Cliff Cave Park
Cliff Cave
Cliff Cave Park – Oakville, MO
My hike on Saturday 3/25/2023 was Cliff Cave Park. It was a short 3-mile walk to the park located in Oakville, MO. There are a couple of trailheads at the park and I took the one perpendicular to Telegraph Road directly across from Heinz Road. The plan for the day was to hike all three trails the park has to offer: The River Bluff Trail, the Spring Valley Trail and the Mississippi Trail. I was by myself for this hike.
The park is named after Cliff Cave a natural cave located in the park that is a historical and archaeologic site. The park contains woodlands, wetlands and rocky hillsides. The far east end of the park is adjacent to the Mississippi River. An active train track also runs through the park.
In 1868 the Cliff Cave Wine Company purchased the area for $36,176 to use the cave as a natural wine cellar. The company planted 25 acres of grapes, which produced 3,000 gallons of wine in one year. By 1870 the cave had storage capacity for 100,000 gallons of wine. Stonework near the cave entrance added during the time still exists today. Around 1910, the cave was leased to Anheuser-Busch to store beer, with the company harvesting ice from the river in the winter to keep the beer cool during the summer months. In 1972 the property was acquired by St. Louis County and in the spring of 1977, Cliff Cave Park was opened to the public.
The day was overcast and chilly with the temperature just above 45 degrees. I started out on the Spring Valley Trail, which is a 3-mile paved surface. The trail goes up a valley, then reaches a plateau and forms a loop in the woodlands. You can reach the actual Cliff Cave as well, but the cave entrance is barred off from access to protect the endangered Indian Bat which lives in the cave. This trail along the paved path connected to both the River Bluff Trail and the Mississippi Trail. The overlook of the Mississippi River is a must see and a great spot for pictures and to take a water break on one of the benches. Note parts of the Mississippi Trail was very muddy and you definitely need to scramble around those parts.
As with most of my recent spring hikes, the main animals I saw were small blue birds and grey squirls. On this Saturday morning the trail was very crowded. The hike took me 2 hours and 43 minutes with an elevation gain of 516 feet total. Pictures of the hike are posted in the gallery below.
