My partner and I drove out here from Ballwin, about 1.5 hours away, with our dog when it was nice…read moreoutside one day. I wasn't expecting much, but wow, was it worth the drive! The water in the sanctuary area is soooo blue. I couldn't believe my eyes. We walked along that part first, then walked past the hatchery. It was so cool to see the trout in different stages of life. Dogs aren't allowed to swim in the sanctuary or hatchery, and since we have a lab who's obsessed with the water, we kept walking to reach a spot where she could at least touch it. Lots of people were fishing, so we kept walking until we found a spot where she could splash around. As you can see from the photo, she had a wonderful time. We kept her leash on and I'd recommend others do the same. We didn't want her to get caught on a fishing line or scare any fish away that people were trying to catch. We paid $5 to get into the park as we were driving in, and we were able to pay with a credit card. There was plenty of parking even though it was the weekend. Definitely recommend for a day trip from the STL area!

From Manchester, MO I can be trout fishing in 90 minutes. I wanted to make one more trip before the…read moretrout fishing season closes on October 31. First time catching a bluegill at this park. The leaves were falling continuously from the trees which made the experience more beautiful. We had a blast.

This is honestly the best playground/park combo we've ever been to! During the summer they have a…read morefantastic splash pad, and during all times of the year they have several different playground structures! My toddler had so much fun exploring here. I saw that there's a small nature loop that you can walk around the park, that's definitely something on our list to do next time! I would recommend this park to anyone with kids aged 10 and under!!!

Beautiful city park with perimeter trail. Great for rollerblading/biking. Saw joggers & single…read morewheel skate-boarder. A few dog-walkers as well. Wonderful cloudy sunny day with breeze to enjoy the start of fall colors & turtles@the ponds. Several playgrounds available Including special needs. Splash pad for summer fun.

Terrific place to camp! All of the campsites are fairly secluded, unlike some campgrounds that jam…read moresites side by side. Clean restrooms and showers. Lots of flat-ish paved roadways to bicycle. Some of the campsites have decks for pitching a tent! All sites are shaded and situated in the woods. River access is only for powered john boats and the like. I wish there was a dedicated trail or roadway to the creek, which is a nice place to swim and relax when it is hot.

Came to traditional camp for 14 days. I reserved my two weeks online and paid for them. I stayed…read morethe first week alone and the second week with my young son. Never once did a camp host come by in the first 7 days. Never once did they change the numbers on my pole. It still had dates from months ago. On day 7 while I was putting up second tent for my son a very angry man stopped by in a golf cart. He was yelling about us leaving in a day. I explained to him we had the lot for two weeks and offered proof by receipt in my email. He got even angrier and threatened me with some man name Mike paying me a visit!?!? After he realized he was wrong he tried to tell us we could not have two tents. Not true. I had to show him proof on my phone. Then he tried to tell us our tent we just put up was in the wrong place. It was not. I showed him the lot map. The man seemed intoxicated but I'm not sure. After he left he went to the next lot and yelled at that man . I personally have never been treated so rude. This place has no real camp host. This place has no hospitality. The camp host from lot #20 is a real creep. There is something not right with him mentally and I suggest others do not camp near lot #20 camp host. The camp host at lot #20 needs to be fired. He should not be around families or children. Beware of this park for many reasons. 1) camp host lot #20 2) homeless 3) dirty , trash everywhere. 4) no good trails 5) no water access 6) pot smoke and meth smoke in the air at night 7) camp host #20 8) camp sites are uneven mud pits Untill this park puts real camp host in place it will remain a dump. Beware. Stay away

Hubster surprised me by wanting to explore a town's hiking trails. Lovely fall day. We were headed…read moreto the local theater to catch a flick so we'll be back to enjoy this park AGAIN Lots of shade & Places to sit@tables all around the parking lot/entrance.

I will go out of my way to check out a covered bridge and especially so when it's not even that far…read moreout of my way. This bridge would have been worth the detour! Sandy Creek Covered Bridge is in excellent condition and while it has been closed to vehicle traffic, you can still walk across it. The bridge is the centerpiece of this park which includes parking, picnic tables, primitive bathrooms and lots of captions with historical information. I had a terrific visit and really appreciate what has been done to preserve this history for posterity. [Review 1261 of 2024 - 362 in Missouri - 22284 overall]

As one would expect, there's a lot of history of this bridge! This is one of four covered bridges…read morefrom the 19th century still standing in Missouri. However, it has been rebuilt, redone and repaired in various years. But Missouri lawmakers and residents see no reason to tear this one down, as it shows a lot of importance. This bridge was used to connect St. Louis and Hillsboro (MO). Oddly enough, Lemay Ferry Road, which is prominent in South County, once extended all the way to this park. The bridge is in very fine condition. I have visited four old covered bridges (a couple were restored) in Illinois and all of them have graffiti and at least some sort of vandalism on them (no exaggeration, sadly). This one looks untouched, and I hope it stays that way. Anyone can walk through the bridge, and even under it! As for the park, it is a bit tricky to get to, but there is a decent-sized parking lot and park there. Restrooms are available as well as picnic benches. There's even historical markers at the site that talk about the history of Missouri's covered bridges. Plenty of space to walk your dog. There are some nature trails - one that leads past the bridge (to somewhere?). Summer or any day with great weather is a perfect day to come out here. It is part of Missouri's State Park system so check it out! Winter? I'm not so sure...maybe for photographers when it snows.

