December 29, 2018
The 1000 Steps Trail in Washington State Park is worth a visit.
I finally made a hiking trip to Washington State Park near De Soto, MO on a cold Saturday afternoon. I had been to the park many times, usually fishing in the Big River or driving through for a look at the fall colors. But somehow I had never taken the time to hike any of the popular trails. Today was the day.
My solo hike began at the trailhead for the 1000 Steps Trail located across the parking lot from the Thunderbird Lodge. The rocky trail is a 1.5 mile loop blazed in yellow. The 1000 Step Trail begins easy enough, just inside a woodline adjoining a large mowed field in the Big River valley. However, as soon as it begins climbing the bluff the reason behind the name is obvious. Large stepping stones line the trail, a product of the Civilian Conservation Corps from sometime in the 1930’s.
About 3/4 of the way up the bluff, I found the overlook shelter made by the CCC out of many of the same stones. This was a great place to snap a few photos and take a look over the vast valley. The quaint shelter was very well made and I look forward to going back to it another day. Continuing on the trail, I found myself on top of the hill near one of the park entrances. In season this would also be a nice spot for a picnic and restrooms are available (closed in winter). Very quickly though the trail returns to nature on the downhill slide passing through the Washington State Park Hardwood Natural Area. The beautiful and large oaks, hickories, and maples are abundant. I’m told that this is also a beautiful hike for spring wildflowers, I guess I will have to see for myself someday.
Once I reached the bottom of the bluff and the trail flattened out, I decided to roam off trail and wander down along the bank of the Big River. I have had much success fishing this river, and in the warmer months this stretch in Washington State Park is packed full of people swimming and picnicking. Today though I was the only one around. I found a nice gravel bar to sit and eat my lunch before working back to the trailhead.
Back at the Thunderbird Lodge, I started hiking the Opossum Track Trail. This is a 2.5 mile loop that begins from essentially the same trailhead. I walked the trail counter-clockwise, and soon found myself on the spectacular overlook above the valley. The only drawback was that I worked pretty hard to get there, and it adjoins a large parking lot where anyone can drive right to it and see the same view. Maybe I was doing it wrong but I’d like to disagree.
The trail continues through a cedar thicket and eventually a few decent sized glades. The cedars were inundated by robins gorging on berries, providing some excitement. However, the next mile or more of the trail seemed to run parallel to a park road and next to and through the large campground and other day use facilities. Just when you think you are heading back into the woods you find that you are actually just walking a power line cutout. The noise and closeness to civilization was certainly a drawback to the experience.
Feeling a bit disappointed by the trail, I found myself in the bottoms along a shallow, slow moving creek. It was here I stumbled upon my prize for the day, a sudden apparent haven for frost flowers! I had not seen a frost flower for a year or two despite the many miles put in during the winter. Then all of the sudden there were a hundred or more, seemingly everywhere along the creek bottom. I excitedly took a few photos, probably rushing too quickly out of some strange fear that they would suddenly vanish. As I moved along, they stretched for 100-200 yards by the trail until suddenly they were out of sight and behind me.
I will certainly return to Washington State Park many times in the future. No doubt I will hike the 1000 Steps Trail again, and maybe go for the longer Rockywood Trail for an easy overnighter. However, while I am thankful for the mess of frost flowers, I doubt I will revisit the Opossum Track Trail. But maybe I should remember the blaze I saw along the way, where someone with a sharpie wrote “Time spent amongst the trees is never wasted”.
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