Abandon the car. Trust your feet. Treat your senses. If you are looking for hiking trails, the Middle Mississippi River Valley along the Great River Road has some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere and easily accessible hiking trails in the United States.
Page 2 of 3
Hawn State Park
Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri
Hawn State Park has two hiking trails. The Whispering Pine Trail was constructed in 1976-77 with the help of the Ozark Chapter of the Sierra Club and is considered one of the best hiking and backpacking trails in the state. Consisting of two loops, the north loop is 6 miles long and the south loop is 4 miles long, the trail allows day hikes of varying lengths through the 2,880 acre Whispering Pine Wild Area. Because of its size the area provides excellent opportunities to observe nature. While on the trail, watch for many species of birds, especially tanagers and warblers. Pickle Creek Trail is a 1 mile long trail that follows Pickle Creek, which is a shut-ins stream. The creek is one of the state’s most unique Ozark headwater streams having carved its course through the sandstone bedrock. In areas where the sandstone overhangs the stream, a cool climate exists.
Magnolia Hollow Conservation Area
Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri
Magnolia Hollow Conservation Area offers a wide variety of outdoor activities for its visitors. There are two hiking trails that offer a ground’s eye view of the area's natural features. One trail is a mile long and the other is a short disabled-accessible trail that leads to a platform that provides scenic views overlooking the Mississippi River.
Pickle Springs Natural Area
Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri
Designated a National Natural Landmark, Pickle Springs Natural Area features a 2 mile hiking trail maintained by the East Ozark Audubon Society in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation. This two-mile journey has an estimated hiking time of 1 hour and takes hikers past waterfalls, rock shelters, a double arch (photo right), towering bluffs, canyons and amazing rock outcrops. Wooden bridges along the trail aid hikers past troublesome spots. The moist soil in the canyons and along the creeks allows the growth of many ferns and rare plants, including cinnamon fern, maidenhair fern, hay-scented fern and club moss. A variety of woodland songbirds can be seen from the trail. Fence lizards, five-lined skinks, box turtles and leopard frogs can be found among the rocks in the summer.
Randolph County State Recreation Area
Randolph County, Illinois
Randolph County State Recreation Area is renowned for its wooded areas and abundance of songbirds and wildlife. The area has miles of hiking trails and 11.6 miles of horse trails through woods, open fields, and lakeshore. Hikers or riders may see woodpeckers, hawks, turkeys, deer, squirrels, and waterfowl on these trails.
Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve
Monroe County, Illinois
Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve is part of the 997-acre Fults Hill Prairie State Natural Area that sits atop bluffs with an expansive views of the Mississippi River valley. The area contains the Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve Trail, a 1.4 mile loop trail that has a 250 foot ascent and is rated as extreme. It does feature a wooden stair case for half the ascent up the right side path followed by a dirt path to the top. The top features a fairly level path through the hill prairie habitat and through the woodlands. The descent travels through both hill prairie and woodlands down a steep descent along a rocky path. The trail is accessible year-round.
Mastodon State Historic Site
Imperial, Missouri
At the end of the most recent North American glacial era, about 12,000 years ago, the Midwest was populated with megamammals such as giant ground sloths, peccaries, and mastodons. The fossils of a number of these creatures have been found in the Kimmswick Bone Bed near Imperial, Missouri. One of the most common bones found in the bone bed are those of the American mastodon that lived from at least 3.75 million to 11,000 years ago. At this state historic site dedicated to interpreting these creatures are 3 hiking trails that total 3 miles.
Washington State Park
DeSoto, Missouri
The 1875-acre park is noted for its natural beauty with both the characteristics and unique features of the eastern Ozarks. On the hills and bluffs are limestone glades and savannas and the area looks the same as it did before the arrival of European settlers. These open forests and sparse grasslands contain trees that are often quite small, even though they may be more than 200 years old. Washington State Park is considered to be one of the best state parks in Missouri to visit to see wildflowers with the 1.5-mile long 1,000 Steps Trail leading to one of Missouri’s most spectacular spring wildflower displays. The Opossum Track Trail is a 2.5-mile loop trail that provides outstanding views of the Big River valley and the rugged 6-mile Rockywood Trail is designed for both hiking and backpacking use.
