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Reply to Riding the trail in March

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blocke724 from Minco, OK on 8/19/2016 9:32:39 AM:

I am planning on riding the trail next year in the middle of March. I was wandering what I should expect if it is even doable at that time of year. I am going to try to do it completely self contained, however, I will need water and restrooms. Thanks in advance,

ArkyKenny on 8/19/2016 2:24:34 PM:

We did that ride in April. The only place we had any trouble was in Hartsburg--because we camped there on a Sunday night and nothing was open on Mon morning--not even a bathroom. Stay away from Hartsburg on a Sun night.

Otherwise you shouldn't have any problems. The weather is what it is so be ready for anything. We camped but ate mostly at restaurants and bars along the way.

Camping spots I used: 1) Pilot Grove city park, 2) Hartsburg (should have camped at Easley at Cooper's Landing) 3) Marthasville ball park pavilion.

Anonymous on 8/19/2016 2:44:45 PM:

Restrooms/water at some trailheads are operational April 1 to November 1.

Interesting Arky. You did that middle of March ride in April? How does that work?

Oh well. I did that middle of March ride in October. Much nicer then.

anon from Rocheport on 8/19/2016 7:56:44 PM:

Katy Trail riding/walking in March is a risky proposition. Here's why. If the trail surface is frozen solid and a blast of warmer weather suddenly happens and thaws the top trail surface while leaving farther down under frozen, the trail surface becomes wet and very sticky. It will stick to your tires and your shoes. Any distance of over 10 yards will leave you wishing you were somewhere else. This condition happens every spring....usually several times. It is spotty, usually worse in areas where the sun hits trail surface. It happens whenever a hard freeze is followed by suddenly warmer conditions. Once the trail thaws all the way down, water will readily travel downward through the normally porous packed stone trail surface. When the trail surface is entirely thawed, the trail will mostly not be made muddy by any amount of rain fall. I'd recommend waiting until April when this will not be an issue.

Annette Barnes from Clinton, MO on 8/21/2016 4:09:49 PM:

the katy trail is closed until april 1st meaning no campgrounds, toilets or water, ride at your peril!

Anonymous on 8/21/2016 5:33:45 PM:

The Katy Trail does not closed until April. The restrooms are locked and water is shut off at some trailheads on November 1 and that service is not restored until April 1. There are portable facilities at some trailheads.

There is no more serious and immediate danger (peril) in using the trail in March than there is in April.

Hank on 8/21/2016 8:45:13 PM:

The Katy Trail is never closed. It is just the bathrooms and water fountains that shut down. The trail itself is open year-round.

The one exception may be flooding situations, which are reported on the MDNR website.

blocke724 from Minco,Ok on 8/21/2016 9:35:46 PM:

Thanks for all the comments it is just I am a teacher and I try to do some type of tour during spring break that is why I would need to go in the middle of March. Two years ago I crossed OK from west to east and last year I crossed KS, so I thought this year I would try to cross MO. I was just thinking if I could ride the Katy I could avoid the traffic I have put up with the last 2 years. And I know there is always things that come up so I will try to plan some alternate routes. Thanks again

Don from Ellisville, MO on 8/22/2016 9:27:21 AM:

If you rode across OK and KS in March, you will find the Katy to be a much more pleasant ride! No traffic and the winds will be cut down quite a bit. I admire your sense of adventure.

blocke724 from Minco, OK on 8/22/2016 11:06:32 AM:

I am used to riding in the wind being from OK, but when I rode across KS that was an all together different wind. There is nothing to slow it down. However, the traffic was very biker friendly most of them would slow and pull to the next lane before they went around. Now in OK they make it a sport to see how close they can get before they nudge you off the road. LOL So yes I think the Katy would be a great change of pace.

Anonymous on 8/22/2016 1:52:22 PM:

Blocke, plan for March if you don't have any other "blocks" of time. The weather should not stop you, maybe slow you down. I would plan for it.

blocke724 from Minco on 3/21/2017 1:17:06 PM:

We completed our ride last week. It was a great ride, however, a little on the cold side. I started at Anmsterdam and rode to Clinton that way I could ride the complete state. We were only able to camp 2 of the six nights because the lows would be in the low 20's Out of the 6 days we rode the trail we only experienced a day were the trail was kind of soft the rest of the time it was either froze or in great shape. The only hard part was once we would get off the trail and head for a hotel we would encounter very steep hills on the north side of the river. There were no restrooms open but several trail heads had nice and clean porta potties. We all loved the trail with all the great things to see and read about. For the first couple of days we kept leap frogging with a family that was riding the complete trail. We figure if they could ride in these extreme conditions so could we. Most places were closed along the trail (we knew that going in so when we came across Philly's pizza open it was a wonderful treat the pizza was great.) I would highly recommend the trail to anyone who wanted to take a nice pleasurably ride back into the past.

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