Lower Meramec Park
Lower Meramec Park - St. Louis County, MO
Traveling by car from my house to Lower Meramec Park in St. Louis County Missouri was a 15-minute drive. Once I entered the park, it was a very short drive to the parking area where the trail head was located. The planned hike for the day was the I-55 Trail head out and back for around a 2.4-mile hike. I added a few scrambles to get better pictures of the river, which added to the total distance.
The day was overcast and chilly with the temperature just above 50 degrees. It rained the night before the hike and the morning of the hike so the trail was still wet. I was by myself on this hike. From the parking area I had no trouble finding the trail head.
The entire surface of the I-55 trail was paved blacktop. If you add the Tall Timbers Trail, the surface is mostly dirt with some gravel. Since it rained a lot that morning and the night before my hike, I stayed off the dirt (muddy) Tall Timbers Trail. The Tall Timbers Trail would add 1.2-miles to the overall hike. Both the I-55 Trail and the Tall Timbers Trail were very flat.
During the hike you really get a great view of the Meramec River which runs parallel to the trail for three fourths of the hike. The tree colors were still good on an October afternoon and much better than the Lone Elk Park hike from yesterday. I posted pictures of the tree colors and the Meramec River views in the gallery below. At one point on the trail there was a cool restoration program in place with 100’s of native trees planted. This was done to manage the invasive plants and enhance the bottomland forest of the park. This is important to the bottomland forest ecosystem.
The main animals I saw were Blue Jays flying around and chirping at me from the trees, as well as grey squirls and brown squirls. On this Sunday afternoon the trail was not crowded, but there were a number of hikers and families on the trail. I did see some white flowers and black little barriers both of which are pictured in my gallery.
Given how close this park is to my house and the ease in getting on and off the trail, I will plan to visit this park again.There is something nice about walking along side a river as well
