ONE OF THE LARGEST PAVED BIKE TRAIL SYSTEMS IN THE USA
*Add for Single:
Additional price for SOLO CYCLIST or ONE PERSON in a room
Groups of 6 or more, or Returning Guests:
Receive 5% discount
What’s Included
- Crossroads will move you and your bike from St. Charles to the beginning of the tour
- Crossroads guide will travel with you along the entire trail and move your luggage
- Support and Gear (SAG) van will be stationed throughout the ride to provide drinks, snacks and maintenance
- Lodging is near the trail utilizing cozy inns or bed and breakfast lodging
- Breakfast and Lunch is provided during your ride
- Evening restaurant suggestions
- Maps and daily route directions
- Suggested packing list
- Bike rentals are available for an added cost (e-bikes available)
- Classy Crossroads Bike Tour T-shirt and patch souvenir
- All hotel and restaurant gratuity is included
- Guide gratuity is not included but kindly accepted
- 5% discount for returning customer or groups of 4 or more
America’s longest continuous rail to trail bike path. On the first day, we will shuttle you from St. Charles to our starting point. Ride back to St. Charles over the next days of the tour. Enjoy rural Missouri wildlife, winery towns, the 1st and current capital cities and the views along the Missouri River.
3 day itinerary
Spring 2021 Dates
May 24-26
Fall 2021 Dates
October 11-13
Day 1 – MCT meets KATY Trail (42 miles): Ride along and across the Mississippi River to where the Missouri meets the “Big Muddy”. We ride to the beginning of the KATY trail where few people ever reach (Machen, MO) then travel 15 miles to St. Charles. Spend the day in Old Town St. Charles and see the old State Capital and the historic buildings that are brought back to life in this vibrant antique and entertainment area. After lunch and time to see the sights we head back to our hotel via our tour van.
Day 2 – MCT Loop (36 miles): Spend the entire day on the beautiful tree lined paths of the MCT Trail. Travel many miles on isolated paths flowing from one town to the next watching for deer, turkeys, and other wildlife in the area. See horseradish fields, covered bridge, World’s Largest Catsup Bottle, public botanical garden and have lunch at one of the area’s best craft brewery and distillery.
Day 3 – Mighty Mississippi (34 miles): Today we see the Mighty Mississippi up-close and tour the Lewis and Clark museum at the beginning place of their journey. Ride along the banks of the river to Alton, IL, one of the oldest river towns in IL. Then proceed along limestone cliffs at the water’s edge viewing the soaring birds overhead and the slow moving barges in the river. Explore Elsah IL and then on to Grafton for the rest of the day. After your ride, take in the best views of the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers high above on the beautiful cliffs surrounding this quaint town. After seeing the sights we head back to our hotel via our tour van.
TOUR INFORMATION
Trip Length: 3 days
Nights Lodging: 2 nights
Daily Mileage: 34-42 miles
Total Mileage: 112
Minimum Age: 21
Tour Rating: Active
Check in Location: Edwardsville, IL
Trail Type: Rail-to-Trail
Pricing
PP Double Occupancy
$690**
Single Supplement*
$250**
*This is required if you are traveling solo or if you are traveling with someone but require separate beds.
Bike Rental
$75
**10% discount for parties of 4 or more
5 DAY ITINERARY
Spring 2021 Dates
May 24-28
Fall 2021 Dates
October 11-15
Day 1 – Route 66 (44 miles): Tour starts at 9:00am at the host hotel: Country Hearth and Suites, Edwardsville, IL. From there we will head up to Hamel and Staunton, IL, both towns on Old Route 66, for a look at the 1930’s style buildings along the old historic route. Travel along the Rails-to-Trails paved path to Staunton and have a homemade lunch. Then back on the trail to Hamel for a drink at Tourist Haven. We meander back to our hotel in Edwardsville looking for deer that roam the farm fields as we go.
Day 2 – MCT meets KATY Trail (42 miles): Ride along and across the Mississippi River to where the Missouri meets the “Big Muddy”. We ride to the beginning of the KATY trail where few people ever reach (Machen, MO) then travel 15 miles to St. Charles. Spend the day in Old Town St. Charles and see the old State Capital and the historic buildings that are brought back to life in this vibrant antique and entertainment area. After lunch and time to see the sights we head back to our hotel via our tour van.
Day 3 – MCT Loop (36 miles): Spend the entire day on the beautiful tree lined paths of the MCT Trail. Travel many miles on isolated paths flowing from one town to the next watching for deer, turkeys, and other wildlife in the area. See horseradish fields, covered bridge, World’s Largest Catsup Bottle, public botanical garden and have lunch at one of the area’s best craft brewery and distillery.
Day 4 – Mighty Mississippi (34 miles): Today we see the Mighty Mississippi up-close and tour the Lewis and Clark museum at the beginning place of their journey. Ride along the banks of the river to Alton, IL, one of the oldest river towns in IL. Then proceed along limestone cliffs at the water’s edge viewing the soaring birds overhead and the slow moving barges in the river. Explore Elsah IL and then on to Grafton for the rest of the day. After your ride, take in the best views of the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers high above on the beautiful cliffs surrounding this quaint town. You take the Gondola up to Aerie Winery where we will be staying for the evening in their hotel.
Day 5 – River Views and Antiques (34 miles): We head back to along the Mississippi river back to Alton to visit the site of the Lincoln – Douglas debate and visit many of the antique shops in town. Our final destination is Edwardsville where we finish the day with lunch. Our tour concludes around 2:30pm.
TOUR INFORMATION
Trip Length: 5 days
Nights Lodging: 4 nights
Daily Mileage: 34-44 miles
Total Mileage: 191
Minimum Age: 21
Tour Rating: Active
Check in Location: Edwardsville, IL
Trail Type: Rail-to-Trail
Pricing
PP Double Occupancy
$1090**
Single Supplement*
$400**
*This is required if you are traveling solo or if you are traveling with someone but require separate beds.
Bike Rental
$120
**10% discount for parties of 4 or more
RESERVE ONLINE BY DATE
Select your departure date and click to reserve your bike tour!
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: ACTIVE
The MCT trails are mainly smooth blacktop with an occasional crushed limestone section. We travel on rails-to-trails paths for most of the rides but might have to use the road to meet another trail. We are riding 23-44 miles per day for 5 days in a row. The length of the ride and endurance make this demanding however we stop to view the beautiful scenery so the riding is not rigorous. Since this is a Rails-to-Trails ride, there are no steep hills to climb, but the longer miles will appeal to stronger, more experienced riders.
Suggested bicycle: Touring bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes or recumbent bikes are all suited for these trails.
Suggested tire size for this tour: Due to the hard smooth surface, any tire size will work on these trails.
The trip ends: Plan to be finished biking and lunch around 1:30 pm.
If you are flying, you fly in and out of the St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), depart no earlier than 5:00pm. We will arrange for your hotel on Sunday, prior to the start of the tour. You will be charged for this extra night stay.
If you are driving, meet us at our hotel at 8:00am, the ride will begin at 9:00am. You can leave your car at the hotel for free parking for the entire ride. We will check into the hotel at the conclusion of our first day’s ride.