Bike Trails MO. The Katy (MKT) Trail
Login or register to download files
Raw file: Katy Trail.gpx (1.45 MB)
My wife, brother and I are bicycle enthusiasts who enjoy riding the ever increasing number of rail / canal trails mostly in the Northeastern US. We also do volunteer work for NOAA by recovering US Coast & Geodetic Survey Benchmarks. We often combine these hobbies while trail riding.
Unlike geocaching, benchmark hunting serves a valuable purpose by providing NOAA with updates on the condition of their 700,000+ benchmarks across the Unites States. Information on Benchmarks is available here: http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/.
We have been riding these trails for over 10 years now and I decided to share some of the .GPX files I’ve created. Of the hundreds of trails available in this part of the country, I selected these for their quality, scenic beauty, lack of excessive grades or hazardous terrain and overall riding or hiking enjoyment.
The files were compiled using a variety of resources including:
NOAA - http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/
Garmin’s Mapsource & Basecamp software
USCGS Topographic GPS Map Files. Available Legally at no cost for many States here: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/
Google Earth & Google Maps
Garmin’s Birds Eye Imagery
Personal Knowledge
Various Internet & Print resources including:
Missouri State Park Katy Trail Website: http://www.mostateparks.com/park/katy-trail-state-park
Bike Katy Trail Website: http://www.bikekatytrail.com/
Visit Missouri.com Website: http://www.visitmo.com/missouri-travel/missouris-katy-trail....
Traillink.com’s Katy Trail web page: http://www.traillink.com/trail/katy-trail-state-park.aspx
This file is Missouri’s Katy Trail including the MKT Nature Trail into Columbia and the Jefferson City spur. At 238 miles, it is one of the longest rail trails in the continental U.S. It crosses almost the entire state of Missouri from Clinton, Southeast of Kansas City, all the way to the Mississippi River Northeast of St. Louis. The Eastern half of the trail from Boonville to St. Charles follows the Missouri River and hugs the base of the spectacular limestone bluffs.
The trail’s nearly level, packed gravel surface is well maintained by the Missouri State Parks Dept. The Katy, also known as the MKT trail for the now defunct Missouri – Kansas – Texas Railroad, is a real jewel in the world of rail trails for its length, scenic beauty and easy accessibility. Due to its long sections between access points, it is advisable to carry plenty of water when travelling the trail.
Note that this is a large file with 1000+ waypoints and more than 4500 track points. Editing may be required for use in older handheld GPS units.
Anyone interested in Benchmark hunting can obtain detailed data sheets for each mark by going here: http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_pid.prl The PID is the waypoint name symbolized by the color coded cube icons. Green= Recovered within the last 10 years. Blue= No recent recovery but set in a massive structure which still exists. Red= Likely missing or reported destroyed.
Free, legal, 24K and 100K topo map downloads for the states with these trails are available here: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/ Segments of these maps covering the above trails can be loaded into many older handheld GPS receivers with limited memory by using Garmin’s Mapinstall program available here: http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=3291
I’ll post more trail files as I update and clean them up.
I always enjoy conversing with fellow bike trail enthusiasts so please feel free to contact me with comments, questions, inclusions or revisions. – Enjoy!
POI Packages