Another view of the ruins on top of the hillside
Halloween Hikes: Monastery Ruins at Saint Stanislaus
Watching Wildlife at Treehouse Wildlife Center
Bobcats, eagles, and foxes are just some of the wildlife you can see at Treehouse Wildlife Center. It is located about halfway between Grafton and Alton in the country. We took the kid who ran back and forth between birds and the other wildlife and not in order. Luckily there was plenty of animals to check out and kept his interest the whole time we…
Eagle Valley Trail at Greensfelder Park
Eagle Valley Trail follows along clear streams and goes into wooded hills in Greensfelder County Park in West St. Louis County. Overview It consists of 1,724 acres and is the largest St. Louis County Park and has 15 miles of seven interconnected trails. Facilities at the park include restrooms, a campground, picnic sites, stables, and playgrounds. Eagle Valley Trail The Eagle Valley Trailhead is located…
Crossing Creeks at Young Conservation Area
Walking along a clear stream, going up into Ozark hills and through a pine forest was part of my three-mile hike at Young Conservation Area. Hiking the Taconic Trail combines two loops and provides variety in what you see with ponds, stream crossings, and creek views. Starting the Taconic Trail Hike I headed out of the parking area down the trail close to the trailhead…
Search For the Losing Stream at Forest 44
Finding a disappearing stream was part of the fun at Forest 44 Conservation Area. I hiked the 2.2-mile Dogwood Trail and the .4-mile Losing Stream Trail here. What Is the Losing Stream? The losing stream is where the creek disappears under a rock ledge and wells up like a spring several hundred yards downstream. Losing Stream Trail This paved .6-mile trail starts from the back…
Taking a Hike in Carondelet Park
Carondelet Park is surrounded by Tudor homes and includes a historic boathouse around a lake with a fountain in the middle. It is the third-largest park in St. Louis with 180-acres and has a two-mile loop walk. My Time Here I parked on Holly Hills Drive near the intersection of Holly Hills Boulevard and Grand Drive in the park. I wanted to walk along the…
Hiking in the Dark at Tunnel Hill
You can walk or bicycle through a former railroad tunnel and across a 90-foot high former railroad bridge along the Tunnel Hill State Trail.
Hiking Into Cave-In-Rock
A wide cave along the Ohio River where bandits once were once found is Cave-In-Rock State Park. The 55-foot wide Cave-In-Rock was carved out of the limestone rock by water thousands of years ago. Outlaw History of Cave-in-Rock The first European explorer to encounter it was M. de Lery of France, who in 1729 called it caverne dans Le Rock. After the Revolutionary War, this…
Kress Farm Garden Preserve: Waterfalls and Native American Caves
Kress Farm Garden Preserve has wet weather waterfalls and cliff caves and is only 40 minutes outside of St. Louis. Arriving at Kress Farm A long driveway leads to a farmhouse and behind it is parking. The Pavilion has copies of hiking trail maps which we used to find our way to them. Yellow Trail We started with the three-fourth mile Yellow Trail. It has…
Ferry Ride to Hiking at Two Rivers
Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge is an area made up of Illinois River views, bottomland forest, and swampland. The refuge serves as an important stopover for hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese each fall along with bald eagles. Also, my son loves taking the free car-ferry to Calhoun County where a large part of Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge is located! History of Two…
