Greensfelder Park

St. Louis was blessed with another balmy 60 degree day with a cold front quickly on its way bringing with it freezing rain over night, so I figured I better race off and get one more short Trail completed on my list of 60 hikes.  So after work I decided on Mustang Trail at Greensfelder Park in Glencoe, located in far west St. Louis County.  Generally speaking, I am a huge fan of this park as it is very rugged, with steep hills and typically fairly difficult trails.  The area is all woods, with many very large 30” plus dbh trees throughout the park.   

Mustang Trail did not let me down.  The sign at the trailhead calls it a 1.3 mile loop, but with the connector it is really a 1.7 mile hike.  Much like the other trails in the park, this trail begins on the top of a ridge then very quickly plummets down hill into a deep valley where the trail follows and crosses a wet weather creek several times.  Of course eventually you must come back up, and the trail seems to go almost straight up wasting no time with switchbacks.  You can count on a good cardio workout if you are taking this one on.

 

Also like most of the trails in the park, the surface is earthen but full of rock.  The trail is used frequently by horses and occasionally by bikers, so be sure to share the trail and be alert.  On this winter day I again pretty much had the whole park to myself and did not see a another soul.  I did see some Whitetail deer and many of the expected winter birds, as well as an abundance of gray squirrels.  I also caught up with my first Red-headed woodpecker of 2018 which was a bonus.  I would recommend this trail as a great spot for someone looking for an after work hike or even a long lunch break.  Keep in mind that the trail crosses the wet weather creek in the bottom so wear appropriate footwear during after rain events.  Absolutely two thumbs up for this one.

 

For more information on St. Louis County Parks trails, check this out:

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is your favorite trail at Greensfelder?  I like the Green Rock Trail myself due to its length and difficulty, but that trail deserves its own blog post which will come later in the spring.

For you birders, pretty typical day today with Chickadees, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Robins, Starlings, Carolina Wren, and a flock of noisy Bluejays.

By PJ McCaslin