Reply to Turner Katy Trail Shelter Hostel (Tebbetts)

This was the absolute low point of our trip. The shelter hostel is in pretty sad shape. The sad state of the building fits right in with the discomfort of the beds. We had a very long and sleepless night. You would be better off sleeping on a bench at the average trailhead.

BB, you have no right to complain about the Turner Shelter, it is donated building run on donations not on tax money. It is cleaned by the people who use it. You can whine all you want about all the café’s and B & B’s . If you didn’t sleep well there, you apparently didn’t ride enough miles that day. You need to stay in a hotel with comfy beds.
Let’s talk about what you get for $5: a hot shower, real bathroom, air conditioning, refrigerator, microwave, bed, carpet, bike shop, game room, shaded 2nd floor deck (my favorite). Now let’s compare it to a KOA Kampground. For $27-$39 you get a 15 x 20 foot spot for your tent, a shower house 500 feet away, no A/C, no bed….

Give it to them Chris.... Probably also upset that they had to pedal their own bikes...

Take the comment as it was intended, to give advice to others who may go thru Tebbetts. I understand that someone donated the building, etc. But I won't be using it in the future. I would have been much better off with a quiet patch of sod beneath me. So, relax you can have the whole place to yourself.

I'm sorry BB, I keep forgeting there ar least 2 types of people who use this forum: those who "rough-it" on multi day ride (anything above a hand full of trail mix and sleeping in your "trail head bench" is comfort. And those who do 30 miles per day then want their every need arrended to. The group I am in would appriciate a little vintage, dusty accomidations. We will clean up and sleep better when we get home.

The Shelter is a great place for the right kind of person, and it's going to be judged on personal experience. My husband and I stayed there a couple of years back and although I thought it was great, my husband won't stay there again. The shower room door wouldn't lock securely which made him uncomfortable as there were about 8 other people staying also. We did find the kitchen great, the air conditioning working, and the mattresses were very comfortable. I would definitely stay there again, but he would not, but not because it wasn't a great cheap alternative to camping...

When I reached Tebbetts after a long ride in the 95 degree heat the shelter was an oasis.

While B.B. may have different views of what's comfortable & clean than some of the rest of you, I must say that to tell him that he has "no right to complain" is pretty harsh. He has every right to complain, and others have every right to state their own, possibly opposing, views. Shutting others down or belittling (your perceptions of) their bicylcling skill levels are not what this forum should be about. Why not, like Kim & Nancy did, just relate your own viewpoints & experiences without slamming others?

I stopped by the shelter on my 4-day ride in May. It was in the middle of my day, so I didn't stay overnight, but I looked around inside to see what it was like for future reference. I was really impressed! The place was very clean, the beds were decent, and the a/c worked well. It's very roomy and has spaces for hanging out and eating, as well as sleeping. Seems like a great asset to the trail.

Sounds like B.B needs to stay home in Clinton and ride his stationary bike.

I agree with Brian from Wichita that everyone should be able to express their opinions of things on the trail or about the trail. Some of you may have taken offense at BB's comments. But I've seen other forums where people are downright horrible when they don't like something. That's one reason I keep reading this forum. Even when people disagree, it is in a nice way. As for the Turner Shelter, Kim from Independence put it in the right perspective, she was fine with it, her husband doesn't want to go back.

Forum (Webster's Dictionary): A medium for "open" discussion.

I just wanted to communicate that the Hostel is great, but not for everybody, and everybody has a different experience to base their opinions on.

Please remove "you have no right to..." and replace it with "it is in poor taste to..." from my 1st post. I should have done this earlier. The Turner shelter is something of a museum, not a regular business, so when someone says "[it's] in sad shape...would have been better off sleeping on a bench" that is not constructive criticism. I didn't really mean BB didn't have a right to criticize. Something like "the place could use a good cleaning, how could we make this happen" whould not have ticked me and others off. But I really have no idea what "sad shape" means. So when I read BB's 11 comments, it seemed to me that he was really upset because the bar closed and he went to bed hungry and bored on a foam rubber mattress and didn't sleep well, because he didn't bring a comfy sleeping bag and pillow. So the moral is: say what you mean!

