Find the top rated trails in Clinton, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Inside of Lee's Summit's Community Park, the Legacy Park Trail is a family oriented destination with an abundance of activities available. Sitting on 692 acres, the park host many youth sports games,...
The Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park travels 47.5 miles through woodlands, wetlands, and bucolic fields nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks. At either end are two towns full of charm and...
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The MoPac Trail begins in Pleasant Hill's charming downtown area and heads northwest towards Pleasant Hill Lake and the outskirts of Kansas City. Bikers, walkers, and equestrians are welcome to use...
Katy Trail State Park is the nation's longest continuous rail-trail, offering nearly 240 miles of scenic trail from Clinton east to Machens on the outskirts of St. Louis. The Katy Trail is in the...
The Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park travels 47.5 miles through woodlands, wetlands, and bucolic fields nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks. At either end are two towns full of charm and...
Katy Trail State Park is the nation's longest continuous rail-trail, offering nearly 240 miles of scenic trail from Clinton east to Machens on the outskirts of St. Louis. The Katy Trail is in the...
Inside of Lee's Summit's Community Park, the Legacy Park Trail is a family oriented destination with an abundance of activities available. Sitting on 692 acres, the park host many youth sports games,...
The MoPac Trail begins in Pleasant Hill's charming downtown area and heads northwest towards Pleasant Hill Lake and the outskirts of Kansas City. Bikers, walkers, and equestrians are welcome to use...
The Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park travels 47.5 miles through woodlands, wetlands, and bucolic fields nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks. At either end are two towns full of charm and...
The MoPac Trail begins in Pleasant Hill's charming downtown area and heads northwest towards Pleasant Hill Lake and the outskirts of Kansas City. Bikers, walkers, and equestrians are welcome to use...
Katy Trail State Park is the nation's longest continuous rail-trail, offering nearly 240 miles of scenic trail from Clinton east to Machens on the outskirts of St. Louis. The Katy Trail is in the...
Inside of Lee's Summit's Community Park, the Legacy Park Trail is a family oriented destination with an abundance of activities available. Sitting on 692 acres, the park host many youth sports games,...
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We chose to ride a section of the Katy Trail between Matson and Hermann on June 9th. This was our third bicycle excursion, and my favorite by far! We stayed in Hermann, and opted to utilize the BikeHermann bike rental and shuttle service so that we could have a one-way, continuous ride (we aren't big on ride-out-ride-back). The shop owner, John, was very helpful and gave us pointers and sites to look for along the trail, such as old-timey general stores and historic markers.
This trail was very well maintained; there were a few spots where new lime/gravel had been added due to flood damage in May. All things considered, this trail was repaired quickly and repaired right, and any place new material was added was well marked by "rough surface" signs to give trail users a little warning. Trail markers are plentiful (so much that we rarely used our trail map), and the section we rode was mostly shaded (maybe 3/4 of the route), which made for a comfortable ride. Several benches, wineries, and trailheads offering water, restrooms and other amenities were plentiful on this section as well. There are some really great views of the river around mm 96, and the sandstone bluffs along this route are gorgeous.
At McKittrick, we took the Hermann trail spur off of the Katy and onto MO Hwy 19. I was a little concerned about sharing the busy road with cars, especially crossing the bridge over the Loutre River. However, the bike lane on this bridge is very generous on space and the area in general is bike-friendly. The second bridge, that crosses the Missouri, has a separate bike/walking path on the west side. I would come back and ride this one again, or maybe the next section to the north. This is a very nice trail.
I ride fairly regularly, rode one longer ride from Pleasant Hill to Windsor then on to Sedalia on the Katy. PH to Windsor was about 46 miles, total to Sedalia was about 70 to the Amtrak station.
There was about a 6 mile stretch near Chilhowee that had larger rocks, was a bit of a pain. I've heard they have rectified that, now smaller rock, but haven't ridden that far again to verify.
Other than that small stretch, a great trail. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is the relative lack of water and restrooms. The Katy has nice water stops in many areas. Not much water on the Rock Island, and it's pretty far from Pleasant Hill until you get to a store, i.e. Chilhowee or Leeton. Make sure to take water with you.
Pleasant Hill PD was very kind, let me park my car overnight in their lot. I took the Amtrak back home from Sedalia to Lee's Summit, then caught an Uber to PH the next day to retrieve my car.
This is a short extension of the Rock Island Trail that meanders through downtown Pleasant Hill leading you north and westward to the city lake. Soon, this extension will be the connection between Kansas City and St. Louis. Conditions are packed llimestone and has beautiful scenery and bridges.
