Time: 5 hours
Distance: 10 miles
Official Site: [www.mostateparks.com]
Trail Condition: Excellent

On Sunday, December 24, we hiked the Wilderness Trail at Meramec State Park. This trail is a mid-distance loop with moderate hills. It is easily navigated, and presents a good opportunity for the somewhat experienced day hiker looking for a slightly more challenging trail. It also provides the opportunity for cutting the hike to six miles, though this option must be exercised very early in the hike.

First of all, at the suggestion of one of the hiking books, we hiked the trail counter-clockwise. This turned out to be a good suggestion, as it put the worst hills at the very start of the hike. In truth, even the worst of this trail is much easier than the more challenging hills in southern Missouri. But particularly for those who are making their first swing at a hike of this distance, it is better to get them out of the way. The few climbs later in the hike, while steep in a few places, are all quite short.

The condition of the trail, in December, was excellent. While there were no tree blazes, and trail markers were few and far between, the trail was so well worn that you could hardly miss it. One important warning, though: Do not be deceived by the yellow ribbon tree blazes. In several places, a wide, cleared path marked by these blazes intersected with our trail. I don't know if they were surveying the park, or setting up another trail, but the temptation to follow them resulted in a half mile of wasted walking at one point early in the hike.

There were several creek crossing during this hike, along with several more dry crossings. At this time of year, the wet crossings were shallow. Often, there was not a good crossing at the point where the trail hit the creek, but by looking a few feet one way or the other, a good crossing point could always be found. Another foot of water in any of these streams could easily have changed that, so be prepared.

There were a few interesting landmarks along the hike. One brief vista of the Meramec River, at about halfway through the hike, would have been invisible had the trees had leaves. And later, we encountered a well marked cave in front of one bend in the trail, at the base of a small cliff, behind a pool fed by a spring trickling out of the cave. Also, shortly after crossing onto the eastern end of the north loop, you walk through a small but fragrant pine forest. Otherwise, it's the usual Missouri woods, with an occasional cedar patch.

While the hike is ten miles long, you can also leave off the north loop, cutting it to only six miles. The only problem is, the shortcut is less than two miles into the hike, so by the time you realize you are too tired for a ten mile hike, you are long past the chance to cut it short.

According to the lady in the visitor's center, people come from all over to hike this trail. But on that day, it was just us. It's a challenging hike, and much closer to St. Louis than many of those in the Farmington area.