Seeing a waterfall at sunset in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was part of our first night on our summer trip to the Dakotas and Mount Rushmore. This summer, I am detailing our road trip to the Dakotas as a series for a family adventure you might want to do! We live in the St. Louis area so our first night was spent in Sioux Falls….
Surrounded by cornfields on a windswept hill stands Hawkeye Point, the highest natural point in Iowa at 1,670 feet. This summer, I am detailing our road trip to the Dakotas, which for us includes seeing Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. This is a family adventure you might want to do! We live in the…
You can learn about birds and then hike in wetlands searching for them when you spend a day at the Audubon Center at the Riverlands. Visiting the Audubon Center In the center, you can learn about what birds eat such as from a forest, prairie, or the nearby Mississippi and Missouri rivers and wetlands. Exhibits are on different varieties of birds and what they eat,…
In spring Victoria Glades Conservation’s flowering plants and trees give it a technicolor feel with reds, purples, and white flowers everywhere. It is a place to explore open grassy glades and small forests along hills. Victoria Glades Conservation Area Trail The Victoria Glades Trail is a 2.3-mile loop that goes through woods and open fields. A sign in the parking lot pointed out that the…
Flowering water plants, tall leafy green trees, and lake views are found at Des Peres Park just north of Manchester Road.
Having a ballpark hotdog, walking around Busch Stadium, and even buying some authentic baseball memorabilia was my hike in downtown St. Louis. I walked 1.4-miles around Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium to check out the Cardinal-related sights and see the historic Field House Museum. Parking I parked at Ball Park Village which is free for three hours on non-game days with validation from a restaurant….
Find a giant sculpture half-buried in the ground and waterfalls around a lake at Chesterfield’s Central Park. Central Park A large parking lot for the park is off Veterans Place Drive. On the left of the lot is Chesterfield Family Aquatic Center and directly in front is a pavilion and playground. Before starting the 1.24 mile Central Park Trail I decided to explore the area…
Hiking where eagles circle above and ice floes clog the Mississippi River was part of my day at Dresser Island north of West Alton, Mo. This is a long natural surface loop hike at 5.6 miles with little only 36 feet of elevation gain, which was mostly me going down closer to the river. Start of the Hike I parked in the gravel lot next…
You can walk around several lakes in north St. Charles, Mo., at Fountain Lakes Park which is easily reached off Missouri Highway 370. I did two separate hikes in the park since the connector trail between them was flooded. The first gravel surface hike was a one-mile hike with ten feet of elevation gain around Kluesner Lake on the northside of Missouri Highway 370. The…
The walk at Emmenegger Nature Park includes a path along creeks, climbing up bluffs, and seeing a former beer baron’s retreat. My Time Here I hiked the Bluff Creek Trail along with the paved loop trails and side trails for two miles of hiking with about 320 feet of elevation gain. Parking was in the small lot next to the trailhead. A larger additional larger…
