Outdoor activites in St Louis (St. Louis, St. Charles: safety, bars, beach)

[knrstz]

How are the outdoor activites in the city? Are there lots of bike trails? Are most drivers used to sharing the road? What about outdoor hiking? It's been a while since I've been to St Louis and I remember it being pretty hilly. How close is the city to good hilly hiking? Also, what all is within an 1 or 2 drive for scenic activities? Thanks.

[flynavyj]

You can find pretty much anything you want except mountains and oceans in St. Louis. There are biking opportunities within the city limits, and plenty more in the County. There's a trail directly by the river, known as the riverfront trail. You'll also have numerous trails at most of the city parks, including Forest Park, not to mention the county parks as well. City streets seem to be very biker friendly, county streets should be fine too, you'd just have to practice the same safety precautions you should on a bicycle in any metropolitan area.

As to other activities, we've got great hiking options in many of the county parks. Castlewood Park comes to mind, but there are numerous others too. You can also do sailing at Creve Coeur Lake, or Carlyle Lake in Illinois. Pere Marquette State park north of Alton is an excellent place to get out and hike, enjoy nature, and watch the bald eagles...it's especially gorgeous in the spring/fall! And if you ride motorbikes, or have a convertible it's a destination worth having. If you're in the mood for a bike ride, I pass numerous riders on the river road from Alton towards Grafton whenever i'm riding up towards Pere Marquette, so you could easily bike it as well.

Castlewood park has some cool little beach areas on the banks of the Meremac. During the hot summer days, you'll find TONS of folks out there wading in the river, swimming to sand-bars, or sunbathing on the beach. The further West and Southwest you go from St. Louis the more hilly the land becomes, and it really becomes picturesque. You can easily spend a day at the wineries in Augusta, MO (South of St. Charles) just enjoying the scenery with a bottle of Merlot.

In all honesty, if you want to be outside in St. Louis, and doing things it's totally possible...you won't even need your 2 hour limitation for things to do. I'd be willing to say if you don't leave from downtown at rush hour, you can probably be to the far reaches of the county within 30 minutes and hike to your hearts content!

[1greatcity]

Check out these links for some ideas:

Parks & Outdoor Activities in St. Louis
Bike Trails in the Greater St. Louis area (http://stlbiking.com/Menu_Trails.htm - broken link)
St. Louis Area Hiking - Hikes

[DinsdalePirahna]

http://www.stlouisrowingclub.com/

[BoomBoxing]

Check out Bike St. Louis - St. Louis MO - offering FREE information and maps to bike riders in the St. Louis Missouri area. for a map of bike lanes, trails, and prefered routes in the city and inner St. Louis county.