Hawn State Park
Pick Creek at Hawn State Park
My hike for Friday morning November 25, 2022, was going to be my longest hike so far and one to work off the effects of the large Thanksgiving meal the day before. I chose Hawn State in New Offenburg, MO. From my house the drive was a little over a 1-hour drive. The planed hike for the day was to complete the Whispering Pine North Trail for 6 miles and add in Part of the South Trail as well. In total the hike would be a little over 10 miles. It was a chilly day, but sunny with temperatures around 45 degrees. On this hike I was alone.
Hawn State Park is available because of Helen Coffer Hawn. She dreamed of creating a park to protect the landscape for the people and began acquiring tracts of land. Between 1932 and 1941, she successfully purchased 12 separate tracts. Upon her death in 1952, she willed nearly 1,500 acres of rugged hills and streams to the state.
The terrain of the Whispering Pine Trail is a nice mix of hardwood and pine forest. As with many of the other Missouri trails, extensive exposures of sandstone and granite can found. Much of the trail runs along the banks of Pickle Creek. The rolling hills provide a challenging area for a hike. The trail is signed in a counterclockwise direction with colored arrows marking the way.
From the parking area I had no trouble finding the trail head. About 2 miles into the hike the trail starts following Pickle Creek. On the way down into the valley, there are some excellent views and I did take some pictures along with a selfie. The signage on the trail discourages scrambling, so I stayed on trail for the whole hike. The route takes you across Pickle Creek using the rocks to get to the other side. There were lots of people on the trail and everyone was pleasant. The trail itself was mostly a dirt trail with limestone rock poking out in a number of spots and overall, it was generally easy to navigate. According to my Apple Watch my elevation gain was 1,973 feet.
On the trail I saw many gray squirrels, all different type of birds and a couple of deer running.
Hawn State Park is an excellent park for hiking with four main trails, including the Whispering Pine Trail North, Whispering Pine Trail South, Pickle Creek Trail and the White Oaks Trail. The hiking trails were challenging and really fun with great natural features to see. Recommend this one for a moderate to hard day of hiking.
