Adventure Cycling Association Forum
Bicycle Travel => Routes => Topic started by: Margaret on June 22, 2018, 10:50:37 am
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Hi All, I got great advice here for our last family trip. I am planning a trip for next summer- we are two families, kids ranging from age 12-16.( about 13 riders in all) We did our last trip on the GAP and C&O and averaged about 40 miles/day. We are looking for a route which would be at least mostly on a bike trail ( for safety reasons) and I am looking possibilities such as The Katy Trail, The Mikelson Trail, and ? Paul Bunyan Trail in Minnesota, but we would look at other possibilities as well- I am thinking June for the trip. Any thoughts or other suggestions? I have searched and read a lot about the Katy Trail but want to check out all possibilities. We plan to camp most nights with maybe a hotel or two. Hoping for a week to 10 day trip.
Thanks,
Margaret
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Hi Margaret,
I am riding the Katy Trail with my 12-year-old this summer. I can let you know how it goes. We are planning to ride it in 4-5 days and we're staying in B&Bs along the way. Last summer we did a 7-day bike tour in the San Juan Islands in Washington. It's not on bike paths, but the roads are low-traffic and it was fun to combine bike travel and ferry travel. The C&O Canal and GAP are on our lists for the near future. We've also done Adventure Cycling's Family Fun guided bike tours in Idaho (Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes) and Colorado (Summit County/Vail Pass bike paths).
I'm interested to hear what others have to say about family bike tours.
Eva Dunn-Froebig
Adventure Cycling Association
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I loved my time on the Paul Bunyan and Heartland Trails last summer. So many Paul's to get your picture taken with! In June it might be a little buggy depending on how wet the spring is. But it's a great trail system for kids/young adults.
https://flic.kr/p/LiNmwd
Jennifer
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All great options listed above, plus:
- Wisconsin: 400 State Trail, La Crosse River Trail, Elroy-Sparta Rail Trail (Wisconsin Dells can be a great family destination of water parks)
- Ohio: Little Miami Scenic Trail (could visit the home of the Wright Brothers in Dayton - museum
- Massachusetts: An extensive trail system on Martha's Vineyard plus the Cape Cod Rail Trail and Shining Sea Bikeway
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Agree that your 3 are good choices. Other positives:
- Mickelson adds in the ability to visit the other historical sites around Rapid City
- Katy could add time in St Louis or KC which are both great cities
- Bunyan gets you close to the Twin Cities and/or the Northwoods like Duluth
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Thanks all for the great ideas- Looking more into the Paul Bunyan Trail- Eva- You will LOVE the GAP- It was beautiful and so rideable- we did three days on the GAP and two on the C&0- C&O is not quite as pleasant- but you can ride part of the way on this paved trail that was really nice. We had a great trip. Let me know how the Katy Trail goes- I am leaning towards that one I think even though I am tempted by the Mickelson Trail because I want to see the Badlands- I will get researching now!
Thanks all!
Margaret
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The Mickelson Trail is in the Black Hills, which is different than the badlands. In any event, it's a great ride. The only issue I see for you with the trail is how camping is spaced. There is no camping allowed along the trail. Campgrounds are available at the northern terminus in Deadwood, in Hill City, Custer and at the southern terminus in Edgemont. Deadwood to Hill City is almost 50 miles, and it is not flat as rail-trails go. Between those two towns there are three sections of sustained uphill that you will feel. (One section has an average grade that exceeds the ruling grade of the GAP.) Also, the surface is not as smooth as the GAP, which makes for a tougher ride. Hill City to Custer is less than 20 miles, so you either have to do a short day (the trail passes right by the entrance to the Crazy Horse monument) or a 60 mile day to Edgemont. Carrying sufficient snacks for the day is also important. Between Lead and Hill City there are no commercial services except a restaurant, etc., just off the trail in Rochford. Nothing between Hill City and Custer, but it's a short distance. Between Custer and Edgemont the only thing you will find is a bar/restaurant in Pringle. Water was never a problem for me as the cisterns along the trail were always full of cool, clear water. They are a really nice amenity, especially if it's hot. I rode it three years ago in late June and it was quite warm one of the days. BTW...The municipal campground in Edgemont comes with all the free train noise you could ever want. :)
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Thank you Bikelicious Babe- Really good info on the Mickelson Trail. I am so tempted by it because of the scenery-but because we have kids- I am not sure they will take well to a 60 mile day in between campsites- and the grade sounds much tougher- The nice thing about the GAP was that it was relatively flat and plenty of places to camp The Katy might be better set up for a family because it is so well established- Do you know anything about the Paul Bunyan Trail? Just making sure to check out all my options before moving ahead with plans-
Thanks so much for your input!
