The 8.8 miles of the Katy Trail State Park from Rocheport to McBaine may be the most beautiful along the entire trail. Following the route of the Katy Railroad, the trail hugs the base of the 150 foot high Manitou (or Moniteau) Bluffs along the banks of the Missouri River. The trail is relatively flat with a net elevation drop of about 30 feet.
There are two notable caves along the route. The first has a stacked rock face and was used as a warehouse for explosives by the railroad. The second is the privately owned Lewis & Clark Cave. A spring in the cave probably provided fresh water for the Corps of Discovery as they passed through the area in early June 1804.
We biked this section of the trail in October 2017.
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| Missouri River |
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| Edward D (Ted) Jones Memorial |
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| Another view of the river |
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| Railroad explosives cave |
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| Bluff towers over the trail |
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| Interstate 70 bridge over the Missouri River |
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| Bluff downstream of Interstate 70 |
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| Side trail to the top of the bluff |
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| Another bluff towers over the trail |
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| Typical trail surface of crushed gravel |
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| Missouri River |
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| Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) atop the bluff |
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| Bench next to the wayside exhibit about Lewis & Clark |
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| Lewis and Clark Cave from the trail |
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| Spring water flows out of the cave |
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| Although we didn't see them, there are pictographs on the bluff |
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| Fall foliage colors have begun |
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| Lewis & Clark campsite 6 June 1804 |
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| Straight and level through the river bottom lands |
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| Terrapin Creek bridge |
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| View upstream of Grocery Branch |
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| View downstream of Grocery Branch |
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| Terrapin Creek bridge builders plate |
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| Grocery Branch bridge |
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| Hindman Junction |
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| Bike trail to Columbia |
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| Columbia MKT Nature/Fitness Trail map |
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| Perche Creek bridge |
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| Mile 169.7 Perche Creek |
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| View upstream of Perche Creek |
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| View downstream of Perche Creek |
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| Perche Creek bridge superstructure |
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| McBaine Trailhead |
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| Restrooms |
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| Points of Interest exhibit |
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| History exhibit |
Entry to the park is free. The trail is open from sunrise to sunset for walking and bicycling.
The section of the park from Boonville to Machens is part of the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail.
The Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail website is https://www.nps.gov/lecl.
The Katy Trail State Park website is https://mostateparks.com/park/katy-trail-state-park.
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