Reply to 61 Year old Grandma Biking Clinton to Dutzow

I'm a very active 61 year old grandma biking the KATY for the first time Clinton to Dutzow. I want to camp along the way. Is it readily available and safe? Any comments welcome.

  Yes, there's plenty of camping. You can follow this link for a list of all the camping options that I'm aware of along the Katy Trail.. This puts you on the "Plan a Ride" page where you can further customize the list by clicking the checkboxes for other types of businesses/services.
  Regarding safety, I have never heard of any bad incidents involving camping along the Katy. The only problems I've heard of were rowdy campers on a Saturday night, but again this was just a noise nuisance and nothing threatening or dangerous. Just stick to the campgrounds listed on the web page; do not try to camp on private land without the landowner's knowledge.
  Some of the camping options are at city parks. In these situations, some touring cyclists like to drop by the local police station just to let the officers know they're there. If they know you're there, they are more likely to watch out for you throughout the night, and you won't have them shining a flashlight in your tent at 2AM to see if you're "legit".
  I highly recommend that you call ahead to make sure campgrounds will be open and available when you need them. Many of them close for the season, particularly after the end of October.
  If you have general questions about camping while touring by bike (or any other aspects of bike touring), check out Bicycle Touring 101, a fantastic resource. Also you might want to subscribe to the "phred" mailing list. These people are serious bike tourists, riding trips of hundreds or thousands of miles, and most of them camp most of the way. They discuss all different aspects of camping while bike touring.
  Have a great ride!

I want to echo Ray's advice to call ahead to be sure camping is available - this goes for the city parks also. Most city parks allow camping 'with permission'. Getting permission can be difficult if 'city hall' is only open 8 - noon on Wednesday! You may also want to ask about stores and restaurants when you call. I often see comments on forums like this from people who were counting on a certain place being open but found it closed when they arrived tired and hungry.

If you don't mind a little company on your ride, the DNR (state parks) sponsors a 5 day ride every year in June which includes camping, hot showers, breakfast & dinner, sag stops, baggage truck, and a T-shirt & water bottle for around $225. It is limited to 300 riders. I have done it the last four years and feel it is a great value!

Not sure if you are still checking replies, but curious if you did your trip. I've done the Katy end to end twice, but always stayed at motels/B&B. This year thinking of doing the camping thing, but hesitant as I would be a lone female.
If you made your trip, any problems camping along the way? Any tips to share?
Thanks!