Reply to October 2026 ride

I have ridden the length of the Katy Trail from Clinton to St. Charles ten times, and looking for anyone interested in riding from the west end in Clinton to St. Charles in October. I plan to do a "leisurely" ride over the course of six days. I like to pass through the lil town of Hartsburg on the 2nd Saturday of October for their annual Pumpkin Festival. My itinerary over the six days is:
1) Clinton-to-Sedalia
2) Sedalia-to-Rocheport
3) Rocheport-to-North Jefferson (usually cross the river to Jeff City for my hotel stay)
4) North Jefferson-to-Hermann
5) Hermann-to-Augusta
6) Augusta-to-St. Charles
In years past, I have enjoyed the company of my brother and/or my brother-in-law. This year will be one of the few times I will be on my own, unless (hopefully) I can find some people to ride along with me. If interestex, please respond to this post and we can try to set something up. The bigger the group, the better, as far as I see it!!
P.S. I like to park my vehicle at my sister's house in St. Charles and catch a ride to Clinton with any one of my siblings or in-laws.

Hey how's it going Dogbert - I was looking at coming up and doing the Katy trail in September solo, but would be willing to wait if I could find others. I was looking at doing a similar itinerary (driving up, parking in Clinton and then doing a similar 5-7 day thing in most of the same stops you have listed, then taking Amtrak back when trail is done.)

This would be my first bikepacking trip, so I'm sure your experience would be invaluable - LMK what you think.

Hi D, yes, that would be great! Hopefully, more interested parties would go along. (I have also ridden the GAP and C&O canal towpath from Pittsburgh to D.C. Hope to do that again, as well. But that's a discussion for another time!)
The Katy is my "hometown" trail. The first time I rode it, I just happened to pick an itinerary that put me in Hartsburg on the Saturday of their pumpkin festival. I had no idea, and as I approached on the trail, I noticed a LOT more people walking, pushing strollers, pulling wagons, etc. Then as I came out of the woods surrounding the trail, there was a huge mass of people, tents, booths, all kinds of commotion. I had lunch and a beer at this lil place where there was live music being played in the gravel parking lot!! All over there were whole pumpkins, carved pumpkins, crocheted pumpkins, pumpkin taffy, pumpkin pie, pumpkin gooey butter cake, you name it!! Been going each time for that weekend in Hartsburg. *One year I rode it as a benefit for one of my brothers who was going through treatment for leukemia, and solicited donations per mile. Even put up flyers at each one of the trailheads. Must have worked, because I noticed more than a few unrecognized deposits into the dedicated bank account for him.* Hope to see you and more peeps along for the ride!!

That's awesome! Great to hear that you've got such a great hometown trail - My nearest equivalent is the Northeast Texas Trail which is apparently in a constant state of destruction and disrepair lol. I've looked at the GAP and C&O as well, those were on my shortlist but figured Katy is probably the most beginner friendly. It sounds like the Katy trail has all sorts of stuff and lots of good activity going on based on your stories!

Could we exchange emails so I could ask you a few more questions?

Mine is: modulemoon@proton.me

Hey, D, a fold-out, glossy map of the Katy Trail, with lots of information like mileage charts, points of interest, etc. can be obtained by calling the Katy Trail State Park Office @ 573-449-7402.