LARGEST (LONGEST) - Segment of Katy Trail - McKittrick, MO
Posted by: YoSam.
N 38° 44.036 W 091° 26.670
15S E 635200 N 4288399
History, mileposts and notice of what to look for on your journey
Waymark Code: WM12CP5
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 04/29/2020
Views: 1
County of marker: Montgomery County
Location of marker: McKittrick Trail Head, mile post 101.8, Katy Trail State Park
Marker erected: 2000
Marker erected by: Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Katy Trail State Park
Marker text:
McKittrick to Treloar
points of interest
Katy Trail State Park users cover the largest segment between trailheads on the entire trail from McKittrick to Treloar: 16.1 miles. McKittrick is a former Katy railroad town, and the remains of the depot and coal sheds are still present in the trailhead area. For about the first seven miles, the trail to Treloar runs near the Loutre Slough, which branches off the Loutre River and later empties into the Missouri River.
These first seven miles offer classic Katy scenery of high dolomite bluffs on one side of the trail and bottomland agriculture on the other. The small former railroad villages of Case and Gore stand at mileposts 96.9 and 93.8. From Case, the Katy trail enters one of the most spectacular stretches of the state park. Between Gore and Bernheimer, trail users have outstanding views of the river and bluffs. Gore was one of many Katy towns on this stretch -- along with McKittrick and Case -- named for Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Railroad investors. The rail line here was especially vulnerable to floods.
The Katy Trail moves away from the Missouri River shortly after the Smith Creek bridge, and enters the floodplain as it approaches Treloar. Treloar, another railroad town founded with the arrival of the Katy in 1892, has two old grain elevators as reminders of how important the railroad was to local economies.