The St. Louis Track Club promotes an engaged community for runners and walkers of all abilities.
RUNNING PATHS & MAPS
Additional Routes
MULTIPLE PATHS/TRAILS LINKS
Gateway Area Off-Road Cyclists Area Trail Maps
www.gorctrails.com
A great list of trails, including a number of those listed below, can be found at this site. Chris Grigereit sent us this link and notes: “Just about every trail has a pdf and directions and a Google map entry and mileage and info etc.”
MTBR Trails
trails.mtbr.com
Includes trails great for mountain bikes.
Ridefinders
bikeways.ridefinders.org
Great collection of trails throughout the metro area.
St. Louis Biking
www.stlbiking.com/Menu_Trails
Includes trails for both sides of the metro area.
Trailnet
www.trailnet.org
Includes great searchable database for paths among the 5 metro area counties.
www.mv24.org/trails
Has photos and descriptions of many area paths but not actual maps.
Clifftop Alliance’s trail maps (Metro East)
www.clifftopalliance.org
Includes maps and directions to hiking trails at the following places:Stemler Cave Woods Nature Preserve, Salt Lick Point Land and Water Reserve, White Rock Nature Preserve
INDIVIDUAL PATH/TRAIL LINKS
Anheuser Busch Memorial Conservation Area
mdc.mo.gov
Weldon Springs (Southwest St. Charles County): from 270 & 40, go west on 40 to hwy 94. Take hwy 94 south to Highway D. Turn right on D and go 1.5 miles to the entrance (clearly marked, but sneaks up on you–will be on the right). I do the 3.2 bike trail (follow signs, or stop in office for a map and directions) which is mostly dirt, and occasional paved road. Path is clearly marked and has mile markers (I have double checked the mileage–it is about 3 miles and mile markers are correct). – Thanks to Bonnie Cunningham.
Babler State Park
www.mostateparks.com/park/dr-edmund-babler-memorial-state-park
Wildwood, West St. Louis County. Four trails ranging from 1-2 miles.
Castlewood State Park
www.mostateparks.com/park/castlewood-state-park
Ballwin, West St. Louis County.
Clifton Heights
www.stlouis-mo.gov
Near the Hill area in the city of St. Louis.
Clydesdale Park
www.stlouisco.com
Clydesdale Park is in South County and has a trail that attaches to Grant’s Trail. There are some fun hills in the park – the ball fields are flat but when you get to the paved trails among the trees you hit the hills.
Columbia Bottom Conservation Area
North St. Louis, near confluence of Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. They have paths in the woods for trail running as well as bike paths/gravel trails for long distance training. The website has maps, directions, hours, etcetera. It’s really a nice place to train – peaceful – however, would only train there with a friend as it is a little desolate. Directions: To reach the area, go north approximately 2.8 miles from the I-270 Riverview Drive exit. Riverview Drive becomes Columbia Bottom Road at its intersection with Larimore Road.
Creve Coeur Park
www.stlouisco.com
Path around lake is about 5 miles, but it connects to Katy Trail and Heritage Museum in St. Charles County for a great long run or bike training. (See Katy Trail below.)
Cuivre River State Park
www.mostateparks.com/park/cuivre-river-state-park
Troy, Mo. From 64/40 or 70: Take 61 (64) north at Wentzville to Troy. Turn right on Hwy 47. The Park is about 2.5 miles with entrance on left at Hwy 147. There are nine separate trails from 2-7 miles each with great views along Frenchman’s Bluff –but watch your step. Stop at the Visitor Center for a map. For a major long hilly road run: Park at the Visitor Center and run on the road that heads up the hill and to the left upon reaching the top.
Des Peres Park
www.desperesmo.org
West St. Louis County. ½ mile east of 270 on Manchester (across from West County Mall), make a left (North) on Ballas Rd. Look for park entrance about ½ mile on Ballas on right
Forest Park big loop
Start/Finish near History Museum on Lindell going east, then in the park, along I-40, Skinker and back on Lindell is about 5.65 miles based on Garmin Forerunner GPS device. There are two types of paths close to each other – paved and non-paved. Measured is the paved one.
Francis Park
www.stlouis-mo.gov
Francis Park in St. Louis Hills has a 1.25 mile path around the park.
