This is a spectacular park! I wish I knew about it years ago. If you get a chance, check out the…read moreSt. Charles County Parks site and find a Ranger guided bird tour. Bring some water, save a map, note the restrooms. Plenty of trails, tables, trees. Parking is good. Be prepared for a 2-lane winding road to get here.

Great park for pictures. Go to the area with the bathrooms and two swings, walk down pavement to…read morethe sand area beautiful water and views! The bathrooms avoid, very gross and filled with wasps and stink bugs. So we changed in parking lot.

This hike is a long time favorite. I remember coming here as a kid having so much fun climbing on…read morethe rocks, it used to take us all day. Now we still go; but just on the full hike so it takes much less time Good for a beginner not too steep or challenging, a modest hike I'd say. You can do this in tennis shoes. It's also a loop, so hard to get lost which is also a plus!

One of my favorite hikes in the area. A little over 2 miles long loop. There are no bathrooms on…read moresite so be sure to use before. The landscape and rock features make it feel like you're a long way from Missouri. Not too crowded and far enough away from the highway to where you can be immersed in the woods. Pets on a leash are welcomed. Leisurely hike with some beautiful scenery.

This was the last of three trails that we hiked today. Parking spots were so limited but we were…read moreglad that we went around 2pm and were able to find a parking spots for our group. We hiked the western loop today. This trail was only 1 mile total. It has quite some interesting rock formations. There were more falling leaves on this trail than the other two trails we hiked today. The sleep downwardness of this trail was of a great challenge.

This is a great little hike if you want something not too large. It's great as they have two…read moredifferent entrances from either side of the road. The one we chose the waterfall has two different trails. I would say we spent about an hour exploring, but it was also very wet so we took our time. We had children with us and they very much enjoyed it and thought it was a lot of fun exploring There's a lot of beauty and the waterfalls are great, but only Really have the waterfalls when there has been a lot of rain Highly recommend checking it out. It's only about an hour from the St. Louis area.

My kids and I loved the hike! My husband alMost had a heart attack ;) it is pretty wicked going up,…read moreneed hiking boots, some water and a few snacks. The view was breath taking! So worth it. Just know the beginning going up is more like an uphill dry creek bed with 4-8" rocks that your climbing. It was definitely doable but it was a workout.

Easily one the best hikes in Missouri. Hughes Mountain is one of the highest points in Missouri…read more Unlike Taum Sauk, the top of this mountain is not covered with trees. Instead, it's covered with some of the oldest exposed rock in the U.S. It's a rhyolite formation, which kind of looks like a bunch of bricks or pavers were dumped onto the top of the mountain. It's often referred to as the "Devils Honeycomb." This type of rock formation only appears in a couple of places in the United States. Because it's one of the highest points and there aren't trees on top, this is probably the best view in the state. Between the rocks and the view, It's just an amazing place and a must see for hikers. The only facility at Hughes Mountain is a parking lot, no picnic areas or bathrooms. I've been twice, both times on beautiful days. Also both times I (we) climbed to the top and back with no one else ever showing up. It's an easy hike for kids and they'll love limbing on the rocks, but it's kind of a long hike if they're under 5 or so. The parking lot is off Hwy M, which hits Hwy 21 south of Potosi and north of Caledonia.

One of the coolest nature experiences in the St. Louis area (Metro/Illinois side) lies in Valmeyer…read more The trail is about a mile long but plan to walk at least two miles. Starting at the parking lot, I highly recommend the Salt Lick Trail, which ascends to a hill (lots of steepness!). As you walk further on the trail, you get rewarding views. Near the end of it, you'll get a great view in which, on a clear day, you can see the St. Louis skyline. There are two other trails that link to the Salt Lick Trail. One of them starts at some church in Valmeyer.

This is a moderately challenging trail with lookout points and views in otherwise relatively flat…read morefarming country. The trail is well-marked once you get on the trail. The most challenging and interesting route is to hike up Salt Lick Trail, take a brief left on Newman Trail, and return to your car via the Johnson Trail. The loop is a lot simpler than it sounds (see my Garmin map pic). This resulted in a 3-mile loop with 551 feet of elevation gain, up to a max elevation of 858 ft near the outlook. There are occasional viewpoints with benches all of the way up, with a flat limestone outlook at the point. There are steep areas (and steps with a cable). I would argue that the woods and limestone bluff are more interesting than the surrounding farmland. On your return via the Johnson trail, look up and left at the bluffs to see caves emerging from the historic salt mine. If you take this route, the abandoned salt mine building will be at the end of the Johnson trail, near the parking lot return. It was moderately advanced, and I recommend good hiking boots. Enjoy!

My wife and I hike here all the time. It is usually packed on the weekends. We like to come here…read moreduring the week when there is less foot traffic. Their trails are nice and clean of brush. Plenty of variety for mileage of hiking. They also have tables for pinics and more. Plenty of parking and well kept up park!

