It seems fitting that the 225-mile Katy Trail in Missouri should be named to the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame during the same year as the inaugural run of the Tour of Missouri bicycle race.
The crushed limestone bike and hike trail stretches nearly across the state, between St. Charles, on the outskirts of St. Louis, to Clinton in the west. It's used by local recreational cyclists to stretch their legs or touring bicyclists who jump off the trail to taste the local culture along the way.
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has begun honoring the best 25 bike and hike trails in the US, a five-year task that will run through December 2011. The program considers rail-to-trails with lots of scenery, high use, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance, and excellent trail management and maintenance.
The Great Allegheny Passage was the first to earn the recognition.
Katy background
The conservancy named the Katy Trail to the Hall of Fame this month and wrote about it at its website. It tells about those who helped push along the development of the abandoned Katy railroad into a trail. From the conservancy's report on the Katy Trail:
“The big opposition was mainly a lot of noise,” says Pat Jones of Williamsburg, Mo., who, with her late husband Ted, helped fast-track the trail's development. She recalls that some local organizations, including the Missouri Farm Bureau, stirred up groundless fears of crime on the trail and local landowners losing property rights. “Any change makes you worry,” she says, “but a little sharing goes a long way.”
Indeed the Jones family gave the Katy Trail a hearty two-handed push when they bought 200 miles of the corridor's right-of-way and then donated it to the state to get the trail built. Their only stipulation in the hand-over? Be a good neighbor.
The trail follows the steps of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (which recently celebrated a bicentennial) over half of its length along the Missouri River. It then veers into the state's rich farmland and prairie.
The Katy Trail is part of Adventure Cycling's Lewis & Clark Route and the American Discovery Trail.
There's more good news for the Katy Trail. Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has proposed extending the trail to Kansas City in the west, a distance of some 75 miles.
Other trails
As wonderful as the Katy Trail is, it is by no means unique. There are 1,453 rail-trails in the US, comprising 13,800 miles of trails suitable for bicycling or hiking. Another 1,000-plus trail projects are being considered or built, for an additional 12,500 miles.
To put a local trail to use under your own two bicycle wheels, go to the conservancy's TrailLink.com website.
For more information, check out the Katy Trail website, which itself has been honored for its thoroughness. It tells about events along the trail, as well as linking to maps, mileage charts, and trailside attractions, restaurants, campgrounds, motels and bed & breakfasts. It also has information about more than a half-dozen side trails that branch off from the Katy.
(The photo at top is from the photostream of Blue Eyed Fawn at flickr.com. I can almost hear the stone crunching under the tires. There are other cool images of the Katy Trail there.)
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