Following my presentation at the Jefferson College Speaker Series in February, one of the guests asked me if the hiking trails I talked about in Jefferson County were publicized somewhere.
I told him that I didn’t know where he might find that information, but since I had just highlighted 20 great places for a walk in the woods, I offered to share that group. My list is not exhaustive, and in fact, prior to my talk, a different guest asked me about two places in the county I have not visited yet.
I started my virtual tour in the northeast corner and made a clockwise round trip around the county. Arnold Park has an official half-mile, paved trail around its lake, but the best place to walk there is the three-mile-plus loop on Hollywood Beach and Bradley Beach roads through the Meramec River flood plain. The hard surface is accessible for people of all mobility levels.
South on Jeffco Boulevard leads to the former Pomme Creek Golf Course property in the city. It also offers paths that are mostly paved and about 3.5 miles long. While the majority of the trek is flat like the streets near the other city park, there are some steep grades.
Strawberry Creek Nature Area is the most “outdoorsy” of the Arnold parks. Its 2.3-mile hike is a walk through the woods and along a modest stream. When I last visited it needed a little maintenance, but we also encountered some wildlife through the woods.
Mastodon State Historic Site has something for everyone, with three different hike options. The Spring Branch Trail is about three-quarters of a mile, flat and has a hard-packed surface suitable for strollers and wheelchairs.
The Wildflower Trail is just a half-mile, but it is steep and includes a set of stairs to reach the site of the prehistoric Mastodon bone beds. The two-mile Limestone Hill Trail is a challenging hike and offers some terrific panoramas as a reward for the 300 feet of elevation change.
The Joachim Loop Trail at William C. Haggard Park in Herculaneum includes a 1.2-mile crushed stone primary loop that is 10 feet wide with two shorter paths that are 6-feet wide with the same hard-packed surface.
Crites Memorial Park in Festus is well known for its paved walking loop that is shared with bicyclists and other vehicles, but the half-mile hidden gem behind the Lucas Baseball field follows Joachim Creek and encircles a protected wetland.
Washington State Park is not in the county, but you can see it from there. Three hikes of increasing length and difficulty all share parts of each other and start at the Thunderbird Lodge. The 5.9-mile Rockywood Trail explores most of the park, and the 2.4-mile Opossum Tracks offers a challenging hike. The views of Jefferson County and the Civilian Conservation Corps overlook building are well worth the trek up the 1.25-mile 1,000 Steps Trail.
North on Hwy. 21 from Washington County are two similar hikes featuring unique topography. Valley View Glades has a 2.6-mile hike on 225 acres west of Hillsboro, and the trail at Victoria Glades is 2.3 miles on 239 acres east of the county seat.
Don Robinson State Park near Cedar Hill has two outstanding hiking trails in a mostly unspoiled wild property. LaBarque Hills is 2.4 miles, and Sandstone Canyon is 3.9 miles with a connector that can cut the hike length in half. The first 0.6 miles of the Sandstone Canyon trail is paved for those who prefer smooth surfaces.
Don Robinson’s other claim to fame is its protection for the headwaters of LaBarque Creek. Along with three conservation areas in northwest Jefferson County, public land protects one of the most pristine watersheds in the St. Louis region.
Trails at the three areas include LaBarque Creek’s three-mile hike, the 2.5 mile Taconic Loop and 3.5-mile LaBarque Hills trails at Hilda J. Young, and a three-mile loop at the Myron and Sonya Glassberg Family Conservation Area. A couple of notes about the trails: The trailhead for LaBarque Hills is a mile-plus along the Taconic Loop, so you have to add the extra distance, and the overlook at Glassberg pays off the effort of a 250-foot elevation change with great views of the Meramec River.
Jefferson County has many great places to hike, and I was glad to share what I knew about these places and meet several new and old friends at Jefferson College last month.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.