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By Linda Jarrett
St. Louis denizens do not usually welcome a St. Louis summer with
open arms. However, they are a hearty bunch and, albeit some grousing,
sally forth in the heat and humidity and take advantage of the many
activities the area has to offer.
Across the Missouri River in Machens, Mo. lies the beginning of
the 225-mile long Katy Trail,
one of the longest Rails-to-Trails projects in the country. Much
of the time, the trail tracks the river in the shade of giant bluffs,
then through lush pasturelands. Pedaling along through a field of
wildflowers with the wind in your face makes the heat easy to take.
Charming little towns with names like Dutzow, Defiance, Augusta,
and Marthasville dot the trail, each displaying its own unique charm
with restaurants, antique shops, bed and breakfasts, and wineries.
www.bikekatytrail.com
For biking closer to home, the 6.2 mile Grant’s
Trail, once part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad line,
passes through the southern neighborhoods, and offers wonderful
opportunities for bicyclists and hikers. www.bikegrantstrail.com
Bike trails for cyclists of
all abilities, from the novice to the accomplished, from rural to
urban, snake through St. Louis City and County. For more information
on these trails, go to www.stlbiking.com
or www.mv24.org/trails.
Discover St. Louis neighborhoods by walking. Melanie Harvey, DayTripperWalking
Tours guides participants on tours of prominent St. Louis
neighborhoods. Being a proponent of public transportation, many
of her tours incorporate MetroLink, also a good way to see the city.
(314) 367-3098 or www.daytrippermo.com.
On the original Route 66 corridor along the Meramec River in Eureka,
Mo. lies the Route 66 State Park.
Its 419 acres offer biking, hiking, fishing, picnicking, birdwatching—all
the accoutrements of summer fun. A former roadhouse, circa 1935,
serves as the visitor center with Route 66 memorabilia. (636) 938-7198
or www.mostateparks.com/route66.
What is summer in St. Louis without a float trip? With the Ozark
National Rivers a couple of hours south, the possibilities are endless,
regardless of one’s canoeing abilities. The Meramec, Current, Jacks
Fork, Courtois and Huzzah rivers all offer canoeing, camping and
cabins for a day’s pleasure or a few days’ adventure. Meramec
State Park Lodge and Canoe Rental, Sullivan, Mo. 1-888-637-2632
or www.meramecpark.com.
Ozark Outdoors Riverfront Resort, Leasburg, Mo. 1-800-888-0023.
Float,
camp, hike along the Meramec River at Meramec Park.
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St. Louis abounds in parks of all sizes with all manner of recreational
activities.
Off I-44 on the north Outer Road west of Highway 141 lies Lone
Elk Park, a 546-acres wildlife trail area with bison,
wild turkey, waterfowl, elk and deer. The park also serves as a
World Bird Sanctuary. Whether a small picnic or a large family outing,
this park is close, but with a wonderfully remote feel. (314) 615-7275
www.stlouisco.com/parks/LoneElk
Queeny County Park, 550 Weidman Rd., Ballwin, Mo., (636)
391-0900, features an outdoor Olympic-size swimming pool, indoor
ice skating rink, tennis courts, and creative playground. The park
has a 7.8-mile loop with cross trails bringing the mileage to 20.
These trails wind through the wooded park and around small lakes,
perfect for fishing. The Dog Museum
is also located on the park grounds. (314) 821-3647. www.co.st-louis.mo.us/parks/queeny
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Founded
in 1982, the Museum of the Dog boasts the country’s
largest collection of canine art. |
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Castlewood State Park in West
St. Louis County offers hikers and mountain bikers a chance to escape
from city life and bask in 1,802 acres of natural beauty. Climbing
the River Scene Trail to the top of the limestone bluffs towering
250 feet about the Meramec River rewards the hearty with unparallel
views. A spring-fed creek winding through a meadow at the bottom
provides a perfect place for a picnic and relaxation. 1401 Keifer
Creek Rd. (636) 227-4433. www.mostateparks.com/castlewood
Forest Park and Faust Park have
new playgrounds opening in 2006. The half-acre playground in Forest
Park has been designed for all children both able-bodied and those
with disabilities. Features include a wheelchair accessible tree
house, Braille panels and a musical pylon for the visually impaired.
