If you go: Rocheport, Mo.

What to know

Pronunciation: "ROACH-port."

Population: 255.

Information: Contact the Friends of Rocheport Museum, 1-573-698-3701.

Fact: In 1849, 57 steamboats made a total of 500 landings here, to bring in manufactured goods and ship out agricultural products, including locally raised tobacco.

Getting there: Take Interstate Hwy. 70 west from Columbia, Mo., and turn north on Rt. BB just before the Missouri River bridge. It's about a 15-minute trip from Columbia.

Where to eat

Where to sleep

With a community this small, we can list all options, starting with the newest "old" house in town: The Yates House Bed and Breakfast, 305 2nd St., a 1991 red-brick reproduction of an 1850s roadside inn. (Rates: $95 to $105, single or double occupancy; 1-573-698-2129. Open all year; no children, no pets).

The Schoolhouse Bed and Breakfast Inn is -- what else? -- a converted 1914 red-brick school that is the first major building you'll see as you pull into town. It's at Third and Clark Sts.; 1-573-698-2022. (Rates: $85-$150; open all year.)

Shopping

Rocheport's tourist season is April through October, but some shops stay open through the winter. Hours and opening days vary. Antique shops include: White Horse Antiques, which moves this month to an 1840s frame house at 61 N. Clark St.; Highgate Gallery, antiques and photography, on Rt. BB next to the community hall; Griffith's Antiques, 101 E. 4th St.; Granny's Antiques, on Central St.; Widow Lister Antiques, 405 2nd St.; Richard Saunders Antiques, at Columbia and 2nd Sts.; J.B. Clay's Carriage House on Lewis St., and Alexander's Cottage, 310 N. Central, which also carries hand-made children's clothing and toy bears.

Museum

The Friends of Rocheport Museum on Moniteau St. is open from 1 to 4 p.m., weekends only, from April through October.

Winery

Les Bourgeois Vineyards, atop the Missouri River bluffs near the I-70 exit. Its tasting room is open noon to sunset daily, except in the winter. A restaurant overlooking the river will open in September. 1-573-698-3401.

Katy Trail

The Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources has a (daytime) hot-line number with trail and other outdoor information, 1-800-334-6946. (Some portions may still be under construction this summer; check with the DNR.)

For portable advice, get the current edition of the Katy Trail Guidebook, by Brett Dufur (Pebble Publishing, P.O. Box 431, Columbia, Mo. 65201). About $13, it's for sale at many shops in town.

Bike rentals

If you're bikeless and still want to try the Katy Trail, rent (or buy) wheels at the Trailside Cafe, 1st and Pike Sts., open weekends from 7:30 a.m. to dusk, weekdays 9 a.m. to dusk, 1-573-698-2702, or at Rocheport Cyclist, 1st and Ward Sts., next door to Wholly Rollers Cafe, 1-573-698-2043; open Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. till dark. Both places also do repairs.

Nearby