Katy Trail: Rail-Trail Ride Across Missouri

What started as an incredible railroad endeavor is now an amazing way to cycle in Missouri! Just you, your bike and your fellow riders cruising through lush forest and open fields alongside the Missouri River.

Request a Tour Itinerary for more detailed information and logistics.  Custom bike tour departures available for groups of 6 or more.

Day 1: After a shuttle from the trip gathering location and end point in St. Charles, we begin the first leg of the trail in Clinton, Missouri.  The ride passes through pasture and prairie first settled by European pioneers by way of wagon trains. Spend the night where Harry S. Truman once slept, the Hotel Bothwell.

Day 2: Visit the Katy Depot & Museum, a restored Victorian train station that serves as the official Katy Trail welcome center, and ride until you meet up with the Missouri River. “Boonelick Country” was the first permanent American settlement west of St. Louis.

Day 3: Begin riding beneath the Manitou Bluffs, towering limestone cliffs that were once held sacred by Native American tribes. Pedal through pumpkin, soy and corn fields to Jefferson City State Capitol.

Day 4: Cycle through the “Rhineland Region,” settled by Germans attracted by fertile soil and wild grapes, and spend the night in Hermann, which is still home to four outstanding wineries.

Day 5: Observe even more European influence as you travel through the farthest settlements west of the Mississippi River, the most prevalent of which were French and Native American. Travel through Marthasville, the original resting place of Daniel Boone, and where he “possibly” still resides.

Day 6: Watch the landscape morph from farmland to suburbia as you draw closer to historic St. Charles, a trading post town. A final lunch at Trail Head Brewery concludes your journey on the Katy! We will ride right back to guests’ vehicles at the conclusion of our tour.

Psst, over here, we have some sweet Katy Trail Jerseys in our web store