Agreed on personal taste. I had a 20 mile hike in 90+ degree weather when I stayed there. I thought it was great for $5.

Like Chris J., I too took offense to the tone of B.B.'s remarks. I've stayed in the Shelter on several occasions, and found it to be remarkably clean and comfortable, (however, I'm a 37 year veteran of the National Guard and have stayed in places a LOT worse). There's a difference in constructive criticism and simply complaining. The bench remark, in my opinion, was uncalled for.

Sorry about the tone. My "Tebbetts experience" was in the first third of a 470 mile ride and I really wasn't in the mood for a poor nights rest. Also, there was nothing to eat in Tebbett's (Jim's was closed). And that didn't help at all. I appreciate the idea that the shelter is a "historical remnant", I like that idea. I think it would be great for a scout troop or some such thing. So, if you like it God bless you.

In my opinion, what incites flaming responses are "recommendations" in the second person. Instead of, "You would be better off sleeping on a bench at the average trailhead." perhaps "I would have been better off sleeping on a bench at the average trailhead." would set a better tone. We're Americans and don't like to be told what to do. Just my 2 cents.

I've stayed at the Tebbetts Shelter 3 times and it was always the high point of the ride (and Jim's was always open). I can't envision doing the Katy Trail and not stopping there, although based on BB's experience I would call ahead to verify Jim's hours. I wouldn't even put it in the category of "What do you want for nothing? Your money back?

Be that as it may, what I didn't like about B.B's review was fact that it wouldn't help me make the decision as to whether to stay there or not, had I never been there before. Is it a flop house or a nice place to stay if you don't expect the Ritz? One couldn't tell because of his lack of details and context. "pretty sad shape", "sad state", and "low point" don't tell us much, except maybe his emotional state (sad?). The fact that he had a sleepless night says nothing either. Most people have trouble sleeping from time to time for one reason or another. But they wouldn't necessarily blame the building. Was it noisy? From the bar? No it was closed. From other guests? He doesn't say. Was it the beds? Some like them soft, others hard? If they were too hard (or soft) by your standard, say so.

BB's later comment about a 470 mile ride and not being in the mood confirms my opinion that his post was more about him than the shelter.

For what it is worth, I usually evaluate a review's relevance to me based on its tone and language. It this case I would have pretty much discounted it. If I took every internet opinion at face value, I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning.

The shelter seems to be appreciated most by those who are caught in a storm, lost and too tired to go any further, or on a tight budget. The place is really at its best after a large youth group stays there, and their sponsors have really cleaned it up good.

Still, the drinking water source, enclosed toilets, hot showers, heat & cooling, bike room, and kitchen items are good to have most of the time, especially during stormy or very hot weather.

Are you kidding me?

Having toured across the country and done other 3-7 day trips on bicycle, the shelter is a
sight to behold when you haven't stayed in doors or showered in a week.

That makes sense to me!

Yet, like any home or similar building, it needs good caretakers. Otherwise, things get a little shaggy now and then. Right now, the shelter's front door pushes open very hard, like it is dragging on the floor or somewhere?

Shucks..maybe I can do something for it before next year? :)

I can remember a question comment form coming my way looking for input on the trail. It was a couple of years ago and do not remember what group asked for it ( could have been the DNR). Any way I told them that as a regular user in my area (Saint Charles County) I was amazed at how the traffic would build up with some sort of connector like the Page ave extension or Klondike park.
I have never been to see the Turner trail shelter but have heard of it and would love to go there. My main suggestion was that a public/ private group be formed to buid and support such structures as this periodically along the trail. I envisioned the hut system that is employed on the appalachian trail or other major hiking trails in the country. There are many people who would love a touring type experience without the traffic. I could envision the katy becoming a major destination with the consistency of such a system.Any way God bless those making sure the Turner hostel stays open. My uncle has spent his retirement with a group called the Volunteers of Colorado. They have thousands of members and make it a truly social affair taking care of and improving their trail resources.When I finally have the time to do so I hope there is a resource such as the Tebbetts shelter in my area I will volunteer myself!