Fly into St. Louis, then MetroLink Rail

While looking further into riding the Katy Trail, I was researching how to get to the famous St. Louis Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River when I happened upon the website for the MetroLink Light Rail system. The MetroLink runs from Lambert field (St. Louis' major airport) into town and beyond, taking about 37 minutes and just $3.00 to reach the Gateway Arch and the riverfront. The Arch is about 400 yards/meters south of the Arch-Laclede's Landing MetroLink station.

Starting the Katy with a visit to the Arch seems perfect. I've wanted to visit the Gateway Arch ever since I flew over it 20 years ago on a connecting flight from Europe. Plus, the Riverfront Trail starts just 900 yards/meters upriver from the Arch.

Here's some relevant info I found on the Katy Trail website:
If you want to go the other way and head east toward downtown St Louis from the airport, your best bet is to take the Metrolink light rail system. Bikes are welcome and you can save your legs for riding around the interesting areas downtown. You might want to hop off at the Forest Park stop and head south into Forest Park. This large park is crisscrossed by numerous bike paths, and includes the Art Museum, History Museum, Science Museum, and the Zoo. Once you've explored Forest Park, downtown is just a 4 mile ride away (see the Katy Trail to Downtown page again for details).

From downtown, a favorite ride is the Riverfront Trail, which follows the Mississippi River some 11 miles north to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Nice views of the river, although there's not much to look at along the west side of the trail. Again, there are some details about the Riverfront Trail and C.O.R. bridge at the Katy Trail to Downtown page. Also check out the Trailnet's website.

While getting around St Louis, be aware that all the Metro buses have bike racks up front. The buses are run by the same organization that runs the light rail, here's Metro's website again.

Useful Maps:
- St. Louis MetroLink Rail map (it's a pdf).
- St. Louis bike trail map (also a pdf).
- Confluence Greenway Map (Arch to Katy Trail)
- Illinois DOT Bike Trail Maps