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The Katy Trail (off-road; cross bikes recommended) |
Dates: (6 days, 5 nights; Sun-Fri) |
Assembly Point: Clinton, MO |
Tour Cost: $1,795 (includes all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, support van, leaders, transfers, tour maps & narratives) |
We at Timberline long have fancied ourselves as mountain folk always eager to challenge the "gnarliest" terrain the West can offer. Then, we discovered the Katy Trail, a 227-mile totally "non-gnarly" rails-to-trails corridor across the state of Missouri that has provided us with some of the most thoroughly enjoyable fun-filled weeks over the past nine seasons.
In 1986, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (always known as the Katy) ceased operation along its trans-Missouri route. After a protracted legal struggle, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources secured the abandoned right-of-way and created the Katy Trail State Park. With the recent opening of the Clinton-Sedalia section, the Katy ranks as the nation's longest rails-to-trails corridor.
Why do we find the Katy so intruiguing? Scenically, the trail traverses Missouri's most magnificent landscape. For much of its route, it follows the course of the Missouri River to its confluence with the Mississippi. Frequently, we are riding this basically hard-pack crushed limestone trail with the Missouri to the right and the rugged, limestone bluffs for which Missouri is famous on our left. At times, we are cycling through an arboreal wonderland, ablaze with color in the fall; other times we ride through the incomparably fertile bottomlands and beautiful vineyards of the Missouri wine country.
From the moment we begin our journey at the trail's western terminus in Clinton to the final moments at the landing in St. Charles, we are surrounded and immersed in the rich historical and cultural legacy of this region. Timberline's identity as an organization is predicated on western adventure as its sole focus. What could be more appropriate than an adventure in the "Gateway to the West"? The role of the Lewis & Clark expedition of 1804-06 was profound in the opening of the west. Katy Rails-to-Trails will trace the early (and final) stages of that expedition as it launched from St. Charles and followed the river across the Missouri Territory, ultimately to its headwaters in Montana, ultimately returning on the Missouri to St. Charles in 1806.
The Katy also was a vital force in the opening of the west, and its rails were laid along the natural corridor that followed the course of the river. Early settlement followed the river and we'll experience the rich cultural legacy of those German immigrants.
Katy assembles in Clinton, about an hour's van shuttle southeast of Kansas City, and we'll ride to Sedalia, perennial site of the Missouri State Fair, on Day 1. We're headed to Boonville on Day 2 and our first rendezvous with the Missouri, followed by an evening at the grand Rivercene B & B.
Shortly after leaving Boonville early-morning of Day 3, we'll encounter the trail's only tunnel near Rocheport and then ride along the Missouri much of the day to Jefferson City. We'll overnight in the Capitol Plaza Hotel, situated within a short walk of the magnificent capitol grounds.
We're headed for Hermann and the wine country on Day 4 and we'll arrive early enough to tour the Hermanhoff and Stone Hill Wineries. We'll overnight at the Captain Woldt Inn, and then it's on to Augusta the following morning and an opportunity to visit the famous Augusta Winery. Our final overnight is planned for the Augusta Wine Country Inn, and we'll ride into St. Charles' Frontier Park along the river by early afternoon of Day 6, where our program concludes.
Total Mileage — 227
E-Mail: timber@earthnet.net
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