The Katy Trail State Park between Windsor and Green Ridge passes through forest and prairie as the trail reaches its highest point along the former railway. The trail mileage chart notes the distance between trailheads as 8.8 miles, but it is actually only 8.6 miles.
Heading northeast from Windsor, the trail immediately enters a shaded woodland. After ½ mile, the trail passes over the former Rock Island Railroad which is now the Rock Island Spur of the Katy Trail State Park. During our visit in October 2017, the spur was open as far as Pleasant Hill, over 46 miles west of Windsor. Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore any of the Rock Island Spur.
After 2¼ miles, the trail enters a prairie restoration area that stretches for 3.6 miles. Along this section, there are very few trees and little to no shade. The restoration area is only 100 feet wide, the width of the right-of-way, but that seems to be wide enough for the tallgrass prairie to regenerate on the Osage Plains. The highest point on the trail is located along this stretch of prairie.
The climb from Windsor to the high point is only about 65 feet in 5.3 miles, but the surface of the trail changes from packed gravel to packed sand about three miles east of Windsor at Missouri route B. The packed sand surface obviously gives easily when it is damp and then solidifies with embedded ruts. From there to the summit, it felt like we were biking with flat or under-inflated tires. This short stretch of trail was the only part we biked that wasn't in excellent condition and it was still better than many rail trails we've ridden.
The next 2.4 miles of trail is lined with trees and large shrubs that provide ample shade. The final 0.4 miles into Green Ridge is through an open lawn of short-trimmed grass with no shade.
Windsor Trailhead
Sign at the bridge over the Rock Island Spur
Rock Island Spur looking east
Rock Island Spur looking west
Plate Girder Bridge
Looking across the Rock Island Spur back toward Windsor
Entering the Prairie Restoration Area
Osage Plains
Row crops
Prairie grasses at Bryson
More of the Osage Plains
Moon over the plains
Bench at High Point
Wayside exhibit
Downhill from here
Riding in a prairie "gully"
Back to the woods and a green tunnel
Green Ridge Trailhead
History
Prairie Chickens endangered in Missouri
Entry to the park is free. The trail is open from sunrise to sunset for walking and bicycling. Equestrian use is also permitted from Clinton to Sedalia.
We continued our October 2017 bike ride on the Katy Trail State Park by riding the segment from Windsor to Calhoun, Missouri. While the Katy Trail mileage chart shows this as a 7.2 mile segment, it is actually a bit longer at 7.3 miles. We biked this section from east to west to take advantage of the 120 foot drop in elevation heading west. As we were starting in late afternoon, this also allowed us to finish the segment before dark. With the slight downhill grade of 0.3% and no stops for photography, we averaged a blistering 9.8 miles per hour. While this is very slow for most bike riders, I am old and slow and it was our fastest average speed of the week.
Most of this section of the trail is wooded and provided lots of shade, although the setting sun seems to be the theme of the video I took as we rode. The trail crosses five streets in Windsor before passing under Missouri 52 at the edge of town. From there, the trail passes through a rural area with only crossings in the 5 ½ miles before passing under Missouri 52 again on the outskirts of Calhoun. The trail then crosses one gravel road in Calhoun just before the access trail to the trailhead and parking area.
Caboose 76 in Windsor
Looking back at the Windsor Trailhead
Points of Interest
Looking back at the MFA Cooperative in Windsor
Looking west from the Calhoun Trailhead access
View eastbound of the access trail and N High Street in Calhoun
Entry to the park is free. The trail is open from sunrise to sunset for walking and bicycling. Equestrian use is also permitted from Clinton to Sedalia.
The southwestern end of the Katy Trail State Park is in Clinton, Missouri. The trailhead is located on the northeast side of town near the interchange of Missouri routes 13 and 52. Southwest of the trailhead, the trail continues for another 2000 feet to its end at E Sedalia Avenue.
We biked from the trailhead southwest to E Sedalia Avenue and back to get warmed up and then headed toward Calhoun. The trail parallels Missouri 52 the entire 9.4 miles to the Calhoun trailhead access trail. Including the short ride to the end of the trail and back resulted in 10.1 miles of biking on this segment. We biked this section in October 2017 at a leisurely pace of about nine miles per hour. The trail descends about 40 feet over the 9.4 miles between the Clinton and Calhoun trailheads.
The gravel access trail to the Calhoun trailhead and parking on N Olive Street is short, but rather steep. Some riders might consider walking their bikes.
Both trailheads have restrooms with running water available from April 1 until November 1 annually. In addition, the Clinton trailhead has a bicycle maintenance station with a bike stand, wrenches, and an air pump. Both parking areas are gravel.
Southwest end of the trail
Clinton trailhead
Bike maintenance station
Points of Interest
Caboose MKT 206
Clinton trailhead parking
Farmers Elevator & Supply
Wide open spaces of the Osage Plains
Tallgrass prairie restoration area
An unnamed stream flows under Missouri route 52
Looking back at a bridge over an unnamed stream
West Fork Tebo Creek
Downstream side of the bridge
Upstream side of the bridge and previous bridge pilings
Biking through a green tunnel
Foundations are all that remain
Sand Creek bridge
Sand Creek
Calhoun Grain Elevator
Calhoun Trailhead
History of coal mining in Henry County
Picnic area
Horse trailer parking area
Entry to the park is free. The trail is open from sunrise to sunset for walking and bicycling. Equestrian use is also permitted from Clinton to Sedalia.
