrick to St. Charles open.

The trail from Columbia to Rocheport is in good shape with no water and no detours. Come on out for a fun ride on the best section of the Katy!

Rode the MKT Trail that connects downtown Columbia to the KATY Trail near McBaine. A 3/4 mile section of the MKT paralleling Perche Creek remains underwater and the City of Columbia has placed a no trespassing sign on the gracel road along the wetlands treatment ponds, which is the only way to Bypass the flooded section of the MKT..

Not sure they enforce that sign. There are probably 200 cyclists using that route called “the bowl” every weekend. I use it all the time. The eagles perch up there quite often.

From Chesterfield I read I can't get all of the way to Augusta. Does anyone know trail condition from Defiance or Weldon Spring to Machens?

I don't know about Weldon Springs, but St. Charles to Machens is a no-go. Water over the trail and lots of washouts.

You can get to Augusta with a detour thru Klondike Park. The trail is a little rough once you get thru Klondike. There were a lot of trees down that they cleared off the trail.

MammaMack, here is a photo of the "washout" a mile from Machens. Pretty dramatic.
https://www.facebook.com/KatyTrailStatePark/photos/pcb.2108468022612869/2108462909280047/?type=3&theater

Is the trail open from the Chesterfield/ Daniel Boone Bridge access point to St. Charles?

The trail is open to St.Charles from 40.

Hi, I was wondering if anybody knows if the trail is open between Treloar and case?

Not sure, but since half of that section is adjacent to the river, it is likely flooded.

Trail is open from Treloar to Portland.

Tip of the hat to Sharon for pointing out this Facebook picture (apologies for those who cannot view):
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2776023682425908&set=gm.2420460434663513&type=3&theater

It was taken last week. What you are viewing is the Missouri River floodplain between New Franklin and Rocheport, looking east towards Rocheport, near the Davisdale conservation area. The orange-ish grain elevator is a Katy landmark at the Pearsons stop. The river should not even be visible; it's normally way off to the right.

The line of trees adjacent to the elevator is our beloved Katy Trail. Typically, when the river floods like this, there will be a significant amount of sand and mud left behind. I have no idea how they clean up the trail, but it is going to be a mess. I am wondering if the MO Department of Natural Resources will call for volunteers to help with the cleanup? Because I would be all in for that.

That is an awesome picture. Never would have thought that the river would be there. Rode there 20 times - but not yet this year.

Thanks for figuring out how to post the link - that picture just blew me away. The river is at least a mile from the trail there. It has been underwater now for several weeks, I expect there will be major damage.

The DNR posted on Facebook today some pictures of the damage to parts of the Katy Trail where the water has receded some - a lot of damage. It's on the Katy Trail State Park facebook page.

I am worried about our Trail and the businesses along the way that are all affected by this flooding. I hope we can all get out and ride on the parts that can be ridden on and spend some money along the way to help out those businesses and communities impacted by this year's flooding.

Sharon

Sharon is it possible to repost the link so others can see the flood?
If I sent you my email address?

It's on Facebook - look for COMO Photographers. It was posted on June 27.

So, I've been planning my second trip on the Katy for almost a year. My intention was to ride from Pilot Grove to Jefferson City, taking my time to photograph and video many of the most scenic areas and historic spots, ie; Rocheport tunnel, explosive bunker used by the RR etc.

Obviously the rains came and that is now history. However, I couldn't change my dates of riding, so I received the daily updates from the forum, thanks to all of you, and decided I was going to do my part of spending some money along the trail.

So, on 6-15, I want to give a shout out to Jerry at the Katy Junction B & B in Pilot Grove. A friendly host who make a "mean omelette" to send you off in the morning. Rode as far as Boonville where the trail was under water and the bridge being blocked made it a tourist attraction to walk over and view the flooded land. I might add that I rode over the bridge and returned on the highway portion of the bridge, where I did not encounter one car. Won't be able to do that ever again. Even rode in the middle of the highway.

Ate lunch at the Breaddough Pizza Parlor in Boonville. Very good pizza, enjoyed with Gelato for dessert .

The Boonville train depot has a great little bike shop that I bought a Katy Trail t-shirt that was somewhat different than others I have seen. I believe the bike shop owner designed it. Very nice and reasonable price.

The trail between these two towns was excellent and even though it was a short ride, it was enjoyable due to the condition and weather. I rode back to Pilot Grove for the night.

The next day, 6-16 I loaded up my bike and drove over to Rocheport by coming in from the East off I-70 as this road wasn't blocked. The trail to the Rocheport Tunnel is open from the Rocheport side, but blocked after exiting the tunnel. This was one of my "must see" places. After several photo shoots at the tunnel I then headed East on the trail toward Hartsburg. Hoping to get through on the trail. Didn't make it due to the flooding.

So, I rode as far as possible East bound and then turned around and rode back to Rocheport.
The Trailside Cafe was a great place for a meal. It wasn't crowded. but was doing a good deal of cooking. Had a wonderful meal and called it a day, staying at the Katy Trail B&B. Due to cancellations, I had the whole house with the Jefferson Room to myself. Very nice accommodations. The next morning, Sunday, I headed over to the Trails side Cafe and discovered the place was so busy you had to give your name and wait. But, it was worth it.

