St. Charles to Machens - Katy Trail, MO

Overview
This trail stretches almost 240 miles in length, going from Machens to Clinton. It is part of a nationwide effort to convert unused train tracks to trails through the Rails to Trails Conservancy. For most of its length, it parallels the Missouri River and passes through a variety of landscapes including: dense forests, farmlands, deep valleys, towering bluffs, wetlands, and remnant prairies. The trail is very flat being composed primarily of crushed limestone. It passes through numerous towns and communities along the way, having 26 trailheads with differing degrees of amenities. The trail is very well signed and has info boards along the way describing the history of the area and the impact the railroad and/or the Missouri River had upon the area. The trail has a marker every mile and there are maps along the way that shows the distances from one destination to another.


History
This trail first came into existence in the 1860s when the Union Pacific Railway created a route that eventually had connections going from Chicago to numerous Texas cities. In the 1890’s it was commonly referred to as the K-T (Kansas to Texas). This was seen in the abbreviations of timetables and also as the symbol on the stock market. The K-T eventually became known as the “The Katy”. Over the years the railroad experienced occasional flooding which led to costly rebuilds and improvements. Then in 1986, a major flood caused the railway to reroute their track to a line further to the west. In 1987, through a generous donation by Edward D. “Ted” Jones, a large portion of the right-of-way was purchased and given to the Rail to Trail Conservancy. In 1987, near Rocheport, the first part of the Katy Trail was opened. Gradually, other sections of the right-of-way were acquired, the latest being in 2011 when the segment between St. Charles and Machens was added. With this addition the Katy Trail grew to 240 miles in length, getting the designation of being the longest contiguous rail-to-trail in the country.Prologue
One of the nice things about the Katy Trail is that it is so readily accessible. Numerous roads border it along the way that provides 26 acknowledged THs with probably at least that many unacknowledged THs. That is a great luxury when you are trying to break down a 240-mile trail. St. Charles is a case in point. Multiple parking spots along the riverfront provide access to the Katy Trail. For this segment, I used the north end of DuSable Park as my starting point. At this location, the trail is paralleling the Missouri River. There may, or may not be a sign indicating the Katy Trail where you park. However, if you walk towards the Missouri River, you will have to cross over the Katy Trail. It is a large white path, about 8ft wide, that looks like a road.

Hike
From DuSable Park, take the Katy Trail in a northeast direction. The path is a large, white, flat, straight trail that seems to fade in the distance. In reality, the trail will have some slight curvature to it and will bend gradually to the east. The trail will have mile markers every mile that will decrease as you hike towards Machens, (the beginning of the Katy Trail). I joined the trail between markers 37 and 36. That number will vary, depending upon where you start the trail in St. Charles. Initially, you’ll have a large copse of trees to the east that frequently will offer tantalizing distant glimpses of the Missouri. At times, you’ll be within several yards of the Missouri, but as you continue northeast the trail will fall away from the banks of the river. Between mile marker 35 and 34 you’ll pass through a grove of trees and by the time you exit, the Missouri River has disappeared. It is while in this grove that you will reach the low point of the Katy Trail at 436 feet. It’s kind of hard to appreciate because the elevation doesn’t change that much. After the grove, you’ll have farm fields that lie before you on both sides of the trail. Your initial thought is that that will be your primary view for the rest of the journey. But the trail does a surprisingly good job of staying enclosed in trees and shrubs. Typically, you have blue skies overhead with trees blocking any distant views more times than not. This is unexpected since the tree barrier is only a few yards thick, but it does a nice job of providing a sense of isolation.

The trail is very simple to follow. The nature of the trail stays consistent throughout. So any social trails that take off from it (this only occurs around DuSable Park), will be in stark contrast from the Katy Trail. As you hike towards Machens, there will be 4 road crossings with the trail picking up immediately on the other side. Around mile marker 31 you’ll pass the Black Walnut Cemetery, a historic cemetery that dates back to the early 1800’s. At mile marker 30 you’ll reach the Black Walnut TH. There will be an info board with the history of the area as well as parking for 8 cars. The trail continues past Black Walnut TH and ends 3 miles later at Machens. Technically, this is the beginning of the Katy Trail, but oddly the mile marker for this spot is mile 27. I assume the trail adopted these markers from the railroad and never bothered to adjust them. The mile markers are used and appear to be accurate as they track the trail as it goes south. Another oddity about Machens is that, even though this is the start of the Katy Trail it is not even a trailhead. No parking is available. So you need to hike into Machens if you want to start at the beginning of the trail.

Water Sources
During certain times of the year, there is water at DuSable Park. There is no water at Black Walnut or Machens trailheads.

Synopsis
This section of the Katy Trail does not provide a lot of bang for the buck. Depending upon where you start in St Charles, the trail can run 10 to 12 miles to reach Machens. The trail is uninspired and with the exception of a couple of forested groves, the trail is a tree-lined path that cuts through the farmland of Missouri. At mile marker 31, the Black Walnut Cemetery is an interesting landmark providing some historical context to the centuries past. Sadly, the Katy Trail offers little evidence of the bygone railway or the centuries-long struggle to tame the land that precipitated the Katy Trail. The info boards at the Black Walnut and Machens trailheads provide the only hint to what the “Katy Trail” and the surrounding area might have been like years ago.

2024-09-26 mt98dew