Edgar M. Queeny Park

I found myself wrapping up my last appointment for the day in Ballwin right across the road from Edgar M. Queeny Park, a suburban park in the St. Louis County Parks system.  I had heard about a 4.1 mile loop trail around the perimeter of the park, and figured I would try it today and save me an after-dinner trip to the gym.  My expectation were pretty low as I know that this is a busy park full of amenities and you know I generally like to be where things are too busy.

I quickly found the trailhead, a giant asphalt parking lot on the western edge.  The Hawk Ridge Trail, really more of a road, begins as  an asphalt surface wide enough for park vehicles.  I began walking clockwise and almost immediately met up with a group of 5-6 deer who apparently are rather used to people as they walked right next to me.  The trail led me through an open forest full of oaks, maples, hickories, and hackberries.  The birds were plentiful – nothing new but the birdsong was loud and constant, a very welcome sound signaling the end of winter.  After a short journey through the woods, the trail passed through a large pasture with obstacles for horses to jump over and run around/through.  Apparently the park is popular with the equestrian crowd.  Then the trail winds through a renovated prairie area before going into the woods again.

And this is how it went, winding around through some gentle hills alternating between pasture, woodland, prairie, a few small ponds, and several wet weather creeks, as well as some beautiful homes and park buildings.  The trail surface changed from asphalt to gravel and back to asphalt while remaining very wide and roomy.  There were some other walkers, runners, and bicyclists using the trail this late afternoon.  The trail is very well-signed and there are a few other side trails for those looker for a shorter walk or to mix it up.  As mentioned, bird activity was high, including a large gobbler, and scattered groups of deer were seen throughout the park.  A Red-tailed Hawk as well as a Red-shouldered Hawk hunted nearby providing credibility to the trail’s name.

St. Louis County Parks should be commended for their efforts providing another nice trail system in a very busy park in a busy part of town.  While not the typical trail that I enjoy, Hawk Ridge Trail provided a wonderful opportunity to get out and enjoy some scenery and wildlife on a day I otherwise would have missed out.

For more information on the park, go to:

https://www.stlouisco.com/parksandrecreation/trails/queenytrails

Thanks for reading!

For the birders among us, saw mainly the usual winter birds today but they were in high numbers.  Countless Robins, Chickadees, Titmice, and White-throated Sparrows.  Also good numbers of Bluebirds, Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Canada Geese.  Others included Red-wing Blackbird, Common Grackle, Mallard, Pied-billed Grebe, Wild Turkey, White-breasted Nutchatch, Downy Woodpecker, Juncos, Eastern Bluebirds, Mourning Dove, Crow, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, and Song Sparrow.