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.
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| Southwest end of the trail |
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| Clinton trailhead |
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| Bike maintenance station |
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| Points of Interest |
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| Caboose MKT 206 |
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| Clinton trailhead parking |
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| Farmers Elevator & Supply |
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| Wide open spaces of the Osage Plains |
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| Tallgrass prairie restoration area |
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| An unnamed stream flows under Missouri route 52 |
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| Looking back at a bridge over an unnamed stream |
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| West Fork Tebo Creek |
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| Downstream side of the bridge |
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| Upstream side of the bridge and previous bridge pilings |
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| Biking through a green tunnel |
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| Foundations are all that remain |
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| Sand Creek bridge |
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| Sand Creek |
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| Calhoun Grain Elevator |
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| Calhoun Trailhead |
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| History of coal mining in Henry County |
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| Picnic area |
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| 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.
The Katy Trail State Park website is https://mostateparks.com/park/katy-trail-state-park.
Very helpful post: we were debating biking that leg of the trail as we close out our season, and your description, pictures, and videos encouraged us to do it!
ReplyDeleteOur ride was a great success. The trail was in good shape, only a little soft from the rain the previous day. Thanks again for posting your experience and assessment of this section!
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