Yesterday, I went for a hike in St. Charles County, Missouri. I usually hike in Washington, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties, so hiking futher north was a fun change of pace.
The landscape in the St. Louis area is generally flatter than it is even sixty or seventy miles further south, making this Southeast Missouri girl qualify this “hike” as a scenic walk in the woods.
There were a few hills and rocky places, but for the most part, the trail was flat and even. Much of the nine miles of trail is lined with gravel and clear of overgrowth. Other segments of the trail are covered in thick, low-lying weeds, though, so be sure and use tick repellant if you plan to walk this trail.
This would be a great trail for walking dogs, or for exercise if you live in the St. Charles area. Much of the trail would even be nice for trail running. Based on my experience researching the trail and hiking it yesterday, it seems that Lost Valley is geared (haha, I crack myself up) primarily for mountain biking.
Photo credit: Gateway Off-Road Cyclists
The Lost Valley Trail is a 9-mile hiking and mountain biking loop inside Weldon Springs Conservation Area on Route 94, south of US 40/I-64.
The parking lot and trail head are easy to miss. Use the St. Charles County Police Training Area as your point of reference; the Lost Valley Trail is the next turn-off on the right.
For more information on Lost Valley and other St. Louis area mountain biking trails, visit Gateway Off-Road Cyclists.
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Glad you had a safe hike. Though wasn’t anything like some of the hills you climb down around Farm’town, and certainly not like the mountains you’ve hiked in Colorado, yesterday was a nice day to be outside, and you were treated to new views to see.
There’s another park that’s a little further down 94 that has some walking/running trails and mountain bike trails – Klondike Park. It was an old quarry, so there’s one REALLY HIGH lookout that was used by the local Indians for ceremonies and such (from what I understand, could be wrong). It looks out over the Missouri River valley, and it is very cool.
There’s the Katy trail, too. Flat, well-kept (outside of flood times), and lots of trailheads.
-Kismatt