I just read today that plans are in the works to connect Windsor to Pleasant Hill. That would put the trail into the suburbs of KC. From there it would be reasonable to extend it north around Blue Springs Lake and further north to the Missouri River and into downtown. It could be extended west from Pleasant Hill towards Longview Lake and on towards Olathe. I'm not sure if KC has long range plans for any kind of bike trail ring around their metro area, but if those two lakes connected to Pleasant Hill, it'd be a good start.

If the Pleasant Hill - Windsor extension is completed, it'll be mostly complete between the big cities. The extension to the confluence in St. Louis will happen in time. Great Rivers Greenway will eventually fund it. The extension into KC will happen too. Any possibility or reason for finishing the trail along the Missouri River and continuing it on towards St. Joe and Omaha? That would make two trails from Jeff City to KC.

What will happen along the central spine though? Guest houses? Bike tours and shops? If the path to KC comes off at Windsor, that'll make Clinton just a connecting trail, like the one in Columbia. There are a few college towns like Fulton that could probably use a bike trail to the main spine. Longer trials to the Lake of the Ozarks and such would take some money.

If one wanted to invest money in Katy Trail related businesses, what advice would you give?

In the short term, the biggest obstacle with the Katy Trail is the river. The trail is on the north bank while the attractions/schools etc— Jeff City, Hermann, Washington, (Amtrak) — is on the south. Bike lanes are/have been added to the bridges, it's still pretty daunting (at least in the tourists' mind.)

So I think a service to ease that is necessary to create demand.

Personally, I'd like there to be a 1-2 mile mountain bike/off-road loop/spur/campground to add a little interest. I'd pay a landowner/outfitter a modest admission to ride that. (I'd probably feel different if I were a landowner however!)

Now if I was a crazy, ecentric millionaire, I would buy a ferry/landing craft/pontoon boat or something in the vein of the African Queen and offer bike/winery/river excursions bouncing from one bank to the other.

The obvious answer to the river problem is to just have two trails, one on either bank, and to have interesting bridges every so often. That would take another 20 years though.

All the streams and rivers in Korea have bike trails on either side. The country's natural waterways and unnatural additions make one massive bike trail network.

If the Katy Trail is the main spine and we're going off of it into surrounding cities and towns, then why not have a trail on either bank? Make the whole length of the river into one long bike highway. If enough interesting stuff is along the route I'd go back and forth as often as I could. Side trails, like the one to Columbia will happen eventually.

I'm hopeful. I think the trail is only going to get better.

How fast is the Missouri through most of its length? Would kayak rentals be a bad idea? I'm amazed by the work of the outdoor adventure people in Pittsburgh and their river kayakers.



I'm sure the Missouri has a few slow moving flat spots where recreational boating would be reasonably safe.

^ Our rivers (Mississippi and Missourah) are pretty inhospitable to small craft traffic. There are great rivers for kayaking in Missouri - the Current, etc., but our big rivers are bad.

There are no adjacent lakes or smaller tributaries along the Katy Trail? How big is Creve Coeur Lake? I haven't been there in years. Is it big enough for small boat rentals?