Find the top rated trails in Jefferson City, 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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The Katy Trail Spur, although short, provides a vital connection between the 238-mile Katy Trail State Park and the North Jefferson Recreation Area on the north bank of the Missouri River. The new...
Hominy Creek Trail is just over a mile between Green Valley Drive and Lansing Avenue in eastern Columbia. Along the way, the paved pathway follows its namesake tree-lined creek and passes under East...
County House Trail is a 2-mile paved pathway in southwestern Columbia. The southern end of the trail connects to the scenic 8.9-mile MKT Nature and Fitness Trail, which in turn reaches the Katy Trail...
Hinkson Creek Trail offers a beautiful, natural escape as it curves around southern and eastern Columbia. The crushed limestone trail stretches just over 4 miles, partly along the southern end of the...
Once the site of a spur line of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad, the MKT Nature and Fitness Trail now whisks cyclists and pedestrians (instead of trains) between Columbia and the small town...
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...
Although Scott's Branch Trail is short (just over a mile), it’s a beautiful gem in western Columbia, traversing both the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary and Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary. (Note that...
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Columbia’s Bear Creek Trail links two of the city's most popular community parks: the 533-acre Columbia Cosmopolitan Recreation Area (popularly known as Cosmo Park) in the west and the 81.5-acre...
Columbia’s Wabash Walkway travels a short distance northwest from the campus of Columbia College. While currently less than 0.5 mile long, plans are in the works to extend it farther northeast to...
South Providence Trail offers a straight north-south route paralleling its namesake roadway on the southern end of Columbia. As it’s adjacent to both Rock Bridge Elementary School and Rock Bridge High...
The Jefferson City Greenway Trail spans the capital of Missouri, east to west. The trail primarily follows Wears Creek, although one segment parallels W. Edgewood Drive, offering striking views of the...
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...
County House Trail is a 2-mile paved pathway in southwestern Columbia. The southern end of the trail connects to the scenic 8.9-mile MKT Nature and Fitness Trail, which in turn reaches the Katy Trail...
The Jefferson City Greenway Trail spans the capital of Missouri, east to west. The trail primarily follows Wears Creek, although one segment parallels W. Edgewood Drive, offering striking views of the...
Although Scott's Branch Trail is short (just over a mile), it’s a beautiful gem in western Columbia, traversing both the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary and Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary. (Note that...
Columbia’s Wabash Walkway travels a short distance northwest from the campus of Columbia College. While currently less than 0.5 mile long, plans are in the works to extend it farther northeast to...
Once the site of a spur line of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad, the MKT Nature and Fitness Trail now whisks cyclists and pedestrians (instead of trains) between Columbia and the small town...
The Katy Trail Spur, although short, provides a vital connection between the 238-mile Katy Trail State Park and the North Jefferson Recreation Area on the north bank of the Missouri River. The new...
Columbia’s Bear Creek Trail links two of the city's most popular community parks: the 533-acre Columbia Cosmopolitan Recreation Area (popularly known as Cosmo Park) in the west and the 81.5-acre...
Hominy Creek Trail is just over a mile between Green Valley Drive and Lansing Avenue in eastern Columbia. Along the way, the paved pathway follows its namesake tree-lined creek and passes under East...
South Providence Trail offers a straight north-south route paralleling its namesake roadway on the southern end of Columbia. As it’s adjacent to both Rock Bridge Elementary School and Rock Bridge High...
Hinkson Creek Trail offers a beautiful, natural escape as it curves around southern and eastern Columbia. The crushed limestone trail stretches just over 4 miles, partly along the southern end of the...
South Providence Trail offers a straight north-south route paralleling its namesake roadway on the southern end of Columbia. As it’s adjacent to both Rock Bridge Elementary School and Rock Bridge High...
The Katy Trail Spur, although short, provides a vital connection between the 238-mile Katy Trail State Park and the North Jefferson Recreation Area on the north bank of the Missouri River. The new...
Columbia’s Wabash Walkway travels a short distance northwest from the campus of Columbia College. While currently less than 0.5 mile long, plans are in the works to extend it farther northeast to...
County House Trail is a 2-mile paved pathway in southwestern Columbia. The southern end of the trail connects to the scenic 8.9-mile MKT Nature and Fitness Trail, which in turn reaches the Katy Trail...
Columbia’s Bear Creek Trail links two of the city's most popular community parks: the 533-acre Columbia Cosmopolitan Recreation Area (popularly known as Cosmo Park) in the west and the 81.5-acre...
The Jefferson City Greenway Trail spans the capital of Missouri, east to west. The trail primarily follows Wears Creek, although one segment parallels W. Edgewood Drive, offering striking views of the...
Although Scott's Branch Trail is short (just over a mile), it’s a beautiful gem in western Columbia, traversing both the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary and Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary. (Note that...
Once the site of a spur line of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad, the MKT Nature and Fitness Trail now whisks cyclists and pedestrians (instead of trains) between Columbia and the small town...
Hominy Creek Trail is just over a mile between Green Valley Drive and Lansing Avenue in eastern Columbia. Along the way, the paved pathway follows its namesake tree-lined creek and passes under East...