Margaret
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Not only the grade but the surface. I picked up the Mickelson at the Englewood Trailhead after riding up Spearfish Canyon. While I missed the most difficult uphill section, I was immediately faced with a more than 4 miles uphill section that rose about 650' according to Ride With GPS. And it maxes out at over 6,200' in altitude. That, the surface and a slight headwind was really tiring. Later in the evening, during the climb up from Mystic, I came across a group of kids with a chaperone. They had started in Deadwood and were headed to Hill City. They were so wiped they were walking. I later felt concerned for them because I bombed the downhill to Hilly City and ended riding to camp in the dark after a quick stop at the market. So I know there was no way they made it to town before nightfall. However, I am pretty sure they had enough time to make it to town before the massive thunder/hailstorm hit a few hours later.
Those storms can be dangerous. Later during my trip I met a couple in Custer who was getting a shuttle to a point north on the trail with the plan of riding back to Custer. I was headed to Hill City and back for the day and told them I might see them there. Well...I did. It was raining lightly in Hill City so I was hanging out under a trail shelter. The temperature in town had dropped some 15 degrees when the system moved in. The couple pulled in to the shelter after having been caught in a bad storm on the trail north of Hill City. To make matters worse, they had been forced to stop for a while thanks to some stubborn, free range cattle blocking the trail. The wife was properly dressed, but the husband was not. He was shivering and his fingers were literally blue. He called the shuttle service, which was based in Hill City, and they got a ride back to Custer.
Never ridden the Paul Bunyan. Not sure it existed when I crossed MN many years ago.
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Thanks again- Your account of your experiences is really helpful- I am thinking the Katy trail because it is just so well established and may be better suited for families- our youngest kid will be 12 but even then our teenagers are not as tough as I would like! And they might enjoy the small towns along the way better than the more wilderness route that I would like!
Margaret
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The Ohio to Erie Trail is also one on my bucket list. https://www.ohiotoerietrail.org/
And the Western New England Greenway includes some fabulous trails. http://wnegreenway.org/
So many great places to choose from. Good luck!
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But I did not think the Western New England Greenway was a bike trail that is car free- is it??? I may have it wrong.
Thanks,
Margaret
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I wouldn't stay away from roads
Reason - Simply that at this age they need to start to get used to riding on roads under your supervision. Far better to do that than 'protect them' on cycleways that can often be flat and not as interesting as quieter roads. If you want them to be life long cyclists they need to learn and this is an ideal time.
I've organised and run over 30 family tours in the UK for families with children from 3-18 (week long events), where we have up to 50 on the road at the same time, with an equal mix of adults and children and it works very well.
Good Luck
Neil
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Erie Canal is about 3/4 trail and camping is fairly well spaced. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1mr&doc_id=9422&v=Ib
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Thanks Canlligators- yeah I am looking into the Erie Canal as a back-up- Two of our group have already done it- so that is why I am leaning towards Katy Trail. Thanks though!
Margaret
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I just got back from riding the Mickelson Trail with a 14 and 11-year-old, and a 9 month-old. It was beautiful riding on dedicated bike path - a little hillier and rougher surfaces than the GAP. But the surfaces were fine with wide touring tires, and better than the C&O. If you rode out and back with stops for places like Crazy Horse and Custer State Park, that could be a week+ long ride. (And eliminate the need for a shuttle.) The campground/lodging options are a bit far apart for some kids, but if your group can cover 40 mi./day, you should be fine. (Here is a list of services for towns on route: http://www.bikemickelson.com/towns.aspx).
We had a SAG vehicle that helped carry riders to off-route campgrounds/lodging when needed.
I’ve also ridden the Idaho Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes (on Adventure Cycling’s Family Fun guided tour), and the GAP with nephews and niece. Both great options.
