17th annual Katy Trail Ride begins this week

A bridge crosses Cedar Creek in Callaway County on the Katy Trail. The 240-mile trail passes through numerous towns, featuring various amenities from bed and breakfasts to shops and historic features from when the trail served as the MKT railroad line from Machens to Clinton.
A bridge crosses Cedar Creek in Callaway County on the Katy Trail. The 240-mile trail passes through numerous towns, featuring various amenities from bed and breakfasts to shops and historic features from when the trail served as the MKT railroad line from Machens to Clinton.

350 bicyclists will begin a 232-mile journey Monday from Clinton to St. Charles on the Katy Trail for the 17th annual Katy Trail Ride. Missouri State Parks and the Missouri State Parks Foundation are hosting the five-day tour.

The Katy Trail Ride has been an annual event since 2001 and has achieved national and international acclaim. The ride takes cyclists along the Missouri River and through the towns that developed along the river and the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT or Katy) Railroad, the predecessor to the Katy Trail.

Camping stops along the ride change from year to year. For the 2017 Katy Trail Ride, overnight locations will be in the towns of Sedalia, Boonville, Jefferson City and Marthasville. Ride participants range in age from 12-88 and come from 29 states plus Washington D.C. and one Canadian Province. Friends and families of the riders can follow the ride's progress online. Photographs and highlights of reach day's ride will be available at Facebook.com/katytrailstatepark.

For more information on Katy Trail State Park, visit katytrailstatepark.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

2017 Katy Trail Ride itinerary

Today: Riders' meeting at 7 p.m. at the Benson Convention Center in Clinton

Monday: Depart at 7:30 a.m. from Clinton;

Arrive to Liberty Park in Sedalia between 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Tuesday: Depart at 7:30 a.m. from Sedalia;

Arrive to Kemper Park in Boonville between 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Wednesday: Depart at 7:30 a.m. from Boonville;

Arrive at Bill Quigg Common in Jefferson City between 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Thursday: Depart at 7:30 a.m. from Jefferson City;

Arrive at the Marthasville Community Club between 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Friday: Depart at 7:30 a.m. from Marthasville;

Arrive at Frontier Park in St. Charles between 10 a.m.-1 p.m.