St. Louis has no shortage of beautiful parks to explore! Here are some of my favorites:

Castlewood State Park

The most scenic hike in the park is the River Scene trail … the hike to reach the top of the bluffs, whether by climbing a 200 step wooden staircase or reversing the hike and ascending several rocky inclines and then descending the staircase. This is a magnificent trek of approximately 2.5 or 3.5 miles depending on the route … well worth the effort. Several restroom areas near trail head.

Longview Farm Park

A small park in Town and Country at Mason and Clayton Roads with about a 1 mile outer loop. What Longview Farm Park lacks in size it makes up for in scenery. A great park to begin a walking program to gradually increase your endurance without ever being too far from the parking lot. The outer loops are paved but there are some nice trails of wood shavings that take you through an interior woodlands with benches for resting or meditation. Restrooms on site.

Queeny Park

The Hawk Ridge trail is a 4.5 mile long loop with opportunities to shorten the hike along the way. There are several beautiful lakes as well as natural prairie plantings and meadows along a well maintained, mostly gravel trail. Several steep inclines but mostly rolling hills or flat trail. A large dog park is under construction and due to open Spring 2016. Restrooms are available.

Rock Hollow Trail

This trail head shares a parking lot with Ridge Meadows Elementary School in Wildwood. Rock Hollow is a paved 10 foot wide path with 13 beautiful wooden bridges interspersed along the trail. The trail descends for about 2.5 miles before connecting to the Al Foster trail. This is a great hike if you like the stability of pavement but still want a good workout ending with a .25 mile incline back to your vehicle. There is also a new Bluffs trail that takes you off pavement with a few switchbacks. No restrooms available at this trail head.

Rockwoods Reservation

The 3.2 mile Lime Kiln trail contains some challenging areas of hilly, rocky terrain and a small stream crossing. Named for the 40 foot tall stone kiln that marks the trail head, this is a loop hike but can easily be a 1 mile in and out hike to provide a nearly flat trail but still include some great scenery and wonderful photo opportunities. No restrooms at trail head.

West Tyson County Park

The Chubb trail can be hiked all the way to Lone Elk Park if you want an all day hike. However, I usually turn around at the bottom of the Limestone “steps” after a short break at the second picnic table or go a bit further to the Meramec River for a nice view of Castlewood Park from the other side of the river. This ends up being about a 5-6 mile hike. For a 3 mile hike you can turn around at the first picnic table and still get in a nice bit of exercise.

Other Parks

In addition to the park trails listed above, I am also familiar with Shaw Arboretum in Gray Summit, Lewis and Clark Trails in St. Charles County, Forest Park, Shaw Park, Laumeier Sculpture Park. With a week’s notice I can also scout out any park within an hour drive from the St. Louis metropolitan area before leading a hike.