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…
Walk across stone bridges while a spring flows through rocks below is a unique jaunt in South County St. Louis at Sylvan Springs Park. This is a 1.24-mile hike with paved and unpaved sections and 95 feet of elevation gain. History of the Park Until 1939 this portion of the Barracks was largely unused then the 6th Infantry put in stone retaining walls and terraces….
White sands and cliffs surround a clear water lake at Klondike Park in St. Charles County just west of Defiance, Mo. I hiked the paved trail around a lake, then did two other hikes that go along Missouri River hills at this 250-acre park. LAKE LOOP TRAIL Klondike Park was once the site of an old silica sand quarry and that is the centerpiece of…
A weekend at the YMCA Trout Lodge in the Ozarks includes my son riding a pony, swishing down a waterslide, and making a tie-die shirt. YMCA Trout Lodge is about two hours south of St. Louis in the Ozark hills and is all-inclusive including meals, boating, kayaking, paddle boarding, pony rides, and much more. Our Time at the YMCA Trout Lodge We drove south from…
See a two-headed black rat snake and explore the woods at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center in southeast Missouri. Located on the north side of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and has numerous short hiking trails along with nature-related exhibits. NATURE CENTER We first checked out the nature center where the star is the two-headed snake. Exhibited near the front. To the right of the tank,…
