While trekking through the varying topography of the Weldon Spring Conservation Area (off Highway 94 along the north bank of the Missouri River, it's easy to forget that this tract of forests, grasslands and bluffs was once dedicated to destruction: During World War II an army contractor made TNT here. Then in the 1950s and '60s, the Atomic Energy Commission processed uranium ore for nuclear bombs here. The state bought the land in 1978 and the feds cleaned out all the toxic stuff, leaving the department of conservation today with a safe — and breathtaking — 7,390 acres. The hiking and mountain-biking trails offer only one excuse for exploring the hills and ridges, plumed with oak, hickory and sycamore. Feel free to forage mushrooms, berries and greens while you're there. Hunters can bag rabbits, doves, squirrel and raccoons (plus deer and turkey on special managed hunts). The limestone bluffs afford panoramas of the wide Missouri, but if heights aren't your thing, you can pedal along the Katy Trail, which passes below. When Lewis and Clark came through here, there were no picnic tables, restrooms, ball fields or amenities. That holds true today, so you get to enjoy this area as they did — in the raw.
Forest Park
| Oct 14, 2020
Forest Park
| Oct 2, 2019
River's Edge Park
| Sep 30, 2015
Suson Park
| Sep 25, 2014
Lone Elk Park
| Sep 26, 2013
Carondelet Park
| Sep 22, 2011
Tower Grove Park
| Sep 29, 2010
Lafayette Park
| Sep 30, 2009
Aboussie Park
| Sep 24, 2008
Madison County Transit bike trails
| Sep 26, 2007
Forest Park
| Sep 27, 2006
Francis Park
| Sep 29, 2005
Queeny County Park
| Sep 29, 2004
Queeny County Park
| Sep 29, 2004
Tower Grove Park
| Sep 24, 2003
Tower Grove Park
| Sep 24, 2003