Helping Make the Rock Island Trail a Reality
Efforts are currently underway to bring a new adventure to our state that celebrates our state’s natural beauty.
The Rock Island Trail is a “rails-to-trails” project, converting former railroad corridors into walking trails. The trail will join the Katy Trail and stretch over 200 miles across the state of Missouri, connecting Windsor in the west to Beaufort in the east. By intersecting the Katy Trail on both the western and eastern sides of the state, Missouri’s trail system will form a 450 mile loop. Running across fields, through tunnels and over bridges, the Rock Island Trail promises to give Missourians a glimpse of the natural splendor that is often right in their backyards. The Rock Island Trail will run through the heart of Missouri, connecting several towns in our community. The trail will also be multipurpose, accommodating both hikers and bikers.
While the Rock Island Trail provides Missourians with an excellent opportunity to go out and enjoy the great outdoors, it has the added potential of helping spur economic growth in cities and towns along the trail. As visitors explore the natural beauty of the trail, they will discover new places to visit, exciting local cuisine to try and new local businesses to support. I see this as a win-win for our great state.
To support the Rock Island Trail efforts, I have filed Senate Bill 473. This legislation will create the Rock Island Trail State Park Endowment Fund. This fund will be administered by the Department of Natural Resources and will provide a dedicated funding stream for this project as it moves forward. The fund would allow private donations, grants and appropriated dollars to go directly toward growing and maintaining this new trail system.
I presented SB 473 to the Senate’s Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee on April 1. As this legislation continues to move through the legislative process, I will keep you updated.
Please feel free to contact my office at (573) 751-2076. For information about my committee assignments or sponsored legislation, please visit my official Missouri Senate website at senate.mo.gov/Bernskoetter.