Meramec State Park

Now that Chris has finished up school, we have some more time freed up to hike! Eli even got his own pair of hiking boots as requested. Now he’s ready to go!

This past weekend we went down to Meramec State Park in Sullivan, MO to spend the day together. Meramec boasts at least six trails, including an eight and a half mile one called the Wilderness trail. We did not brave that one today, instead opting to do two other trails in the park.

The Missouri heat and humidity hadn’t kicked in yet, so it was a nice day to be outside! We had some lunch, stopped by the river so little man could stick his feet in, and played some catch until we lost our ball in the woods.

What We Hiked…

Walking Fern Trail
0.5 Mile, Easy/Moderate, Loop

Eli favored this trail not only because it was the shorter of the two we hiked, but because it had little caves for him to explore! Not too far from the start of the hike were stairs leading up to Indian Cave–a 30 yard deep cave into the cliff. With Chris on flashlight duty, he went right in to explore. We hadn’t known it would be there, so it was a neat surprise.

The rest of the trail wound around the bluff and ended back where it began near the outdoor amphitheater. Oh, and there were plenty of ferns during the second half of the trail to justify the name 😉

If you have little ones with you and are looking for a quick, but interesting, hike this one is a great option!

Deer Hollow Trail
1.25 Miles, Easy/Moderate

We initially thought this trail was a loop, but that was not the case and we turned around before reaching the end. Hanger was setting in and Eli was getting impatient! When we got back to the starting point, we saw a couple that we had let pass us on the trail and decided maybe it looped around afterall.

There weren’t as many points of interest on this trail, but it had some pretty greenery, a stop through the creek, and a bit of incline.

Making Friends…

Trash Clean Up…

Meramec kept the park much cleaner than I would have expected. In fact, I only found two items of trash to pick up!

Overall, we had a fun day! I’d love to come back and check out some of the trails we missed. The park also has a cave called Fisher Cave that can be toured, but due to COVID-19, it was closed. Eli is oddly interested in caves, so I hope once it opens again we can take him down to see it!

Have you ever visited Meramec State Park? What is your favorite thing to do there? Where should we go next?