I rode this trail out of Sedalia, MO in November 2016. Most days were so nice I only needed a light jacket. For a dirt/gravel trail it was a smooth ride even with City tires! Through the town it got a little bumpy. Caused by more traffic. But once you leave town, it's smooth sailing. Lots of fresh air, country scenery, and wildlife. Take a bag if you like black walnuts. They fall all over the side of the trail. Highly recommend!
Un-FREAKIN’-Believable! The review could end here.
Buy “The Complete Katy Trail Guidebook” by Brett Dufur.
I only had two days to ride to make the best of the eastern half. I will return to ride the western half and the Bluffton and McKittrick/Herman sections I missed. Day 1 - I rode from Columbia to Portland (ride the M-K-T, visit the MLK Memorial Gardens, stop at the iron bridges, enjoy the bluffs, creeks & river, linger at Cooper’s Landing & eat at Dotty’s Cafe). Day 2 - I rode from Trelor to St. Charles (talk to folks at Turner KT Shelter, drink a beverage at Augusta & enjoy the well-earned bounty of St. Charles).
Rented our bikes from Touring Cyclist. The bikes had pannier racks ready for us to load up. We were picked up from the airport and taken to their shop to get fitted for our bikes. They shuttled us from St. Charles to Clinton on Day two and picked us up when we finished in St. Charles. We biked St. Charles to Machen on Day 1. The bikes were perfect for the trail. My cycling friend and I had an amazingly good time biking the 237.7 miles of this trail. The scenery changes were great. The towns along the way had perfect accommodations for us. At some of the Trail Heads there are self repair bike stations. We stopped at every trail head and read the information provided. Took a couple of added detours/stops we would not have known about if it had not been for all the information the trail heads provide. Although you have to add a few miles to get into some towns with accommodations and food, the pathways across the river, etc. provided easy access without automobile traffic.
Many kudos for those who take care of the trail. It is truly a memorable trail ride and the longest I've ever ridden. Love, love, loved it.
We rode this one from the Clinton trailhead for about 5 miles. It was a fun ride on a nice, flat trail. At this trailhead, there were restrooms, water, a bike stand, tools, and even a hand air pump.
My husband and I stayed in Hartsburg, MO Centrally located along the KATY Trail. We rode out & back loops starting at various depots/trailheads for 5 days. Because of this, we did the mileage of the trail but did not actually cover the entire KATY trail. We traveled on the wide crushed gravel trail on the area from Sedalia to Marthasville, only experiencing a few rough areas from wash outs between Hartsburg and Tebbetts just after leaving the Hartsburg trailhead. The trail was in great shape otherwise! This would be a great trail for a family with children to enjoy. The week began with temperatures in the 90s and then cooled down for the rest of the week into the low 80’s which made riding more enjoyable.
Saturday- Rode from Hartsburg To Roeche Port -52 miles With the Missouri River on one side and beautiful rock bluffs on the other side. HOT day!!! in the 90’s Lot’s of folks were on the trail.
Sunday- was a day of rest (thankfully). We took the afternoon to tour & taste at 3 of the local wineries in Hermann.
Monday-Rode from Roeche Port to Pilot Grove-52 miles We had some gentle ups and downs. Passed through New Franklin (the Santa Fe Trail originally started there) and Booneville (named after Daniel because he lived in the area at one time) Lots of history following the Lewis and Clark trail.
Tuesday-Drove to Pilot Grove to begin our ride. Got there and began unloading bikes and realized that we forgot our lunches (rental house 1 hour away) SOOOOO we drove to Walmart to pick up items for lunch (only 20 minutes away) So we got a late start on the trail…I had shoulder cramps. Just went to mile marker 224(almost to Sedalia)- 42 miles. I had on my UT biking shirt. Passed someone one on the trail from Tellico, TN. Got a “GO VOLS “greeting from him!!
Wednesday-Rode Marthasville to McKittrick-46 miles. This was my FAVORITE section of the Katy Trail. The trail was close the Missouri River and part of the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail. We passed a large middle school group of kids. They were doing 25 mile sections of the KATY trail each day.
Thursday-Rode from Tebbetts to Hartsburg-46 miles Lots of people on the trail today. Rode through farmland and North Jefferson City, MO Making our total mileage 238 miles!!
P.S. Don’t forget to bring your bug spray, the mosquitos can be quite aggressive!
I LOVE this trail because it's very hilly no matter which direction you choose to go. It's a nice quiet run that can be stretched to 5 miles with an extra loop at one end. It offers a great view of the baseball field, lots of rabbits and the occasional deer. Not a lot of shade though.
Trail was nicely marked miles wise I felt like the trail was under serviced there were many business that were not open that I planned on using. Hats off to the people that maintain the trail it was in good shape. Trail was comparable to the GAP trail between Pittsburgh PA and Cumberland MD just less service areas. The newly remodeled Katfish Katy's in Columbia MO was a nice oasis right on the trail good food.
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