Officer Blake C. Snyder Memorial Park Hike

Hike through woods and along a stream in the heart of suburban south county St. Louis at Officer Blake C. Snyder Memorial Park.

**Officer Blake C. Snyder Park Trail Map**. It is not a large area so you can’t get too lost when you use different trails in the park.

Long Loop and Out and Back

I hiked about 3.2 miles using the different trails in the park and taking some short trails out to Gravois Creek and back.

Starting the Hike

I parked near the playground and shelter house and headed out on the main paved Fox Run Fitness Trail.

Behind the restrooms to the left was the start of the Hickory Hollow Trail.

This is a natural surface trail that goes into the woods and follows along a brook.

By Gravois Creek

The trail then goes along Gravois Creek sometimes near the shoreline and then back up into the cliffside.

It had recently rained so the water was moving swiftly in places over the rocks.

Further down it was deeper and pooled in spots.

I climbed up through rocky terrain then back down again hearing the water forming rapids.

*Gravois Creek rapids* from the trail, a closeup of the rapids can be seen as the main blog story photo.

Then I walked out into the rock-filled creek bed to take a photo.

The shoreline can be muddy with roots so be careful going closer to the creek and never go near if the creek is full and fast-moving.

I came to a large pinnacle rock and then head away from the creek.

Pinnacle Trail

I went right to take this trail back to the Fox Run Fitness trail and check out the western and northern areas of the park. If I had gone left, I would have headed back to where I began to hike.

The Pinnacle Trail connects back to the paved Fox Run Fitness Trail. I made a right towards the paved Twin Bridge Trail. Again, if I had gone left I would be back to the trailhead.

Twin Bridge Trail

I went north on the Twin Bridge Trail.

This trail goes toward Tesson Ferry Road and then crosses two bridges with Gravois Creek being the second one.

Intersects with Grant's Trail — *Intersects with Grant’s Trail*

This trail intersects with the paved Grant’s Trail.

An informational sign along Grant's Trail — An informational sign along Grant’s Trail

This is a ten-mile trail and you could do part of it if you wanted to extend your hike.

Grant’s Trail Area at Officer Blake C. Snyder Memorial Park

I went to the right and headed to the Bottomland Trail.

Only a section of this trail is open and did a short loop on it. This trail follows along the other side of Gravois Creek through a forest.

I looped back to Grant’s Trail and then back onto the Twin Bridge Trail.

Heading Back

From the Twin Bridge Trail, I made a left onto the paved Fox Run Fitness Trail. This trail goes into the woods with connectors to parking lots along the way. I walked this trail back to the trailhead.

Final Thoughts

For being so close to the city, you can fill far removed from suburbia the more you go into the forest and along Gravois Creek.

My favorite part of the hike was along Hickory Hollow Trail through the woods and along the streams. It can be muddy if it has recently rained, but it is nice to see water flowing along the creek.

History of Officer Blake C. Snyder Memorial Park

Renamed in honor of Officer Blake C. Snyder, a St. Louis County Police officer in the Affton Southwest Precinct who was killed in the line of duty on Oct. 6, 2016.

Known as Gravois Creek Park when it was opened in the spring of 1976 and then Clydesdale Park in 1983 in honor of August Busch Jr., a nearby property owner and president of Anheuser-Busch Brewery.

*Workout stations are along the Fox Run Fitness Trail.*

Trail distances at Officer Blake C. Snyder Memorial Park

Bottomland Trail — a .6-mile paved trail and only partially opened and reached by Grant’s Trail parking or from the Twin Bridge Trail.
Deer Path Trail — a .3-mile natural surface trail that connects with the Fox Run Fitness Trail and Hawks Rest Trail.
Fox Run Fitness Trail — a .7-mile paved trail with workout stations that connect with most trails in the park except the Bottomland Trail.
Hawks Rest Trail — a .3-mile natural surface trail that connects with the trails on the south side of the park.
Heritage Trail — a .3-mile paved trail on the south side of the park connecting with parking and roads. I did not go down this one.
Hickory Hollow Trail — a .6-mile natural surface trail and my favorite in the park connecting with Hawk’s Rest Trail and the Fox Run Fitness Trail.
Twin Bridge Trail — a .4-mile paved trail that connects with the Fox Run Fitness Trail and leads to the north side of the park and the Bottomland Trail.
Grant’s Trail — a 10-mile paved trail that goes through the north side of the park and connects with the Twin Bridge Trail and the Bottomland Trail.

Details

The park also has athletic fields, a playground, restrooms, and a shelter.

Drive: If coming from the west take the Tesson Ferry Road exit off of Interstate 270 and go north or coming from Interstate 55 take the Lindbergh Boulevard exit and go west to Tesson Ferry Road and then make a right onto it. Off Tesson Ferry Road make a right onto Green Park Road and look for the entrance to the park on the left.

Hours: 8 a.m. – 30 minutes past sunset

Address: 9801 Green Park Rd, St. Louis, MO 63123