Frontage Road Dirt Path
I found a nice, ~1/2 mile dead-end dirt/gravel road very close to all the offices at Riverport and Harrah’s. Sure 1/2 mile isn’t far but it’s good enough if you circle it a few times during lunch hour. It’s Frontage Road, off of Creve Coeur Mill Road and the Maryland Heights Expressway which is more commonly known as the Earth City Expressway.
Grant’s Trail
www.bikegrantstrail.com
First link is for a bike path, second link is to the county’s website.
Jefferson Barracks County Park
www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/Trails/JeffersonBarracksTrails
A nice hilly course. It has a north loop and a south loop (a odd figure 8). If you do just the outer portions the trail is 2.5 miles (this omits the cross bar). The south loop is 1.2 miles (I think) and the north loop is 1.4 miles. The Post-Dispatch discussed this trail; the mileage for the loops I believe was different from the mileage posted by the park. – Thanks to Bob Nichols. Be patient with the link! The map on this link takes a little time to download.
Katy Trail
www.bikekatytrail.com
225 mile trail from Kansas City to Defiance, Weldon Spring & St. Charles. Site includes mileage charts and maps of sections of trail.
Queeny Park
www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/Trails/QueenyTrails
The red loop around the park is approximately 4.2 miles.
Shaw Nature Reserve
www.missouribotanicalgarden.org
There are 14 miles of trails but, running different tangents, you could probably run 16-20 and rarely cross the same path twice. And there are plenty of hills for those up to the challenge. For beginners, there’s a nice 3.2-mile loop starting and finishing at the Visitor’s Center.
Surface: The service roads are largely unimproved roads with gravel surfaces. Not bad footing. A small part of road near the Visitor’s Center is paved. But, please, don’t be afraid to hit the trails! Plenty of low-impact running opportunities. Very scenic – and lookout for wild creatures (turtles, deer, skunks, butterflies, rabbits, various birds of prey, etc.). Miles are not marked – bring your Garmin Forerunner.
Distance – about 25 minutes west of the I-270 / I-44 interchange. Directions: Take 270 South to I-44 West. Take exit 253 (Gray Summit).
Westbound I-44 from exit ramp, turn left, crossing over I-44. Turn right at the intersection (at the Phillips 66) and go 50 yards to the large iron gates on the left side of the road. You can see SNR from the exit ramp Missouri Botanical Garden members (and SNR season passholders) are free. Otherwise $3 per guest ($2 for seniors 65+). Hours: 7 a.m. to sunset year-round.
Sugar Creek Park
www.desperesmo.org
Des Peres in West St. Louis County. ½ mile west of 270 on Dougherty Ferry, park is on right with entrances off Dougherty Ferry and Des Peres Road. It has probably a ½ mile paved loop with an added ¼ mile mulch path through the woods. It’s a very nice walking/running park and some people even bike.
Tower Grove Park
www.towergrovepark.org
South St. Louis City.
Weldon Springs Conservation Area
mdc.mo.gov
Here is some info on the Weldon Springs area trails. My two favorites are the Lewis Trail (fairly difficult with some great views) and the Lost Valley Trail (some moderate hills, but great for getting in some fast trail work, and a creek at the end to relax in).
Lewis and Clark Trail
trails.mtbr.com/lewis-and-clark-trail
Lost Valley Trail
trails.mtbr.com/lost-valley
CITY/COUNTY LINKS
Madison County Transit
www.mcttrails.org
Great map of bike trails.
St. Charles County Parks trails
parks.sccmo.org/parks/
Includes links to the county’s parks.
St. Louis County Parks bike paths
www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/Trails/1010BikesProgram
Chart includes distances and locations but not maps.
St. Louis County Parks paths
www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/Trails
Maps of more than 30 St. Louis County’s Parks Dept. trails: North Area: Bella Fontaine, Castlepoint, Champ, Endicott, Fort Bellefontaine, McDonnell, Sioux Passage, Spanish Lake, St. Vincent West Area: Creve Coeur, Faust, Greensfelder, Lone Elk, Love, Queeny, Rock Hollow Trail at Packwood, Sherman Beach Al Foster Trail, Tilles, West Tyson South Area: Bee Tree, Buder, Cliff Cave, Clydesdale, George Winter, Grant’s Trail, Jefferson Barracks, Laumeier, Lemay, Lower Meramec, Simpson, Unger
St. Peters (MO) Parks information
www.stpetersmo.net
Links to city’s 20 parks. The heart of the city includes a great paved path that stretches south from the Rec-Plex.