Faust Park (636) 530-0076 in
Creve Coeur, Mo. will have traditional equipment along with climbing
boulders, stainless steel chute slides and a climbing wall. It will
also offer transfer platforms for wheelchair access.
 St.
Louis residents know that our city boasts some of the most well-attended
and popular attractions in the United States.
Located in the heart of the city, Forest Park is one of the largest
urban parks in the United States. At 1,293 acres, is it approximately
500 acres larger than New York’s Central Park, and attracts over
12 million visitors annually.
In 1904, The Park hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also
known as the St. Louis World’s Fair, which drew more than 20 million
visitors from around the world. This urban jewel is home to the
region’s major cultural institutions–The Saint Louis Zoo, Art Museum,
History Museum, Science Center and the Muny Opera.
Zagat Survey’s U.S. Family Travel Guide in association with Parenting
Magazine listed the Saint Louis Zoo,
www.stlzoo.org
as the #1 zoo in the United States. The Zoo also ranks among the
best zoos in both Family Fun and Travel + Leisure.
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Hippos
at the Saint Louis Zoo’s River’s Edge |
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Grant’s Farm, www.grantsfarm.com
also made the guide’s top 10 list for Best Overall Attractions in
the United States. Over 22 million people have visited this 281-acre
wild life part in its 50-year history.
The Guide ranked The Magic House,
www.magichouse.org
in Kirkwood as No. 1 among national attractions with the most child
appeal, beating out both Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Disney’s
Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Fla.
The Saint Louis Science Center (www.slsc.org),
Purina Farms (www.purinafarms.com),
City Museum (www.citymuseum.org),
the Butterfly House (www.butterflyhouse.org)
and the Missouri Botanical Garden
(www.mobot.org)
also received praise. The Association of Science and Technology
Centers also ranked SLCS as the 5th most popular Science Center
in the country.
Then, there’s the symbol of St. Louis, The St.
Louis Arch standing 630 feet tall on the west bank of
the Mississippi River. The tallest manmade monument in the United
States, this imposing steel structure is one of the most popular
attractions in the area.
With so many nationally-known attractions, one would think that
locals might take them for granted. Not so. We just know the good
times to go.
For instance, a good time to visit the Arch is Monday, Tuesday or
Wednesday, or anytime a baseball game is being played. This is also
a good time to ride to the top for a view of the tops of skyscrapers
and fields of Illinois and the baseball game!
Christy Childs, Public Relations Coordina-tor at the Zoo says fall
and winter are “great times to visit. Many animals tend to be more
active in the cooler weather including the bears, big cats, and
seal lions.”
Admission to the Children’s Zoo
and Conservation Carousel is
free from 9 to 10 a.m. in non-summer season, and 8 to 9 a.m. in
the summer season (Friday of Memorial Day weekend through Labor
Day.
Locals know that while admission to the Art
Museum is free, special exhibits, which do have a fee,
are free on Fridays. The museum is also open late (9 p.m.) on Fridays.
They also frequent one of the best shopping finds in the area, the
Museum Shop, for unique gifts. To avoid crowds, however, Tuesday
is the least busy, says Museum Media Relations Officer Kendra Gramlich.
Gramlich added that attendance was up 15 percent in 2005 from 2004.
“Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur, the special exhibit from
October 21 to January 15, 2006, was the museum’s 15th most well-attended
exhibit.”
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(left
from clockwise): The Missouri Botanical Garden;
Enchanted Caverns at the City Museum; Saint Louis
Art Museum; The Butterfly House; Snow Leopards at
the Saint Louis Zoo. |
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City Museum is housed in a giant
shoe factory warehouse, and cannot be missed with its MonstroCity,
an outdoor playground, where visitors climb through giant slinky-style
wire tunnels and plunge down multi-story slides.
Richard Callow, marketing/PR executive for City Museum says there
are a couple of “secret” ways for locals to beat the price and crowds.
“City Museum advertises a $12 admission charge, but actually charges
$8 after 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights when it’s open until
1 a.m. And a quirk in our weekend scheduling means a little-noticed
hour difference in our Saturday (9 a.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.) opening
times. The first hour on Saturday is a good chance to visit some
crowded areas with fewer people around.”
