Portland to Mokane

Portland to Mokane. . The distance from Portland to Mokane is 9.1 miles. This segment of Katy Trail State Park has several outstanding sights, including an impressive railroad bridge, close-up views of the Missouri River and the geologic oddity of Standing Rock. , The trail is isolated from Highway 94 for the first mile and a half, offering a more wilderness-like experience. Trail users have excellent views of the river from Portland until the highway crossing at milepost 117.3. The trail then passes through Reform Conservation Area starting at milepost 118.9. Among other recreational opportunities, the conservation area contains four fishing lakes. , At milepost 120.4, an uneroded plug of sandstone known as Standing Rock marks flood levels from as long as a century ago. Here, two wayside markers describe the rock and tell the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition in this area. Steedman (pronounced Stedman), at milepost 121.4, developed with the railroad around 1893 and – like many towns in this section of the Katy Trail – is named after one of the railroad's St. Louis investors. , Although the 280-foot-long bridge over Auxvasse Creek (milepost 122.2) no longer has a plate identifying the builder and year of construction, it probably was built in the 1920s. Note the large blocks of cut limestone that form the two bridge piers. From Auxvasse Creek, the Katy Trail parallels Highway 94 until shortly before the Mokane trailhead. , [Map captions] , . Red-tailed hawks, usually seen perching or soaring, prey on small animals in open areas near the trail. Missouri Department of Conservation photo by Jim Rathert , . Milepost 116.3 Through bottomland forest and from the water's edge, this section of trail has fine views of the Missouri River. , . Milepost 120.4 Major Missouri River floods – marked her in Standing Rock – forced Katy railroad workers to repair tracks over and over. , . Milepost 121.6 The small community of Steedman, once a Katy railhead, is tucked into a gap in the river bluffs. , . Milepost 122.2 The French called this swampy river the Auxvasse. In his journal, William Clark translated it to Big Miry (for its mire, or mud).