Wednesday, November 8, 2017

St. Joe State Park

This is a continuation of a series of posts of my Missouri Vacation which I took the first week of September.  To start at the beginning go HERE.  The rest of the posts, in consecutive order are HERE , HEREHERE, and HERE.

On Day 3 of our Missouri vacation we went to three different tourist attractions:  Elephant Rock State Park, the Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site, and St. Joe State Park.  St. Joe was very close to our hotel so we decided to just pop in to check it out before retiring for the evening;  so our visit was short and sweet!

St. Joe State Park has something for everyone.  There are hiking, biking, and equestrian trails,   a large lake with a sandy beach for both boaters and swimmers, campgrounds, a designated area for all terrain vehicles, and even a 25 acre Missouri Mines State Historic Site. 



This park is huge!  It encompasses 8,238 acres, with a 2,000 acre off road vehicle riding area located on the old St. Joe Mine Tailing Dumps.  We spent a little bit of time watching the ATV's drive.  I didn't take any pictures of my own, but here is one from Wikipedia.



The sandy beach was large and gorgeous.  Since it was early fall, there was only one family here when we were there.  They did go into the water, but I heard them scream how cold it was!



As I stated earlier, we didn't have a whole lot of time to spend in this park.  It was basically a drive through to check it out.  It is loaded with trails though!  There are eight trails varying in length from 0.5 miles to 10 miles.    Three of the trails you can horseback ride on, and all of them are for hikers and bikers.  There is only one handicapped trail and that is the Paved Bicycle Trail.

We had already hiked quite enough this day, so we were looking more for a nice, scenic evening stroll.   We decided to go on the Lake View Trail.  It is partially paved, and it follows the length of the lake for a short distance before it veers into the woods and becomes an earthen path.


The lake views along this trail are very beautiful and the paved, level path makes for a comfortable walk.  The elderly, handicapped, or young families with strollers could take this trail to the end of the path.  You would just have to turn around and walk the same way back as the pavement does end when the lake views end.  


It was so quiet and peaceful when we there.  We saw someone out on a kayak on the lake.  It was the perfect trail for a nice, evening stroll.




My husband thought this dead tree stump in the lake water was interesting.  It was at about this point that we left the paved portion of the trail behind and our pretty lake views, and headed into the woods.


Here is an example of the forest, earthen path we followed.  It was very level, and easy to hike.  No strenuous hills involved!


Thankfully, it wasn't that long because we already had a long day of hiking and we were ready to get some supper and recuperate for the next day.


We did find this cute bridge!


After our little hike, we called it a day for tomorrow we were going to our favorite Missouri park of them all:  Ha Ha Tonka State Park.  I know, what a name right?  

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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12 comments:

  1. How nice that I can walk these beautiful trails with you without getting my boots muddy, thanks for that! Like your hubby, I found the dead tree stump fascinating and thinking up its history got me hooked. Hugs, x.

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    1. haha! I know it's probably not one of my most exciting travel posts, but I did want to cover every park we visited. Thanks for visiting.

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  2. This looks like a great place to visit with family or for a nice hike/ walk.
    xoxo Falasha
    Bite My Fashion


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  3. I really enjoy reading about your journeys! Another beautiful park!

    Brooke
    pumps and push-ups

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  4. You always have so much fun on your trips! I love that you document them here on your blog!

    http://www.mylittlenest.org

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  5. I haven't been to the Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site and St. Joe State Park and I live in MO! St. Joe is gorgeous... I love that beach and it would be nice in the summer! I didn't know there was an area for ATV's! If only I was braver! Lol

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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    1. If you live in Missouri you need to go to Pilot Knob when they do their next civil war reenactment in three years. It looks amazing. I can't believe we missed it by just a few days when we were there.

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  6. I love walking trails! They help me unwind and I workout at the same time.
    Looking forward to reading about your next trip, Amy :)

    http://www.memoriesofthepacific.com

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