Pilot Grove to Boonville

Pilot Grove to Boonville. Points of Interest. Pilot Grove to Boonville, 11.50 miles, is considered by many Katy Trail users to be the most difficult stretch of the trail due to uphill grades. Over the first several miles, riders across a rolling landscape dominated by hay and crop fields. Around milepost 199, long vistas toward Boonville and the Missouri River can be seen to the left. , At milepost 197 is the site of Prairie Lick, once an MKT railhead for agricultural products. The Katy's only overhead crossing of Interstate 70 is at milepost 196. Riders made a final descent into Boonville and the Missouri River valley on Lard Hill. According to local legend, the hill was named after a MKT train killed a woman's pig but refused to pay her more than $5. To receive justice, she melted down the fat of the pig into lard. Each morning for weeks afterward, she and her children covered the tracks along the grade with the lard, forcing trains to slip and skate uphill. Needless to say, the railroad gave in and made full compensation. , The 1912 Spanish Mission-style Boonville depot stands just past the trailhead. The depot now serves as home to the Boonville Tourism Center. The Boonville Katy Caboose Museum is located in Caboose #134 outside the depot and is open for visitors. , (captions:), Milepost 191.8 - Boonville depot looks much the same as in this photo from around 1915., Milepost 195.3 - A gradual incline leads to Lard Hill and Boonville., Milepost 196 - The Katy Trail goes over Interstate 70 just west of Boonville., Milepost 197 - The town site of Prairie Lick is now abandoned., Milepost 199.2 - From this section of trail, the Missouri River bluffs can be seen through the trees. , Milepost 202 - Though sometimes difficult to see, old telegraph poles and milepost markers remain from the railroad era.