admin
Perry County has something brand-new to the area that Perry County Heritage Tourism Director Trish Erzfeld is definitely excited about.
Erzfeld has partnered with the Perry County Historical Society to bring Caroline’s Great River Road Trail Inn to life, the area’s first bike hostel.
“It’s a new concept and something that not a lot of people really know about,” Erzfeld said. “It’s something that is popular in European countries and we are trying to educate people on in the area.”
The hostel, an inexpensive lodging place for hikers, or in this case bikers, is located at 11 South Springs Street in Perryville next to the Faherty House.
The building is a renovated storage facility owned by the Perry County Historical Society and can sleep between 7-8 people at one time.
“It’s more of a bunk house system, kind of like a kids day camp setup,” Erzfeld said. “A family could stay there or more like a group of cyclists, which is what the hostel is more steered towards.”
Caroline’s was opened earlier this month and Erzfeld hopes that Perry County can serve as a more popular destination for cyclists.
“The city has created some wonderful park trails,” Erzfeld said. “We are getting more bicycle racks around and we are on the Great River Road, which Highway 61 is a part of. It’s not highly marketed for cycling. As a tourism entity, I am trying to bring a little more attention to that.”
The Great River Road National Scenic Byway follows the course of the Mississippi River for 3,000 miles from northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.
The scenic route passes through 10 states and hundreds of river towns.
While cyclists travel this road, Erzfeld hopes they stay at the hostel and take in what Perryville and Perry County has to offer.
That is exactly what one family that has stayed there, has done.
“The family took their bikes out to TG and rode the 5K trail, they visited the Missouri National Veterans Memorial, went to the St. Mary of the Barrens and toured the church, along with some other things,” Erzfeld said. “But they are doing everything that we hope people would do when they stop here.”
Perry County has the only bike hostel in the Southeast Missouri region. Al’s Place in Farmington is the next closest. Al’s Place is located on the Transatlantic Bike Trail.
“They have the same concept that we have,” Erzfeld said. “But as far as I know there are no hostels south of us. I think it’s a cool thing that we probably have the only one in the area. We want to grow Perryville in different ways and this is one of them.”
To rent out the bike hostel for a group, Erzfeld noted that they can call the Catalyst Center directly or call her directly at 573-527-2069.
Erzfeld is excited to see how the bike hostel will be received by the community.
“We want people to stay there and enjoy what Perryville and Perry County has to offer,” Erzfeld said. “I really hope people enjoy it and put it to good use.”
