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8920 U.S. Hwy. 67 North,
Bonne Terre
,
MO
63628
(573) 358-2173
On
U.S. Hwy.
67 in
St. Francois
County
N37.57532, W-90.32006
Review by Lalita Creighton
The
Pike Run trail at
St. Francois
State Park
is the only trail open to equestrian use. The trail head is fairly
small with a couple of hitching posts, a picnic table, and a trash can.
There is no water at this trailhead. There is water in other areas
of the park, but horses are not allowed. The Pike Run trail is a
double-loop with a short connector between them, and a short connector
leading from the parking lot to the south loop. The north loop has
more creek crossings, one steep hill, and lots of rock. One of the
creek crossings is very slippery as the trail cuts diagonally across a bed
of wet shale. The south loop, although longer, is less technically
challenging except for the staircase of rock steps you have to go up at
the end where it joins back up with the connector trail to the parking
lot. (This is written assuming you follow the south loop
counter-clockwise and don't go down the stair steps.) Overall the
trail is very pretty. Most of the trail is single-track, but in one
area on the north loop it follows an old logging road for a while.
It is clearly marked when the trail turns away from the road. There
is also a trail that leads from the south loop to the backpack camp which
is not open to equestrian use. Note that on the north loop, the
trail route is significantly different than the map that is currently on
the State Park website or in their brochure.
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