WINDSOR Mo. — The annual national Trail Day celebration held earlier this month in Windsor gave visitors a glimpse of the future of the Rock Island Trail and its junction with the Katy Trail.
Those who joined Missouri Rock Island Trail Inc. and other organizations for the day saw firsthand the success of the Katy Trail across Missouri and the potential for the Rock Island Trail. The first 47-mile section of the Rock Island from Pleasant Hill to Windsor will open this year. Salvage of the tracks on an additional 144 miles of Rock Island corridor across Missouri from Windsor to near St. Louis should be completed in 2017. The current owner, the Ameren electric company, will then donate the corridor to Missouri State Parks for development. Windsor will one day be at the crossroads of one of the longest loop trails anywhere.
Kim Henderson, Windsor city administrator and MoRIT board member, says the event was a huge success. “It was a great first event to make folks aware of how close the first section of the Rock Island is to being completed. It brought people from both sides of the state to check out the progress. Windsor is excited to be the crossroads of the Katy and Rock Island and we expect to see a lot of new visitors from Kansas City and elsewhere,” Henderson said.
MoRIT executive director Greg Harris says this is just the beginning. “We look forward to celebrating in towns across Missouri as the recreational and financial benefits of the Rock Island Trail are experienced in coming years. This was a wonderful first step down a trail that will be huge for our state,” Harris said.
The Sneak Peek event in Windsor was co-sponsored by MoRIT and AARP Missouri. Riders ranging in age from 5 to 77 joined in and 21 of them became new MoRIT members.
The Katy/Rock Island Sneak Peek on June 4 was held in conjunction with national Trail Day.