This is one of the best trails within a half hour of St. Louis and all of Missouri in my humble…read moreopinion. Dan Robinson State Park has two different trails that you can hike one is around 5 miles. The other one is about 2 1/2 miles. It has beautiful views and lots of Interesting formations. Don Robinson really gave the state of Missouri a great gift when he left his property to the state. It's somewhere around 5 to 700 acres with some very interesting flora and fauna that you can't find elsewhere in the state. It's a shame to see his old house in the condition it's in. I understand that the state is going to try to rebuild it. I can remember in the 1980s hanging out at Dan's house and skateboarding his enormous in-ground pool. He was quite the character. I highly recommend this park

I will go out of my way to check out a covered bridge and especially so when it's not even that far…read moreout of my way. This bridge would have been worth the detour! Sandy Creek Covered Bridge is in excellent condition and while it has been closed to vehicle traffic, you can still walk across it. The bridge is the centerpiece of this park which includes parking, picnic tables, primitive bathrooms and lots of captions with historical information. I had a terrific visit and really appreciate what has been done to preserve this history for posterity. [Review 1261 of 2024 - 362 in Missouri - 22284 overall]

As one would expect, there's a lot of history of this bridge! This is one of four covered bridges…read morefrom the 19th century still standing in Missouri. However, it has been rebuilt, redone and repaired in various years. But Missouri lawmakers and residents see no reason to tear this one down, as it shows a lot of importance. This bridge was used to connect St. Louis and Hillsboro (MO). Oddly enough, Lemay Ferry Road, which is prominent in South County, once extended all the way to this park. The bridge is in very fine condition. I have visited four old covered bridges (a couple were restored) in Illinois and all of them have graffiti and at least some sort of vandalism on them (no exaggeration, sadly). This one looks untouched, and I hope it stays that way. Anyone can walk through the bridge, and even under it! As for the park, it is a bit tricky to get to, but there is a decent-sized parking lot and park there. Restrooms are available as well as picnic benches. There's even historical markers at the site that talk about the history of Missouri's covered bridges. Plenty of space to walk your dog. There are some nature trails - one that leads past the bridge (to somewhere?). Summer or any day with great weather is a perfect day to come out here. It is part of Missouri's State Park system so check it out! Winter? I'm not so sure...maybe for photographers when it snows.

Recently family who have a camper & they were staying at St Francois State Park. It was my first…read morevisit there and it was nice with some notes for people considering it. There were campground hosts and state employee very present at the campground. It seemed well organized and executed. They pointed out the area where bluebells were and were helpful with various other things. There were two campgrounds, 1 for tents or others who do not need an electric hook up. There were some that had really nice decking, etc. there was a great area and few sites were used over the weekend. We we on the other side in the area where electric hookups are available. There were lots of campsites here with electric but this is the first time we have found a camp that offers electric but does NOT have water at each of the sites. With a water tank we could fill it wasn't a problem but it is unusual. They are building more sites it seems in the park and that would be awesome. The campgrounds have one toilet in each campground and the larger bathhouse/shower facility. This is pretty consistent compared to most parks but it is a bit unique that there is a major trailhead and lots of day use folks coming in a place that includes showers for campers. The park has great trails that were really well marked. We enjoyed checking them out and noticed a lot of others doing it as well.

Nothing very special, but nice…read more (I wouldn't drive far, to see it). There are prettier parks in St. Louis.

We decided to go to the lake. It was serene. It has a very peaceful vibe. People are kayaking,…read more walking and riding bikes. The lake is beautiful. Unfortunately I didn't feel like taking a stroll. Therefore I sat and watch people. There were some interesting people and families.

I come here often. Sometimes for solitude, sometimes to get active with friends. My only issue was…read morethat the restrooms were not available -- likely because it was out of season when I went. Love how BIG it is.. and I can get my steps in with one lap! If you go when it's cold, the portion of the trail not blocked by trees is very cold! Dress warm!

I am not quite sure how I made it alive walking 15 miles and climbing an equivalent of 200 flights…read moreof stairs in a span of 7 hours (according to my Fitbit), but I'm so glad I did it! The Mina Sauk Falls Trail leading up to the waterfall was absolutely amazing and was worth it. The Mina Sauk Falls Trail is a loop and intersects with the Ozark Trail. The waterfall was not hard to get to, but definitely was a rocky path. If you want to get to the bottom of the waterfall, you'd need to do some minor rock climbing. The Ozark Trail was another beast on its own. The path is very rocky and elevation varied a lot (depending on which end of the loop you came from). People had a lot of walking sticks, which was a smart move! I didn't have one of my own, but would have been nice on some parts!

Taum Sauk Mountain State Park is located in the St. Francis Mountains and is the highest point in…read moreMissouri~ 1,772 ft which is well worth visiting as the views are wonderful! Take a picnic, camp, hike the rustic trails or enjoy a bottle of wine at sunset while over looking the views! The tower also is fun to climb and look out! Beautiful part of Missouri and worth your time for relaxation!