That day I rode over to Columbia and scouted that cute city.

So, all in all the trip wasn't what I had planned, however with a little help from the forum and earlier riders I adjusted and still had a great time, riding short distances, meeting the local people and slowing down long enough to even shop a little and smell the roses, instead of flying by as I had done in the past.

Water is receding every day and work on the trail has probably started in sections. The small towns are really hurting from cancellations but they're remaining open in hopes we riders will stop by.

Enjoy the ride, there are a lot of open sections of the trail and with a little planning on your part you can also ride some of the flooded areas to see the beautiful bluffs and meet some very nice townsfolk.

Jim,
Arvada, CO

Very nice note, thanks for sharing.

Even at "flood stage" most of the Katy remains above water. Flood stage has many levels, minor, moderate and major.
ALL THE PREDICTIONS COMING FROM THE ADVANCED HYDRAULIC PREDICTION SERVICE are showing only MINOR FLOODING at all gauges. Most of the trail should be back up and running in a couple weeks.
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lsx&gage=gscm7

Most of the trail should be back up and running in a couple weeks.

Is that information from the DNR Tony?

The water might recede and the trail might dry out in a few weeks. HOWEVER, it is probably going to be months before the trail is repaired end-to-end. There are lots of washouts (some more than 50 feet wide) and there will be sand/mud covering the trail as well.

My point exactly.

Unless the DNR has released that statement, it’s an unfair and unrealistic statement to make and may lead people on to believing something that is not true.

Who knows, maybe Tony will confirm his source is reliable.

While there is considerable damage for DNR to deal with, that does not make Tony's statement untrue. There are far more miles of undamaged trail than damaged. Yes there will be some problems getting past some areas, but parts of the trail here that were underwater yesterday I was able to ride today. No I did not have to slog through mud. It was damp but not slinging up onto my back. I have been here from before the trail started and have been through every flood on it. It is NOT misleading to say MOST of the trail will be up and running in a few weeks because MOST of it already is. Overstating the negatives also leads people to believe something that is not true; that the trail is unusable. End to end riders will have problems for awhile, however there are still many ways to experience the Katy Trail. As nice as it is to have the trail to myself I would like others to enjoy it also.

Optimum optimism is nice to hear for a change.
Thanx

I agree, Doug, that we can make the best of what we have. I am an avid end-to-end rider, but this year I am going to have to settle with sections at a time. But for my mental health, I have to ride!!

We will be riding from Windsor this weekend, can anyone tell me the conditions of the trail? Also the Katy out of Windsor. Thank you!

Bank is closed for good.

Parkside Cafe currently closed unknown if it will re open.

As this years end to end ride was cancelled due to the 40 days and 40 nights of rain what can i expect for trail conditions next year? I know it's too early to tell but do the trails generally get dried out and rebuilt fairly fast? Hopefully Mother nature will cooperate. Thanks, any input would be great.

Once the water is off the trail, it is usually ride-able immediately. I've ridden all the previously flooded sections near St. Charles with no problems.

July 1, 2019
Hi
We are a couple wanting to bike the entire Katy trail now.
Are there designated detours in all locations that are closed? In other words, is it possible to bike the entire trail using detours, or are there areas that you just can't go forward because of no designated detours.
Thanks for any help!

I can't speak for the whole trail but if you call me at the Bluffton Barn I can give you "This is what I do you have to decide for yourself what you are capable of" information for the rides I do within 20 miles either way of Bluffton. The trail was underwater by Portland this morning but the river is dropping.

The only way to know is to get out there and give it your best shot. Sure, you will probably run into water covered, mud covered, washed out, stinky mosquito infested sections of the trail and will need to make decisions on how best to deal with what nature throws at you, but hey, what a story you will have to share with you fellow cyclists.

I was riding Saturday (6/29/19) from Treloar to Matson and found the Trail fenced off about a mile or so past Augusta. I went around the fence and a little further found the bridge out and no detour. About a 20ft gap and didn't want to portage thru. Riding alone, that didn't seem like a good idea.

If you past Augusta going east you have to detour thru Klondike Park. I not sure there is a sign for the detour. It's a very steep uphill entrance to the park. That's the way around the bridge replacement that's happening.

Even at "flood stage" most of the Katy remains above water. Flood stage has many levels, minor, moderate and major.
ALL THE PREDICTIONS COMING FROM THE ADVANCED HYDRAULIC PREDICTION SERVICE are showing only MINOR FLOODING at all gauges. Most of the trail should be back up and running in a couple weeks.
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lsx&gage=gscm7

Please see the Missouri River levels predictions.
Most recent reports from end to end riders is, there is ONLY 50 MILES that is NOT rideable. We have been riding out of St. Charles everyday with the exception of when the river hit 34 feet in St. Charles, and we have plenty of riders on the trail TODAY for the Fourth of July.

https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lsx&gage=sclm7&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1