In Columbus Junction, Iowa, you can walk along a swinging bridge that is 262 feet above a dark ravine shrouded in a jungle-like forest. This was a roadside stop we made on a trip to visit family in Iowa City from St. Louis. The bridge is also known as Lover’s Leap Swinging Bridge based on a tale that a woman who leaped to her death…
Walk around two lakes – even one with waterfalls, baseball and soccer fields, and a large splash pad at O’Fallon Family Sports Park. We walked 1.7 miles on paved trails to check out this 200-acre park in O’Fallon, Ill. The Blacktop Outer Trail I walked a paved trail with my son who rode his dirt bike around the park. We started our adventure near the…
Teszars Woods Conservation Area has 91 acres with two short natural surface hikes near Arnold, Mo., off of Telegraph Road. One trail is located along the Meramec River. The other is an out-and-back on a hill at a different location in the conservation area. HILL TRAIL I parked in the gravel lot off Rockwood Drive. On the right of the parking area is the trail…
Views of the Meramec River and watching small planes take off are part of the hike at Buder Park in St. Louis County. The park is near the busy intersection of Interstate 44 and Missouri Highway 141. Hiking Here I walked along a paved-paths, gravel paths, and roads to do a 2.7-mile hike with 95 feet of elevation gain. Start of Hike I parked in…
Two ponds with a waterfall connecting them were part of a hike at Vlasis Park in Ballwin, Mo. just off Manchester Avenue. There is even a historic cabin to check out. This is a 1.4-mile walk winding through the 31-acre Vlasis Park in Ballwin, Mo. Beginning the Walk I parked near the World Peace Memorial a white brick structure with a small garden and an…
Take a walk to see sculptures and along lake waters at Bellevue Park in Belleville, Il. This one-mile paved trail wraps around the park and up and down hills and along the lake’s shoreline. Located at the 27-acre Bellevue Park in Belleville, Ill. Starting the Walk We parked in a small gravel lot at the back end of the park near a bike trail that…
Take a walk that goes by multiple playgrounds and along the Meramec River at Minnie Ha Ha Park in Sunset Hills, Mo. This is a 3.4-mile paved trail hike with two loops that are mostly level and goes through forests. I brought my son who went along with me on his dirt bike stopping to play at each playground. Along the Meramec River I parked…
My son rode his bike as I walked along the trail.
I crossed clear streams and hiked up forested and through prairie along my hike at Strawberry Creek Nature Area. The nature area encompasses 118 acres with four walking trails, three of them looping into each other. Filled with wildlife I saw a few deer, but they ran away before I could photograph them, and a groundhog by the creek. I hiked the Strawberry Creek Trail,…
Take a walk around a small lake that has a fish on a bicycle at Lewis Park in University City near the Delmar Loop. I took some time to explore the area of brick homes and the paths around this four-acre park that includes a playground and landscaped grounds. Parking Parking is tricky for the park since it does not have its own lot. I…
