EmmCeeBee

The Eads bridge into St. Louis has a dedicated pedestrian/bike line on the south side. So it's a natural choice for riding into the city (not being a local, I can't say if it's the "best".) It leads right to the St. Louis Arch -- for a visitor, it's like riding into Oz.

Traffic in the area is pretty bad, so I'm not saying it's a breeze. If you're coming from the south on Hwy 3, the Mississippi Ave/8th St exit leads right into E. St. Louis; then a left turn on Broadway takes you onto the Eads. In June 2008, 8th St was flooded (a foot deep) under a railroad overpass; and the Broadway approach to the Eads bridge is another underpass where you have to time your sprint for a break in the traffic -- but only 1/4 mile or so. And, of course, E. St. Louis is notorious; we didn't run into any problems, but we also rode through in the early morning. Still, take the stories to heart.

Here's a link to the route we took from Cahokia to the start of the RiverFront Trail. From that point, we faced virtually no vehicle traffic until we left the Katy Trail in Boonville, 5 days later.

Have a great ride!

-- Mark

Edit: The L&C Trail actually takes the Brussels and Golden Eagle ferries, instead of the Grafton ferry. See my previous post (edited); if the Grafton ferry closes, it would be only a minor change in routing -- in our experience, the Grafton ferry wasn't that reliable...

Gus Riley

Mark, just so I fully understand and can prepare for a crossing, did you ride against the flow of traffic over the Eads Bridge? Was it a lane, or a line dedicated? By satelite view it looks like a path that is separated by a cement divider? Do we get over to the south side (oncoming side) right at the Riverpark Dr. Junction, (where the road splits and starts an ascent to the bridge)?

I think you've showed us the best way to the Arch! This is good! If a Cardinals game is occuring the day we cross, we may just take one in! Once across the river, I know the Arch area very well since we go to watch a lot of baseball games down there.

I'm currently looking at the Brussels and Golden Eagle ferries as an option.

EmmCeeBee

There's a wide sidewalk on the south (eastbound) side of the Eads bridge -- better than a lane, in fact (I wrote "line"? that was a typo...). Like I said, I'm not a local, so this is only from our experience, but the Eads doesn't have that much (relative) traffic. So when taking the bridge into the city, we waited for a break in traffic and crossed the street at the Riverpark junction to the sidewalk side. We did this 4 or 5 times during our visit -- maybe there was a signal? -- and I don't remember any hair raising experiences. (Neither does my wife -- I just checked -- and she would remember such things.... )

The sidewalk on the south side has a few pullouts, perfectly positioned for sightseeing. The Arch hangs overhead and the skyline reflects off the Mississippi. We both remember that...

Hope this helps, have a great ride.

-- Mark

Gus Riley

A great help Mark, thanks! I'm thinking more that a cross St. Louis route is becoming more of a possibility.

Dellphinus

The Grafton ferry has stopped operations and sold their ferries and landings.

SteveMiller

Gus -

I rode the TransAm in '09 (https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/steve09) and have since created a policy of offering to buy dinner for any rider coming through Missouri in exchange for some good stories. Shoot me a message if you're interested and we can work out the details.

Gus Riley

Thanks Steve, will do. I've bookmarked your journal to read...I think I may have already read it, it's worth a reread if I did.