Always teeming with kids and parents, the Science Center is high
on the list for visitors. Locals know that the times to go for more
time at the exhibits are during the week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For a good peek at the butterflies, get to The
Butterfly House, located in Faust Park, when it opens
at 9 a.m., but should the day be cloudy, don’t expect much action.
Butterflies love the sun!
Logan Aguirre, director of marketing at The
Magic House, says weekday afternoons are the best time
to visit. “On weekends, Sunday is the best day, and during the summer,
Tuesday is best.”
Admission is free to St. Louis City and County residents to the
Missouri Botanical Garden on
Wednesdays and Saturdays before noon. The grounds open two hours
earlier (7 a.m. rather than 9 a.m.) for early morning walking. The
Whitaker Music Festival, held on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. during the
summer, is also free. And for a limited time, through October 31,
discover colorful plant-like glass-blown sculptures by Chihuly.
Daily 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursdays.
Want to see kids smile? Visit Purina Farms
and let them get acquainted with REAL farm animals. Besides the
petting area, there are wagon rides, a play area and maze, and animal
demonstrations. Gray Summit, 10 miles west of Six Flags St. Louis
on Highway MM. (314) 982-3232; www.purina.com.
Six Flags moves into its new
season with new attractions, the Bugs Bunny National Park for little
ones and their parents, and the Superman “Tower of Power,” for those
wanting to free-fall 23 stories! Admission also included Hurricane
Harbor Water Park. (636) 938-4800, www.sixflags.com.
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Raging Rivers |
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For another water park adventure, cross over to Illinois to Raging
Rivers with its giant wave pool, flumes and all manner
of interactive water activities. (618) 786-2345, www.ragingrivers.com.
 What
to do? Where to go? Take a look and pick accordingly.
Starting with Downtown, get a workout and enjoy “Ole’ Man River,”
while biking with friends in a cycle built for four–or six! Gateway
Arch Bike Rentals provides canopied “Quad Cycles” to
pedal up and down Lenor K. Sullivan Boulevard. (877) 982-1410 or
www.gatewayarch.com
View the city sights by boarding a paddle wheeler, the Tom Sawyer
or the Becky Thatcher and stepping back in time to the era of Mark
Twain. Day and evening dinner cruises available. 800 North First
St., Mo.; (314) 621-4040
Experience downtown after dark with a romantic horse-drawn carriage
ride through the downtown streets down to Laclede’s Landing and
the riverfront. Laclede’s Landing. St.
Louis Carriage Company Carriages (314) 621-3334; Brookdale
Farms (636) 938-1005
While downtown, detour to Soulard Market,
the oldest outdoor market west of the Mississippi. A sensory mélange
of sights, sounds and smells, the market never ceases to entertain
with all that it has to offer from vegetables to fresh baked goods
to live chickens. A true experience.
For an easy way to “zip to” most of the immediate region’s attractions,
get an all day pass on the MetroBus
and MetroLink system for $4.25
and “Zip2 Where the Fun is.” It’s also a snap to see all the Forest
Park attractions with the Forest Park Circulator, three busses that
link visitors with the Park and the Forest Park MetroLink Station.
A day pass is $2 or it can be incorporated with the Zip2 pass. www.metrostlouis.org
For those who would rather tour Forest Park via bicycles, City Cycling
Tours provides guided, leisurely paced tours, each spotlighting
historical and architectural attractions of the park. www.citycyclingtours.com
Have a picnic at the Turtle Playground,
across Highway 40 from Forest Park on Oakland Avenue. Climb on giant
turtles and eggs, and then have lunch in the coiled serpent!
The Missouri Botanical Garden just opened kid-friendly attraction,
the Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden
where kids can climb a tree house, play in a cave and explore an
old-fashioned village.
What better way to cool off on those hot summer days than to take
to the water and sail. Creve Coeur Lake
not only offers a large, windswept lake close to home, but a sizeable
biking/walking/running/skateboarding trail as well. About an hour
east is Carlyle Lake in Carlyle, Ill., long a favorite of St. Louis
sailors.