Tower Rock Conservation Area
Perry County, Missouri
Tower Rock, also known as Grand Tower, is a large landmark limestone island carved by the Mississippi River. The earliest European mention of this island is by French explorer Jacques Marquette who passed by the formation in 1673. Tower Rock Conservation Area comprises about 25 acre of upland forest with stands of oak-pine and oak-hickory-beech. The mainland offers picnic facilities and a 1/4 mile hiking trail to a viewing platform that offers a scenic view of Tower Rock.
Trail of Tears State Park
Jackson, Missouri
Trail of Tears State Park features 4 hiking trails totaling over 18 miles. The 2 mile Lake Trail runs along the shoreline of Lake Boutin and crosses small ridges and valleys, and past old homesites. At ½ mile The Nature Trail is the shortest trail in the park beginning near the visitor center. The Peewah Trail has two loops and checks in at 14 miles and explores one of the most remote areas of the park, the Indian Creek Wild Area. The east loop follows the ridge tops and bluffs along the Mississippi River, offering views of the valley below. The west loop travels through several valleys and atop several ridges. The Pewah trail allows horses. The 3-mile Sheppard Point Trail heads to a towering bluff overlook along the Mississippi River, Sheppard Point. This overlook is a great place to view eagles in the winter. The trail also visits the Vancill Hollow Natural Area, which has a forest of trees more typical of the southern Appalachian Mountains than the Ozarks.
General Watkins Conservation Area
Benton, Missouri
The General Watkins Conservation Area contains a forest type more closely resembling Appalachian than Missouri forests. Sweetgum, American beech, cucumber tree and tulip poplar are found here, along with tree species more common to Missouri, like white and red oak, maple, hickory and walnut. Natural erosion has worn steep-sided canyons up to 50 feet deep through the area's loess soils. The area features two hiking trails - the 1.5 mile Cemetery Ridge Trail and the 1 mile Schlosser Loop Trail.
Big Oak Tree State Park
East Prairie, Missouri
Big Oak Tree State Park is an oasis of forests located in the abundance of farmland of the "Bootheel" region of southeast Missouri. The park has 2 hiking trails that traverse portions of the natural area. The 1.4 mile Bottomland Trail leads visitors past many of the “big oaks” of Big Oak Tree Natural Area. The park also features a boardwalk that winds its way through the park past some of the park's largest trees. A walk on the boardwalk also gives visitors a chance to view many common mammals, such as deer, raccoons, squirrels and opossums, along with the rare swamp rabbit. Amid the lofty trees live more than 150 species of birds, giving the park a national reputation among bird watchers.
Cedar Lake
Carbondale, Illinois
Cedar Lake is a 1,750-acre reservoir created by the damming of Cedar Creek, a tributary of the Big Muddy River, in 1974. There is an extensive trail system running around the lake that is able to be hiked year-round. The Cedar Lake Trail System totals 14 miles in length, and consists of four separate trails. Four trailheads provide access to the Cedar Lake trail system. For the perfect day-hike try either Wolf Den Hollow loop trail or Little Cedar Lake loop trail. Both feature spectacular scenic overlooks, views of the lake, rock shelters and rock walls. Although there are no developed campsites near the lake, primitive camping is allowed at least 150 ft. from the shoreline on the southern end of the lake.
Lake Murphysboro State Park
Murphysboro, Illinois
Beautiful rolling hills and woods surround star-shaped Lake Murphysboro and provide a wonderful backdrop for boating, fishing, picnicking, camping and hiking. This 1,022-acre state park has been used by people since pre-historic Native Americans lived in small, temporary camps and hunted big game. A three-mile designated trail offers hikers the opportunity to enjoy the plant, animal and bird life of the park up close. The wooded hills include groves of majestic oak and hickory trees, as well as most other types of trees. Patches of native, wild orchids may be found in the wooded areas of the park.
Pomona Natural Bridge
Pomona, Illinois
Located in the Shawnee National Forest Pomona Natural Bridge is a natural arch or "bridge" made of sandstone and millions of years of erosion. Accessed from a parking lot is the trail head of a short 1/3 mile loop trail that leads through a mature oak-hickory and beech forest to the “bridge.”
