Rock Island Trail at Lake of the Ozarks

Plans for the Rock Island Trail, which will run through Eldon, Missouri, are well underway. Communities along the route have been working to turn the Rock Island corridor into a statewide trail since the railroad last saw traffic in the 1980s. With existing Katy Trail and portions of the Rock Island Trail already underway, Missouri will have an interconnected statewide trail network of over 450 miles. Most states don't even have the opportunity to create one major cross-state trail, while Missouri is building two interconnected cross-state trails. The opportunities for tourism, recreation and economic development along the entire Rock Island and Katy Trail corridors are tremendous!

Future of the Rock Island Trail

• 143.7 miles - Rock Island from Windsor to Beaufort (near Washington) was donated by Ameren for the trail and committed to railbanking. 
• 47.6 miles - Rock Island from Pleasant Hill to Windsor has already been railbanked and salvage work/trail construction is currently underway. This is a result of the Taum Sauk settlement with Ameren. 
• 24.8 miles - Rock Island from Pleasant Hill to KC is currently in negotiations for purchase from Union Pacific. Perhaps the momentum of the new 144-mile addition to the eastern end of the Rock Island Trail will provide momentum to finalize the deal on the western end as well. 
• TOTAL Rock Island Trail mileage from Kansas City to Beaufort is 216.7 miles. 
• The Katy Trail is now 240 miles so total the Katy/Rock Island system will be 457 miles. 

The trail will connect Kansas City and St. Louis to the Lake of the Ozarks area and boost tourism all across the state of Missouri.

How Long Will It Take? 

Before the Rock Island corridor can become a trail, three things must happen:

1. Railbanking - This is a complex legal process. Railbanking previous portions of the Rock Island line has taken 12-18 months minimum. If the process stays on track, it is likely to take 1-2 years for this first step. 
2. Salvage - The rails and equipment will need to be salvaged. The 46-mile Rock Island segment from Pleasant Hill to Windsor (the Katy Trail Connector) is currently on this step. Experience says that salvage work will take 12-18 months, minimum and possibly more if any difficulties are encountered. 
3. Trail Building - Finally, there is the trail construction itself. It took a decade before the majority of Katy Trail was usable and Missouri State Parks continues to add sections after more than two decades of use. Optimistically, we should see selected portions of the trail within 1-3 of the salvage work being completed. However, it may be a decade before we see a complete trail running from Windsor to Beaufort. 

Once the trail is complete, we will have one more great way to enjoy the outdoors at the Lake of the Ozarks! Mission Bay's convenient Lake location puts you close to Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Lake of the Ozarks State Park and eventually the Rock Island Trail. For more information on other trails currently at the Lake of the Ozarks, check out our previous blog titled, "Winter Hikes at Lake of the Ozarks." For Lake living at it's finest, be sure to check out our lake view and lakefront homes at the Lake of the Ozarks.

For more information on the plans for the Rock Island Trail, visit: MoBikeFed.org.  

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