Castlewood State Park - Missouri

Castlewood State Park – Missouri

The park located near St Louis, was surprisingly large and easy to find.  Even though I grew up in St Louis, it was my first trip ever to this State Park.  My main goal was to find a good hiking trail and this park delivered.

I chose the Grotpeter Trail which was 3.7 miles long shaped in a loop.  The trailhead sign indicated a 2 hour and 45-minute hike, but I completed it in just under 2 hours.  My time included stopping and taking pictures.  St Louis had rain 10 out of the prior 12 days before my hike so the trail was naturally a bit muddy in some spots. 

One of the many neat parts of the Grotpeter Trail is the views of the Meramec River which runs alongside in many places.  In a few spots you are allowed off trail an can walk down to the river.  Makes for great pictures and a quick splash of cold water to cool yourself down on a hot day. 

The trail features some pretty flowers, white, blue and yellow colors.  I have no idea what kind of flowers, but they were pretty.  The scenery at the bottom of the trail was green with pastures and trees alongside the path.  As I climbed up into the hills the scenery changed to mostly trees, leaves covering the hillside and rocky areas. 

On this hike I saw all types of birds including Cardinals.  Additionally, I saw a few deer, squirls, chipmunks and a groundhog.  None of them seemed to be interested in me and they kept their distance.

For a Saturday morning hike this one was perfect.  Enough steep hills to “feel” like a hike and get my heart rate up, but nothing crazy.  The temperature was in the mid 60’s and most of the trail was shady, especially the steep parts so overall very comfortable. 

I will definitely come back to this trail again as it was a lot of fun.