castlewood state park

Great place to bring your kids and spend an afternoon. Lovely space, beautiful landscape and tons of areas to hike. Beautiful area to spend your day.

I live fairly close to Castlewood and I do come here often, sometimes for an afternoon walk and sometimes for the many trails. The higher elevation trails have great views. There are short ~1.5 miles to longer ~6-7 mile trails. Overall a great place to go

We enjoy coming here because it's close to home. Only negative for visitors is they do not offer camping. That would be a huge draw for people.

my husband and I go here as much as possible since we love to walk the trails and just be with one another and nature. there are also bike trails here so everyone can enjoy. have lived in Ballwin for 36yrs. and have always had a great time here. enjoy.

It's a great place to walk your dog along the river. If you like to hike there is plenty of that to do too! It's a beautiful park. Please keep it that way by picking up after yourself. :) The cliffs at the top of the hike are worth the walk!

We accessed the park from Keifer Creek Road on a beautiful December day. The River Scene trail has great views from the top off the bluffs. Start hiking on the opposite side of the main road from the first picnic shelters you see. Don't drive further, because you don't want to do the trail from the other end. There is parking on either side of the road. In the winter, the right side has the only open bathroom. Make sure you take the River Scene trail just across from the picnic area parking, as the Lone Wolf trail leaves from near here too. You should start out headed uphill and switchback to the top of the bluffs. Then it's a nice hike along the top to the west. When you get to the end of the bluffs, you'll find a nice set of stairs to take you down to the lower loop back. This is why you don't want to start on the other end, because you'll have to walk up all those stairs over half way into your walk.

http://mostateparks.com/park/castlewood-state-parkThis Missouri State park has an interesting history, beginning with the Missouri Pacific Railroad providing access to the area through the Meramec River valley. This section of the river became a place to cool off on weekends in the early 1900’s, with resorts built to accommodate as many as 10,000 visitors a weekend. Here’s the history from the Missouri Park Service: http://mostateparks.com/page/54950/general-information.Today the park is a popular spot for hiking and biking, either on the flat land or on the ridge that follows the Meramec River which provides great views and challenging hiking and cycling opportunities. There is easy access to the river with wide sandy beaches and a boat launching site. Swimming can be risky; the Meramec river is known for posing hidden dangers because of its often strong undertow and uneven terrain, resulting in 10-12 drowning’s per year in the St Louis area.

I live less than 2 miles away from Castlewood. I regularly go there after work and on the weekends to mountain bike, hike and trail run. There are tons of views to be had within the park. It can be very busy on the weekends making it difficult to find a parking spot so keep that in mind.

long strips of park sites with picnic areas, volleyball courts, etc. Loved dipping our toes in the Meramac River. Good hiking trail along the riverfront. Peaceful. Some trash along the ground, but fairly clean. Enjoyed our afternoon there.

it is a very nice park not a lot of frills but a lot of hiking trails. it is getting to be a lot more people each year but the scenery is beautiful. the river is sooo peaceful.

Walked the bluffs, down the wooden stairs/walkways, under the train tracks, along the meadow beside the train tracks (shaded), and then back to the roadway, under the train tracks again, and back to the parking lot. Not too stressful, several joggers and (mountain) bikers show that a more vigorous exercise can be had by simply picking up the pace.The walk along the train tracks was peaceful and shaded, so the first walk/hike of the spring or fall is perfect for this locale. Just be careful up on the bluffs, several people have worn short trails to the cliff edges and lookouts (likely for an adventurous private picnic spot), but there are several benches and places with railings for a good view as well.The highlight is the bluff trail, which you can get to at either end, hike to the stairs and back if you want just a quick/short sightseeing walk/hike under 30 minutes. Catching a train go by is a highlight and the views are among the best in the county.

I've been coming to castlewood since I was a kid. Plenty of trails, areas to picnic, and beautiful scenic bluffs overlooking the river.

We just visited again the lovely trails and bluff views at this excellent park. A lovely place to picnic, kayak and take your family. After a steep walk , bikers pushed their mountain bikes up, you achieve a beautiful view of the valley and Meramec River. Right at the parking areas by the river entry there is a lovely sand beach, not suggested to ever swim here because of the current; we walked it for sometime and watched families enjoying the warm Indian Summer day with their children and dogs. We missed the peak time for the turning of the leaves but was happy regardless. We will go back to find more trails and kite fly.

A great park to walk the trails and see great views of the river and bluffs. The park is usually busy. Lots of dogs on the trails. We love coming to CastleWood.

This is a Great state park that is im the Metro St. Louis area. The trails are fantastic, the water features are wonderful and the views are awesome! We will be going back in the fall for when the leaves change colors.