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...
Hinkson Creek Trail offers a beautiful, natural escape as it curves around southern and eastern Columbia. The crushed limestone trail stretches just over 4 miles, partly along the southern end of the...
This is the best trail in the country, IMNSHO. That I live near it may have something to do with my opinion :). It does get more interesting as you go west past Jeff City. It also gets more remote from resources and is less well kept. Since this mostly follows the Missouri River, it's subject flooding, a lot. If you have the gear for cold weather, it is much better in the winter as you don't have to deal with the occasional trail users who (while innocent) don't understand trail etiquette and it's not likely to flood or have a tornado. I've been on the trail after/during both. The Missouri cresting and engulfing the trail behind and in front of one is, I have to say, the scarier of the two scenarios, in my experience.
My wife and I rode the whole trail over 6 days, including the "closed" section between mile markers 34-35. [which was easily ride-able]Wow! It is hard to come up with anything bad to say. Great conditions the entire length. A few shirt bumpy sections, which were not as bumpy as most trails. All this spots were marked well. The whole trail was signed very well.If you have ever considered a through ride, do it as soon as you can. It is truly amazing.
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.
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.
Love this trail!! Beautiful area. I will be back to ride it again.
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!
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.
I planned this 190-mi bike trip last fall/spring to coincide w/Cards vs. Braves games 5-7 Aug that my wife & I were going to attend. I drove in from Raleigh; my Bro, Al flew in from Houston on Monday 1 Aug to St Charles Mo. On Tues 2 Aug, we rode Amtrak w/our bikes to Sedalia. We began our ride on Tues @ 130PM and rode 50 mi to Rocheport. On Wed we rode 78 mi to McKittrick. On Thurs we rode 61 mi to St Charles! Despite some recent flooding which accounted for a few rough/boggy spots, the KATY trail was OUTSTANDING! The 3-day ride was HOT & grueling, because neither of us had ever ridden w/panniers, and because ice was in short supply. Thank God, the trail is about 75% shaded! I would equate this experience to our G/Canyon Rim-to-Rim hiking experience last October! The people were FRIENDLY; the views of the BIG MO River were AWESOME & INSPIRED us along, as if we had been floating on the raft w/Huck Finn! Months of planning, and all the reservations required were very much worth the effort! The only change, I would make is leave the Amtrak ride for Day3; not Day1.
I live in Cincinnati but have driven out to Missouri 2x to ride the Katy. First, last November, drove to St. Louis, parked at the secure Amtrak lot, rode the train and took my bike to Sedalia. The conductor just stood there and told me to hurry up and get my bike on board and get situated--didn't lift a finger, but I got on and really enjoyed the ride to Sedalia. Got off, rode to the Hotel Bothwell (highly recommended) four blocks away, and took off at 10 AM for Rocheport. It was sunny and cold (35 degrees but eventually hit 55)--some small trees and branches blocked a couple of spots from a storm the day before, but cleared them off, explored Boonville, and ended the day in Rocheport--beautiful spot. Ate dinner at Abigail's--wonderful place. Rode from there 80 miles to McKittrick the next day--stayed at Joey's Birdhouse--very nice B+B. Rode over to Hermann, and took a day off to take the train down to Washington, MO and explored that area before heading back to St. Louis. In two days of intense riding only saw 1 other person riding, and a few walking. The stretch east of Rocheport is beautiful and loaded with historical information about Lewis & Clark. Trail was in good shape, though with lots of leaves down you have to watch for the occasional gopher hole or erosion in a few places. Overall, the trail is maintained really, really well.
I went back in March--week before Easter--with my wife. We took shorter rides--Boonville (really nice town, great hotel--Hotel Frederick) 1/2 way to Clinton and back, and from there over to Clinton and back. I took the train and my bike and went to Hermann where I waited out a storm before riding the Herman to Machens leg (about 80 miles). I love Herman. Great Wurst Haus near the train station. The only rough spot I ever encountered was 3-4 west of Machens, where as a sign warned, the trail had pretty much been washed away over the winter. It was muddy and with Big Ben Schwalbe tires, I was still able to get through and finish out the whole trail.
I really enjoy riding this one off-season. You really have to plan ahead--what if a tire blows or you have a mechanical issue? You need to be prepared and as someone else noted, on November 1 the water is shut off at the trail heads, so you need to plan for it. There aren't many places to stay in the winter, and some of them are pretty spendy, so I would factor that in too. Having Amtrak to take you and your bike for an extra $10 (despite the occasional cranky conductor), is a huge plus too if you're going to St. Louis, Washington, Herman, Jeff City, or Sedalia.
I love the Katy. The trail surface is excellent overall. The topography is really interesting and varied. The Missouri River valley and the towns are beautiful and calm. If you could only down a portion of it, I'd go from Sedalia to Boonville, on to Rocheport and on to McKittrick/Herman. I would go so far as to rate it slightly ahead of the Elroy Sparta Trail in WI--which is hard to beat--but is about 15% as long as the Katy. All in all, you can't beat it, especially in the spring and fall months.
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