In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St. Louis on their landmark expedition into the newly purchased Louisiana Territory, paddling west along the Missouri River.
A lot of water has passed under the bridges of this frontier highway since then. The settlers came, the railroads came and now the bicyclists come.
Last fall, Missouri officially opened the Katy Trail, the nation’s longest rails-to-trails corridor at 185 miles. It stretches from St. Charles, Mo., a river town just west of St. Louis, to Sedalia, Mo., a railroad town that once was the end of Texas longhorn cattle drives. When two extensions are completed — 33 miles from Sedalia to Clinton, Mo., and 12 miles from St. Charles to Machens, Mo. — the trail will be 230 miles long.
There’s plenty of history along this line, used by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad until 1986. Daniel Boone came to Defiance in 1799 to settle into old age as justice of the peace. His sons, Nathan and Daniel Morgan, manufactured salt at Boone’s Lick, 135 miles to the west; the Indian paths they used to travel between Defiance and their salt springs became known as the Boonslick Trail. That path was the conduit for other frontiersmen, one of whom led the first Santa Fe trade expedition from Franklin, near Boone’s Lick; his route became the Santa Fe Trail.
My daughter and I explored the middle part of the Katy this spring. On the west end, we stayed at a riverboat baron’s 1864 Second Empire mansion in New Franklin, laid out after Franklin was flooded and abandoned. Boonville is just across the river; there, we walked past rows of big brick houses with pillared porches and the 1855 Thespian Hall, site of the music festivals for which Boonville is noted.
In the east, we explored Missouri’s Rhineland, where hills sprout vineyards, and the town of Hermann, founded in 1836 by a German settlement society. Today, the quaint town of 2,700 is such a tourist haven, with 40 B&Bs, that historic homes that aren’t inns have to affix “Private Residence” plaques to their doors.
But it’s two more isolated towns that struck us as the kind of places for which bicycle trails are tailored. In Rocheport, we strolled down the narrow, tree-shaded main street, part of the old Boonslick Trail. Once a busy steamboat landing, Rocheport now is a picturesque backwater, and no one was about. With its rows of brick Federal-style houses and churches, it felt like an antebellum Brigadoon.
We walked past tall bluffs south of town, next to the wide Missouri, and wondered how all those covered wagons got across. This stretch, to Hartsburg along the river, is the trail’s most scenic. Tiny Hartsburg, on the way to nowhere, is famous for growing giant pumpkins in the rich Missouri River bottoms. Now it’s one of the towns flourishing under the Katy’s limelight.
A new art gallery has opened across from Dotty’s Cafe, and there are plans to start a winery on the hill. A bicycle shop is opening, and the owner of the town’s 1893 hotel, now a B&B, is renovating rooms as fast as she can.
“Hartsburg has always drawn people who want to look around, but there was nothing for them to do, and now there is,” says Karen Rotts, who has turned an ornate 1897 storefront into the Cycle Depot. “It’s perfect for us.”
DETAILS ON THE KATY TRAIL
When to go: Spring and fall are the best times to ride; August is hottest. October is very busy. The trail is susceptible to flooding, so those who plan spring rides should check in advance.
Accommodations: In Boonville, the 1864 Rivercene B&B (800-531-0862), $75-$130. In Rocheport, the 1914 School House B&B (573-698-2022), $85-$155, and 1850-style Yates House B&B (573-698-2129), $95-$105. In Hartsburg, the 1893 Globe Hotel B&B (573-657-4529), three rooms sharing one bath, $45.
Logistics: Scenic Cycles in Marthasville (314-433-2909) provides shuttle service, $250 for groups of one to six at either end of the trail, 60 cents a mile for shorter stretches. It also rents bikes, arranges lodgings and picks up bicyclists at the St. Louis airport.
A Kansas City-St. Louis Amtrak passenger line makes stops in Sedalia, Jefferson City and Hermann and accepts bicycles in boxes. Call 800-872-7245, or check www.amtrak.com, search word “bicyclists.”
Because of westerly winds, it’s a good idea to bicycle east. From the trailhead three miles northwest of Sedalia, it’s 36 miles to Boonville, where the trail picks up the Missouri River; then, it’s 13 open miles to Rocheport. The 35-mile stretch from Rocheport to North Jefferson is isolated and very scenic.
In North Jefferson, the trail continues between river plain and bluffs, roughly following quiet Missouri Highway 94. It’s scenic, but there are few services along the 42 miles to McKittrick, which is across the river from Hermann. Wine country starts along the 34-mile stretch from McKittrick to Augusta. The last 27 miles run past Defiance to St. Charles.
Event: In Hermann, Octoberfest, all October weekends.
Information: “The Complete Katy Trail Guidebook” ($14.95, $2 shipping) is invaluable; to order, call 800-576-7322. The Interactive Katy Trail on the Web has trail updates and bicyclist bulletin boards (katytrail.showmestate.com). Call Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources at 800-334-6946 for a map.
Visitors bureaus: Sedalia, 800-827-5295; Boonville, 816-882-2721; Jefferson City, 800-769-4183; Hermann, 800-932-8687; Augusta, 314-228-4005; St. Charles, 800-366-2427.
Call 888-925-3875 for a state visitors guide.