I haven’t ridden these yet, but I’m also interested in checking out the Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga Trails in Georgia/Alabama. Being so far south, these would be better for a spring or fall trip.
http://www.silvercometga.com/
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I have ridden over the years most of the suggested routes. Couple of thoughts.
The Katy in June (especially after mid-June) gets quite muggy. However it is an easy ride and the bigger kids could go ride on their own as it is hard to get lost on a rail trail assuming you stay on the trail so they may be less annoyed at having to still around the little ones. There are very little "street detours" on the Katy. Depending on your daily mileage, you may need to do a combination of camping and B&B/Hotel if that matters. While you get to see the river peridically, very little access to it.
Mickelson is nice and scenic but the trail surface can get a bit "gravely" at times. Also, it is relatively short compared to some of the others. You did not say how long you wanted the trip to be. The area off the trail has fantastic scenery but probably not great for a young teen to ride in. If you are driving, you could do the trail then hang around the area and see it by car.
There are tons of trails in MN & WI (some road detours required but doable). Weather is buggy but pleasant nights.
The trails from Cincinnati to Cleveland (or vice versa) is nice but a little "urban" for my taste if I were bring young teens. Weather is good. If you started near Pittsburgh, you could work your way west on trail and some low traffic roads so you could go from Pittsburgh to Cleveland also.
If you are looking at something less hot, think MN, WI, OH, and even Washington/Idaho. We rode a lot of the trails from south of Spokane to Trail of the Hiawatha (great trail!) in Idaho and it was fantastic but as you near the Trail of the Hiawatha, the "trail" is rough in places. You would need a car to drive the "non-trail" segements due to the youngsters, otherwise the riding is fine. Weather was pleasant the the trail was mostly paved. There are some "street detours" but the drivers there are pretty good. Very scenic, good weather, but a tad expensive in places like Coeur d'Alene. Spokane and Coeur d'Alene are nice for adults too.
The Cowboy Trial in Nebraska is too remote and the trail surface sucks at times so you end up riding on US-20 so I would avoid that one. I rode the Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga Trail in May and while it was nice it didn't have much to interest the kids.
Being from Oklahoma (next to Missouri), I would probably head north due to the time of year. June can be hit or miss and if you get rainy weather (major storms in late may through mid-June) followed by temps in mid-90s, the humidity just sucks. Then everyone is complaining.
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More great advice- we plan to go for a week or 9 days ( if need be and including travel to the site) I amleaning towards the Katy as it is so well established-but I am also now looking at the Erie Canal bike trail ( through New York State) because of the weather factor- I know that June in Missouri could be really hot. We will need to camp most nights but can do 2-3 hotels/b&b the issue is that our group is kind of big so it sometimes works better to camp than take over a small b&b. We will have a van for a sag wagon that we usually take turns driving. On the Mickelson I was concerned about the lack of campsites- which could be an issue on the Erie Canal Trail too- I need to check it out further.
Thanks for your input!
Margaret
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Thanks for the input- I have been researching the Erie Canal Bike Trail and I am finding it frustrating- there is no website that seems to list mileage between towns- or camping sites- I have randomly found camping through the NY state park sites and the Canalway Heritage site- but gees- compared the Katy site the site which has the Erie Bike Trail map is so lame - it only offers limited information on camping and none on servicesin the towns- I am wondering if there is somewhere to find this information?
Thanks,
Margaret
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Margaret,
Did you see this interactive map? https://www.ptny.org/bike-canal/map/
It seems like a good resource.
I have never bicycled the Erie Canal Bike Trail, but I grew up in the area and would recommend taking some time to stop at Erie Canal Village in Rome, NY.
Eva
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Thank you Eva- I did- In fact I have been using that map- but the measuring tool there is not very good ( at least on my computer) so I am finding it difficult to get a read on mileage. I may see if the measure tool might work better at the library? Thank you.
Margaret
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Yes, I agree that their planning resources are not as good as the Katy Trail and some other trails. They don't seem to have good resources for people planning multi-day trips. Rather, the focus seems to be out and back day rides. They would probably appreciate that feedback!
Eva
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I "think" there is a book about riding the Eric Canal. Perhaps that can help. Best, John