Kids of all ages love planes, trains and automobiles, and all three,
plus trolleys and busses, can be found at the Museum
of Transportation, 3015 Barrett Station Rd., St. Louis,
MO, 63122, (314) 965-7998 www.museumoftransport.org
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Visit
the Museum of Transportation to learn about planes,
trains, automobiles and more. |
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For an up close and personal experience with a train, drive to Glencoe,
Mo. and board the Wabash, Frisco
and Pacific Railroad for a two-mile
ride along the Meramec River on a 12-gauge live Steam Railroad.
(636) 587-3538; www.wfprr.com
Want a bigger ride? Board Amtrak
at the historic Missouri Pacific Station at 110 Argonne St. in Kirkwood,
Mo. and head to Washington, Mo. for a day in an historical river
town. Picnic at the James W. Rennick Riverfront Park, and then browse
the shops in Downtown Washington. Finish off with a piece of “mile-high
pie” at Cowen’s Restaurant, Washington’s oldest restaurant. www.amtrak.com
Returning to Kirkwood, stop at the Kirkwood
Farmer’s Market just steps from the train station on
Argonne for farm fresh produce, eats, flowers, and lots of surprises.
For more “quaint downtown shopping,” spend a day in Webster
Groves where the old and new meet in a mix of unique
shops and restaurants.
No summer is complete without a visit to a few of THE places to
go and indulge such as the Crown Candy
Kitchen (314) 621-9650, 1401 St. Louis, for homemade
candy, malts, and sundaes (pronounced sun-duh!). A long line appears
for lunch about 11 a.m., so plan accordingly. Ted
Drewes, (314) 481-2652, 6726 Chippewa on Old Route 66
for frozen custard, concretes remains a perennial favorite. And
there’s always a crowd at Carl’s Drive Inn
at 9033 Manchester Rd., (314) 961-9652, in Rock Hill for classic
burgers and root beer floats.
Cross the Missouri River and explore the Missouri
Weinstrasse (wine road) also known as Highway 94. Most
of the towns boast a German influence and many have either buildings
or entire districts on the National Historic Register. Antique shops,
museums, wineries, nurseries, so much to do! Relax on the patio
of any of the several wineries and drink in the beautiful rolling
hills of Missouri Wine Country.
For more history, turn west on Highway F at Defiance and go about
five miles to Boonesfield Village.
Besides the 200-year old Daniel Boone Home, the village has grown
to over a dozen 19th century structures including a school house
and chapel. (636) 798-2005. www.lindenwood.edu/boone
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Monks
Mound of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
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Explore the east side of the Mississippi and all it has to offer
beginning with the Cahokia Mounds State
Historic Site. Climb the steps and go to the top of Monk’s
Mound, over 100 feet tall, 1000 feet long and 800 feet wide, larger
at its base than the Great Pyramid of Giza. Once up there, visitors
get a spectacular view of St. Louis and the Arch. 30 Ramey St. Collinsville,
Ill. (618) 346-5160. www.cahokiamounds.com
Want to relive those hot summer nights at the drive-in? Pack up
the kiddies and go to the Skyview Drive-In,
Belleville, Ill. (618) 233-4400. A fixture since 1949, it has modernized
a bit, listeners can tune in on their own car stereos, but lawn
chairs in front of the car are still seen! www.skyview-drive-in.com
Follow the smell of budding fruit to the Eckert’s
Orchards in Belleville, Ill., Millstadt, Ill., and Grafton,
Ill. Pick your own peaches, apples, berries, and pumpkins, depending
on the season. Then hit the country stores, restaurants, wagon rides
and kids’ activities-something for everyone. (618) 233-0513, www.eckerts.com
If it’s true that “getting there is half the fun,” a great way to
get to the orchards is by ferry. The Kampsville
Ferry (618-653-4518) and Brussels
Ferry (618-786-3636) cross the Illinois River, while
the Golden Eagle and Winfield Ferries
(618-396-2535) cross the Mississippi.
Fix your hunger pangs at Fast Eddy’s
in Alton, Ill. (618) 462-5532. Low, low prices for burgers, kabobs
and shrimp by the pound. A local watering hole that has attracted
region-wide attention. Prepare for lines.
And last, but certainly not least, the ever-entertaining, always
popular St. Louis Cardinal Baseball Team
has moved into its new digs downtown. This season promises to be
one of the most exciting ever, so call (314) 345-9600 or visit www.stlcardinals.com
for schedules and ticket information. |
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