Klondike Park
Klondike Park – Augusta, MO
On a Sunday afternoon in November, I took a drive out to Klondike Park in Augusta Missouri. From my house the drive was about 1 hour. Once I entered the park, it was a very short drive to the parking area where the trail head was located. The planed hike for the day was to complete the Hogsback Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail and connect up to the Katy Trail to route me to the Klondike Park Boat Ramp. The total hiking for the day was around 5.5 miles on mostly flat trail.
Klondike Park is 250 acres of scenic property adjacent to the Katy Trail and the Missouri River. The park was once the site of an old silica sand quarry. Other than the Hogsback Trail, the entire surface of the other trails was mostly gravel. The day was overcast and chilly with the temperature just above 40 degrees. It snowed the day before the hike and the morning of the hike so the trail was still wet from the melted snow. I was by myself on this hike.
From the parking area I had no trouble finding the trail head. During the hike you really get a great view of the Missouri River which runs parallel to the Katy Trail for two thirds of the hike. The leaves are now mostly gone from the trees which helped with my line of site for the area. I posted pictures of some great views of the Missouri River in the gallery below. There were two spots on the trail where there was a cool Prairie Restoration program in place with native plants. This was done to manage the invasive plants and enhance the forest of the park. The Prairie Restoration is important to the forest ecosystem.
Since I connected up with the Katy Trail the start of the hike is basically straight down, as Klondike Park sits on the bluffs adjacent to the Katy Trail. The trail surface is mostly gravel so it was easy steps. You really get a great view of the limestone rock exposed all around the bluffs adjacent to the Missouri River.
About two thirds of the way around the park you arrive at the Hogsback Trial. The walking surface was harder to navigate as there was limestone rocks protruding on the surface of the path in some spots. The steepness of the trail also increased as you make your way up to the top of the bluffs. The views from the top of the bluffs looking over the Missouri River are awesome. At the end there was a short trail around Klondike Lake and it’s worth the 10-minute hike.
The main animals I saw were deer, gray squirrels and large turkey buzzards flying around the high bluffs of the park. There is a picture of the cliff the birds were nesting in and flying around. On this Sunday afternoon the trail was not crowded and there was only one other small group of hikers on the trail.
Klondike Park was a really nice area to hike, with fantastic views of the Missouri River. Recommend this Park for hiking and just to explore nature.
