Midwest USA, Trip Reports » Bikepacking the Katy Trail in Missouri

I bikepacked the Katy Trail in Missouri in September 2019.

The Katy Trail (for the most part) travels along the Missouri River in a east/west direction, following the old MKT (Missouri Kansas Texas) railroad. The trail is a “rails-to-trails” trail, built on the old abandoned railroad bed. The Katy Trail is a Missouri State Park, and is run and maintained by the Parks Department of the State of Missouri.

I rode with a friend, Bobby Adams. This was his first bikepacking trip, so we rode at an  easier pace than I might have ridden by myself. We rode the trail from from east to west, beginning on in St Louis, MO. I rode 353 miles (which included extra mileage for many trail detours and extra mileage for riding off the trail to get to local restaurants, grocery stores, and other places of interest located in towns along the trail).

Generally, the trail is an easy, well-marked, and well-maintained trail (a great introductory trail for first time bikepackers). Trees line many parts of the trail, providing a significant amount of shade for riders. As the trail is an old rail line, it is very level and does not have any difficult inclines or declines. There are many small towns along the Katy Trail that allow for resupply (food and water). It is possible to ride the trail and and to stay in hotels and/or bed-and-breakfast type inns along the way. For our trip, we bikepacked and camped in tents at various campgrounds and camping points along the trail.

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