Friendly staff at the museum/gift shop. It's the old motel turned into museum! Little picnic areas and a grove to explore. Lots and lots of wild park land. FYI: directions don't take you to the visitors center, so you'll need to put that in the GPS instead of the park itself. read more

Route 66 State Park - Parks Near Me - Eureka, Missouri

Very friendly and informative staff. Clean and well organized. Right along our Route 66 journey from Chicago to Santa Monica. They're assertive with their donation solicitations, but a nice stop otherwise. There is a small, but very well done museum in the back and a perfect stop to get a Passport stamp and some suggestions for stops further down the route. read more

Nice park with easy trails. It's been some time since I have been. Former site of Times Beach from the 80s and before.

This is a great park, with a lot of different trails and paths to walk. A boat ramp and horse trails also! We explored the visitor center and area nearby, and learned about the upcoming restoration of the bridge and the history of the area from a helpful one of the staff that happened to be here when we were. He was very nice and went out of his way to be helpful and talk with us about the park. We are hosting a friend from France, and this was one of the things she was looking forward to. Check the schedule if you want to go into the center and gift shop, it isn't open all year round. Can't wait to come back during the summer and walk more of the trails! read more

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amazing place filled with History about Route 66 with it being located on the original Route 66 read more

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What a great park! The visitor center evidently opened at 10am today (Sunday) so I recommend you call ahead considering everything else said 9am but you can always walk the trails and enjoy the scenery in the meantime. They have a museum section in the visitor center and a gift shop. We were there approximately an hour at the visitor center plus the time to drive/walk/take pictures of the area. The woman in the visitor center was very nice and had lots of information as well. This was worth the wait to open and I'm glad we did. read more

Route 66 State Park - Historic Route 66 sign - Parks Near Me - Eureka, Missouri

This park has easy access to some nicely maintained flat trails, with additional access to even more trail options attached to the park. The largest trail is the Outer loop, which is about a 3 mile loop. Approximately 2 miles of it is paved, the other mile is gravel. read more

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These trails are GREAT for running, walking or bike riding! They're a bit secluded on the back side of the park, but felt safe. Along the paved path there is a gravel kick off that adds almost another 2 miles and then links back up to the main trail. The whole area is great for wildlife viewing. Two access points for runners and bike riders off of Main Street in Eureka and the little park off Williams Rd. read more

I've definitely seen better parks. The 7 mile trail my husband and I hiked down wasn't very scenic. I suppose for the midwest, it's among some of the best. I'm somewhat of a park snob since hiking in Alaska. We went into the info/gift shop to get a map of the trails and the woman working was very personable. She informed us that the Route 66 museum located in the same building was free and we were more than welcome to check it out. Overall, I'm not so sure it's worth the trek out there from O'Fallon, IL. If I lived closer, I would be more inclined to return. read more

Route 66 State Park - Meramec River - Parks Near Me - Eureka, Missouri

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Route 66 State Park is one of Missouri's newest state parks, and it shows. There is not a lot there. At the same time, it is pretty nice. We visited at the end of October 2013 and the trees were just beginning to turn. The weather was quite warm (upper 80's) and we appreciated the shade as, despite the name, a good part of what you do in Route 66 State Park is hike the trails. The park is built out of the former city of Times Beach, MO., the infamous toxic waste site in the 80's that was condemned, closed, and cleaned (mostly incinerated). It is alleged to be safe now. In places you can find the remnants of town-- the old street grid is visible in places, some street curbs, even the odd brick front porch or fireplace that somehow escaped the furnace. More creepy, in a way, is that a good number of the people we encountered were really looking for Times Beach so they could explore the remnants fo the city. It is kind of like running into ghost hunters on your hike. Not dangerous or anything, but still kind of discordant to talk with toxic waste seekers when you are expecting nature lovers. The park is heavily wooded and is filled with birds and wildlife. (Since many will ask, I should add that we saw no two headed deer or anything like that.) Birds are abundant in this well treed space, and we saw two deer, but not much other wildlife-- although there are signs of much more if you read the footprints. Of course, being Route 66 State Park, one expects to see Rt 66. It seems to run thru the park, but we couldn't really tell what was just an old road, or actually Rt 66. None of the streetscape that makes the Mother Road so much fun is found inside the park. No art deco motels or cheezy diners, etc. It really is a nature park-- and a nice reuse of a former toxic waste site. The park has a visitors center and museum (it is the same thing). It is an old roadhouse converted into the museum. It was abandoned when Times Beach was evacuated, so it is original to the area. It is located in an odd place, almost outside the park. Oddly, to get to the trails from the museum you must get on 44, drive one exit, get off and back on heading the opposite direction on 44 and get off at the first exit that direction. There is nothing do do at the visitor center other than visit the museum and (of course) the gift shop. The museum is nice, with lots of Rt 66 memorabilia on display, but it is not really all that informative. Attractive, even fun, but you aren't likely to learn anything there. It also is a place to get maps, etc., and well worth the visit. The park can be confusing if you don't have a map (or, I suppose, a guide). All in all, it is a fun couple of hours. Since it is not far from Lone Elk Park, the World Bird Sanctuary, and the Wolf Center it can be part of a very nice day on the outskirts of the county. read more

Pretty nice little park for exercising now that they cleaned up all the toxic materials that were put down on the roads to control dust back in the day. read more

Route 66 ! Small but Awesome museum! On my 3rd Route 66 trip I finally timed it right to go hear. Some cool original 66 neon signage and other memorabilia. Decent gift shop. Nice docent. read more

This park is a true hidden gem. It is basically a fitness park. Walkers, runners, bikers, bladers. The paved loop is 1.9 miles, but there are another several miles of trails that run with the Merrimac river. The down side is that hwy 44 borders the park on the south...This park is easy to get to and parking is abundant. There is a cool rt66 gift shop, and the real rt 66 runs right through it. read more