We rented the Sullivan Pool for my birthday. 2 hours from 7 to 9 for under $200. We had a great…read moretime with the diving board and the water slide. For the money it was a cheap party and they took great care of us while we were there. The manager of the pool, Mr. Goodman was there and ensured we had a great time. We will be back next year!

A beautiful small town on the Mighty Missouri River with an old world German charm. The hilly…read moredowntown makes for gorgeous river views from many of the old buildings and restaurants. The people are visitor friendly and there are lots of shops and restaurants worth looking up and visiting. The parks and plazas are pretty cool. The newer sections of the town are quite nice with modern urban sprawl. The road network is pretty good and you might find some traffic slow downs during rush hours. The city has all of the usual major and common stores but I urge time in the old downtown area to really enjoy yourself! I wanted to try more of the restaurants and taverns, but not enough hours!

Small River City Town on the Missouri River with a proud German heritage. Quaint downtown area…read morewith numerous restaurants and bars. The Route 47 bridge was opened in late 2018 with the old truss bridge imploded on April 11, 2019.

We visited on a beautiful Friday evening for the (free!) Wildflower Concert Series. There was…read moreplentiful free parking and space to enjoy the live music as well as the beautiful natural landscaping and flowers. We brought a blanket, chairs and picnic dinner. There are shaded pavilions with picnic tables. There are "real" bathrooms. There was food and drinks available for purchase as part of the event. Staff were very friendly and helpful. We did not hike this visit but they have nice hiking trails. No pets allowed, except service animals.

The nature reserve is easy to access off I-44. There is even a gas station at that intersection to…read moreget anything you might need before entering. At the entrance is the visitor's center which has bathrooms, souvenirs, educational materials, maps and where you pay the $5 entrance fee unless you're a MoBot member. They give you a token to allow the entrance gate to open. Within 30 seconds of being in the reserve, I saw a male cardinal and a red wing blackbird. Then I heard mourning doves. Later I saw a squirrel, Monarch butterfly, and a white butterfly. I spied Shortleaf pine trees, too. There are so many colorful wildflowers. If you have limited mobility the Whitmere wildflower garden is a good place to start. The parking lot is loose, small gravel and the path is a mix of packed and small loose gravel. Also the wetlands area has disabled parking and a .75 mile packed gravel trail to the boardwalk. Able-bodied folks have many trails with varying levels of difficulty to hike. Disabled folks can enjoy the view from the paved road and there are a few spots that are disabled accessible to enjoy nature up close. You can see quite a bit from your vehicle, where speed limits are 15 mph. Plan about 90 mins to 2 hours if you are doing the easier walks. Bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and bug spray.

Greet park with a petting zoo. Haven't been in many years but would love to go back. It's one of…read moreseveral great places to see animals In the area.

This is a great FREE park! You can see all the animals AND feed them for only 25 cents! My daughter…read moreloves coming here and interacting with the animals, playing on the playground, walking around the lake, and having a picnic under the trees. It really has something for everyone! This is the perfect park for a family outing or the perfect place to kill a few hours with your little one.

My son and I went tent camping here. We enjoyed the campsites that had plenty of green grass and…read moretall trees. Each camp site came with a fire pit and a picnic table. We appreciated having the bathrooms and bath house nearby although it would've been nice if they were cleaned more frequently. There is a really nice sand/pebble beach that you have access to leisurely enjoy the Meramec River. People brought down shade tents, lounge chairs, inner tubes, RC boats and it was a good day in the river. There are multiple trails of various lengths that you can enjoy while at the park as well as multiple caves. We enjoyed a guided tour of Fisher Cave while we were there that was well worth it. There is also a camp store and a small café on site with basic camping essentials, souvenirs, food items, ice, etc. Overall we had a great time and we look forward to coming back again in the future!

One beautiful place. We hiked here today with our dog. Evidence of a massive forest fire is…read moredisplayed in the burn scars and that a majority of the trees are of similar age (maybe 25-30 years old). Most of the park was closed because it's January but the beauty of the park still shines. I saw a plaque that says it was built by the CCC in the 1930's. Missouri is lucky to have such a special place.