Reply to Trail Conditions

I was wondering if anyone can give me an update on the trail conditions since the flooding. We are planning on riding the Katy Trail in a couple of weeks and need to know if we should cancel . Thanks!

Barb, flooding happens quickly and recedes quickly along the Missouri River. Once the standing water is physically off the trail, it becomes usable within hours (unless there is a washout). So the condition of the Katy for your trip in a couple of weeks is dependent on the rain the previous week. We are in rain season here in the Midwest. Though flooding can occur any time of year, drier months are August to October.

I live within a few miles of the Katy and am having trouble lining up my schedule for a full ride, so I can imagine what you are trying to balance, coming from PA.

We have planned an end to end ride starting Monday May 8th from Clinton. So are you saying that if it rains any more days until then maybe we should cancel our trip?

I would check the conditions on a daily basis. My husband and I have a trip planed on the 11th. The conditions as of right now are:
The following areas are currently affected by flooding and not accessible to trail users.

Closed to all access
-- MM 34 - 35 (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 39, Frontier Park (effective May 2, 2017)
?-- MM 48.3 to MM 56, Weldon Spring - trailhead is open but cannot travel east or west on the trail (effective May 3, 2017)
-- MM 67 - 71, west of the Augusta trailhead (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 72 - 73 (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 79 - 80 Charrette Creek Basin (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 98 (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 98.7 (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 102.3 (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 103.3 (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 111.3 (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 114.1(effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 115.9, Portland trailhead (effective May 1, 2017)
-- MM 117 - 120.5 (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 149.8 to 153.6 between Claysville and Hartsburg. Users in this area can use East Hartsburg Bottom Road to detour around flood areas. (effective April 30, 2017)
-- MM 157.4 near Wilton (effective April 30, 2017)

Check the link Trail Conditions often. It's right by the COMMENTS link.

Carol, also prepare for the likelihood that your trip will end in St. Charles. The St. Charles-to-Machens section is usually the last to recede and seems to always have the most washouts (that section has the lowest point of the Katy Trail).

I just saw the following post by someone from Autstin, planning a ride, "Rain and more rain. We were advised by a business owner where we had made a reservation not to attempt it. We will come back another time." That's really a good approach, call the places you have reservations with to see what they advise. They'll know the conditions in their area and the likelihood that you'll be able to bike on the Katy in their area.

Hi we are planning on riding may 20 from St Charles to Clinton and then heading to Pedaler's Jamboree memorial weekend! We hope the weather cooperates- if not are there detours around the washout that would be easy enough to reroute back to the trail ? Thanks??

I plan to leave Kirkwood on the RiverRunner on May 15 to Sedalia, overnight a the Bothwell, get a shuttle to Clinton on the 16th and go back to Sedalia for a second night before continuing on to Boonville and to Jeff City and St Charles. If trail is still closed downstream from Jeff City I can get the train back. I've looked at river gauges, trail closings and ten day weather forecasts. With that information in my head I called the KATY Trail office and spoke with them about the feasibility of my plan. While they didn't give any assurance that things would have cleared up past Jeff City the fact that the crest has passed Boonville and the ten day forecast seems to be optimistic. They also said that they update the list of closures daily and even more frequently if the need arises.

Hey guys- Planning on riding Clinton to Machens May 22-27. I see there are a lot of closures as of today (5/7/17). If I come upon these closures or others, are there usually secondary roads that can be used to reroute around and back to the trail? Are any signs ever posted for these detours or do you have to work them out yourself? I see only one detour listed on the closures page, so I wanted to get an idea of how to handle the closures but still make forward progress on my own. Thanks for any info!

Just sharing my bike trip from Jefferson City to Marthasville today.

There was about 6 big trees down. Some I had to detour along the parallel paved hwy. Other times I just carried my bike over the trees. There was alot of muddy areas a few miles before getting to Portland. Many times had to walk my bike through about 3-4 inches of mud. I yhink I could have took the hwy to avoid the area when I go back. Some areas you had to have alot of strength just to walk your bike.

