Hickory Canyons Natural Area, Hawn State Park, and Pickle Springs Natural Area

A dry forecast and a rare weekend day with no games on the calendar is reason to celebrate. In our house, it’s also an excuse to head out for a hike! We have had a few days of rain in the area so I thought that it might be a good time to hit up a couple areas with great wet weather creeks and waterfalls. So Billy, Ben and I set out early afternoon for St. Genevieve County for three short hikes.

We started our day at Hickory Canyons Natural Area, a place where I had never been before. There is a nice gravel parking lot on the side of Sprott Rd. A 1 mile trail loop runs on the west side of the road, and a 1/2 mile out and back trail runs on the east side. We started out taking the 1 mile trail, which began simply enough in a typical upland forest of maple, oak, and hickory, with a smattering of Shortleaf Pines to mix it up. I was particularly drawn the the thousands of pine seedlings growing throughout the forest floor. There were also plenty of limestone boulders and outcroppings to make things interesting.

The earthen trail surface was easy to follow and certainly dry enough to walk on even with the wet weather. The trail, traveling clockwise, meanders downhill and eventually crosses a rather beautiful creek, I believe it is called Hickory Creek. We surprised a Great Blue Heron hunting for shiners, and he surprised us as the overhead canopy was rather dense for such a large bird.  Shortly after cutting back towards the road, a side trail leads you towards the gut of a large canyon that was spectacular today as water fell in a steady stream from the highest ledge, striking lower rocks all along the way.  The sound of water running over rocks is definitely one of God’s gifts that I never tire of.

Back on the main trail, we climbed back up hill where there is a stairway that provides an opposing view to the one above.  There is a also a nice flat rock leaning out over the edge a bit that provides another nice vantage point this time of year, though I’m sure will obstruct the view of the cliffs once the leaves come out.  Hickory Canyons NA is home to an impressive variety of plants, many not found in other areas of Missouri, so I hope to return in warmer months when the plants break dormancy.  On this day we stood on the ledge and watched the tree top birds at eye level, and had some great looks at Pine Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Eastern Phoebe.

We finished out the trail with an easy return to the parking lot, then after debating for a minute, hopped onto the trail leading to the East.  I am so glad that we didn’t get in too much of a hurry and skip this 1/2 mile out and back trail.  It appears that the trail is designed to go to the left and down once leaving the parking area, but we inadvertently followed the trail to the right. This incorrect turn provided a spectacular view of Box Canyon from above, but please be cautious of the cliff and damage to the area caused by wandering off-trail.

After working our way below onto the proper trail, it leads right up next to a beautiful wet weather waterfall.  We were a day late on this for the big show, as the falls were really more of a trickle at this point but still a worthy spot nonetheless.

Time to keep moving so we hustled our way back up to the trailhead in order to make it to our next destination, one of my Missouri favorites, Hawn State Park.

We took the short drive up the road to Hawn State Park, stopping at the trailhead for the Pickle Creek Loop.  This trail is advertised as a 1.3 mile loop where you cross the wooden bridge and take the Whispering Pines Trail for about .7 miles before crossing the creek and heading back to trailhead via the other side of the creek.  On this day, we just stayed on the right side of the creek and walked out to where the trail meets the Whispering Pines Trail and walked back along the same route.  Pickle Creek is beautiful, clear, fast moving, and very rocky.  With the pines filling up the nearby woods, if you stand in the creek and look upstream you might think you are in Colorado.

The trailhead parking lot is divided into two lots, and there are two pit toilets available.  There is a large shelter and picnic area nestled under some impressive Short-leaf Pines, making it a beautiful day use area.  In the summer this can be a very busy place, but today we essentially had it to ourselves.  They had recently completed a controlled burn in the area, so the understory along most of the trail had been burned allowing for long distance viewing through the woods. Not as scenic as it usually is, but the Juncos and other winter birds seemed to enjoy hunting for seeds in the scorched earth.  We were near water, so of course Billy had to carry along his fishing pole and throw his marabou jig into the current to see what he could hook into.

He quickly managed to catch one of several Striped Shiners, as well as a few Creek Chubs, Pumpkinseeds, and a Spotted Bass in just a few minutes time.  No size to any of them, of course, but still enjoyable.

There are several holes in the creek that are absolutely perfect for cooling off in once the summer heat hits.  It is popular with campers, and suitable for children old enough to navigate the rocky trail upstream.  One of the best lies just before a large sheet of limestone that forms a beautiful bowl, with water flowing at various depths and the stone forming a perfect chair to sit on and dunk your feet.  The temperatures today wouldn’t allow for this activity, but the visit made me long for the return of summer.

We still had one stop in mind, so we hustled back to the trailhead to get on the road.  I can’t say it enough, but a visit to Hawn State Park is worth your time.  Whispering Pines Trail is a fantastic day hike or even overnight trail if so inclined.  I will write a separate blog post for that one alone next time I do it.  The campgrounds are great for family camping, and the towns of Farmington and St. Genevieve are close enough if you want to do some shopping, visit wineries, or find a nice restaurant.  For birders and plant enthusiasts, the park offers some opportunities fairly unique to the St. Louis area.

On to our third and final stop for the day, the remarkable Pickle Springs Natural Area.  Again, this was just another short 15 minute drive down Highway 32 to a nice and adequately sized gravel parking lot at the trailhead.  This loop trail 1.9 miles and signed for counter-clockwise traffic.  The trail is blazed in white, but I will say that even though there are many trees marked, the trail gets confusing some times because many people seem to wander off trail around the rock formations.  Still its hard to get really lost and there is a lot to see.

The first formation that you come to is called “The Slot”.  There is a narrow path that runs between 2 large sandstone overhangs.  You really feel like you are in another place wandering through the gap, and it is certainly a unique experience.

Next in line is the “Double Arch”.  When you stop and look at it, I find it amazing that the large stone is still standing.  The boys found it very impressive and enjoyed checking it out from all sides.

The earthen trail continues down hill and over few bridges where it crosses a smaller Pickle Creek and a few other wet weather creeks.  The trail passes through Spirit Canyon at the base of Owl’s Den Bluff, a worthwhile stop especially on a hot summer day, before converging on Dome Rock.  This large sandstone formation offers distant views of the neighboring forest and is a popular spot for picnics and photos.  For me, this location is “worth the price of admission”, as my dad would say.  We took a few obligatory photographs and moved on, with the view from below looking up at the dome rock just as impressive in my opinion.

From there, we hustled up hill past the aptly named Rockpile Canyon and Piney Glade back to the parking lot.  Everyone was in good spirits and we had a fantastic day in the MO-Outdoors.  While the boys slept in the hour long car ride back home, I reflected on the day and was thankful for the opportunity to explore these unique wilderness areas so close to home.  I hope you all get the chance to visit each of these areas some time soon.  All are short hikes and probably suitable for kids of all ages with some caution due to the cliffs with some rocky areas to navigate in the trail surface.  Thanks for reading.

For the birders, we didn’t have too bad a day on the trail finding Pine Warblers, Fox Sparrow, both kinglets, Great Blue Heron, Juncos, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Turkey Vultures, Eastern Phoebes, Chickadees, Titmice, Mourning Dove, Crows, Carolina Wrens, Cardinals, and probably a few others.  Looking forward to spring migration!