I found a small dry area right next to the flooded ballfield to pitch a tent. I will be heading back to Jefferson City tomorrow morning, so going to try to remember areas I need to bypass the katy trail.

I am exhausted, but had a great experience today. Katy trail was very beautiful today.

Thanks for the information Aaron. I was also on the trail today starting at Jefferson City and heading west. But I just got to the tree across the trail between mile marker 139 and 138 and turned around. Thank you to the lady at the N. Jefferson Trailhead who warned me about that. I live in Jefferson City, so I can wait for DNR to clear the tree and get back out there. If I had been doing a trip across the state I would have gotten on hwy ninety-four for about 1/2 mile, and then gotten back on the trail at Wainwright. At that point the hwy is straight, but there is not much of a shoulder, so keep that in mind. Since it is such a short distance, it is doable. I spoke to a couple that are from Iowa and had biked from Cooper's Landing and heading to Hermann. They said there is a detour at Claysville. It sounded like it was not difficult if you are going west to east and is clearly marked. Happy biking out there everyone. It was a beautiful day to be on the Katy.

Your welcome Cathy.

Yesterday, I did a bike ride from Marthasville to Klondike Park and then back to Jefferson City. I ended up over 100 miles, which is my second century ride.

FYI, the trail from Steedman to Portland has extremely soft patches, particularly between mile marker 90 and 91. 200 foot sections of pure mud. I had to walk my bike much of it and then knock off the balls of mud built up from tires. It took about 30 minutes to go 2 miles

There also many soft patches between Portland and McKittrick.

There is a tree down at mile marker 136. It is about a 1/4 mile reroute along the hwy.

I am really surprised that I didn't get any flat tires, but my tires took a beating. :-)

Even though it was muddy, trees down and rough areas, I had a great couple of day in this beatiful weather. :-) Happy bike rider here.

Can someone provide a link for the latest trail conditions.

Aaron, congrats on completing the century, especially under such adverse conditions.

Here's the link you requested, to the MO State Parks official trail conditions:

https://mostateparks.com/page/57948/trail-conditions

Click through the links near the upper right.

Although that's the "official" source of trail conditions, the most useful and accurate information is what we get from posts like yours - direct from the front lines. Thanks for sharing it with everyone.

Happy trails!

So how was the trail from Marthasville to Klondike Park? I am supposed to be biking on Saturday taking a boy scout troop from Klondike to Marthasville and back. Is the trail ridable? (boys are mostly 12-13yrs) More rain coming Thurs also.

We tried to ride from the Boone Bridge towards Klondike on Friday and ran into too much mud and had to turn around. So I am wondering how much mud is between Klondike and Marthasville.

Thanks to anyone who can comment!

Thanks for the feedback on trail conditions. Planning an east to west route over Memorial Day weekend 2017.
I checked out the state park trail condition info. What do the MM markers refer to? They don't seem to match the KT trailhead markers. Any advice?

https://mostateparks.com/advisory/68156/sections-park-temporarily-closed-katy-trail-state-park

Thanks

Amy, I don't remember any muddy spots when I rode my bike yesterday between Klondike and Marthasville. There are a few rough spots if I remember between Marthasville and Augusta.

Have a good time.

PTM, the mile markers should be quite accurate. According to one of my friends, there a few mile markers that are off a little. I don't remember the mile marker #'s. I can ask him tomorrow if needed.

MM refers to the train Mile Markers. They do not indicate trail mileage from one end to the other. Refer to the Milage Chart via the link above.

Thanks Ya'll.
Ok, now I get it. I was using the KT mile markers from the Mileage Grid and not the Mileage Chart.
Got it. Thanks again.

I just arrived in augusta from lees summit. Dnr is clearing out the rough spots. Most of the mud and trees are doable. I only detoured a flooded piece east of hartsburg. You cant go past defiance to st charles as of yesterday. More rain last night here. Rock island trail and 90 % of katy is worth it.

Thanks so much for all the comments about the condition of the trail. I am SO glad that we rescheduled our end to end for May 21 from Clinton to Machens! Hopefully all will be well by then! So sorry for all the people who cancelled or had to go through deep mud and forge trees!

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