Community Corner

West County Home to the Nation's "Top Trails"

The state of Missouri has been named the "Best Trails State" by the national non-profit organization American Trails for its state parks and conservation areas, several of which are located in the area.

This article was written by Patch Editor Frank Johnson.

It probably comes as no surprise to most Ballwin and Ellisville residents that Missouri has been named the “Best Trails State” by the national non-profit organization American Trails.

The group singled out the state’s extensive, well-managed and well-funded network of trails across the state and the varied of terrain that the winding paths feature while also noting its numerous historical significant trails.

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This abundantly clear in the West County, which is home to Castlewood State Park, plus two other nearby state parks (Edmund Babler Memorial State Park and Route 66 State Park), one conservation area (Rockwoods Reservation) and one county park (Greensfelder County Park).

These areas aren’t small pieces of preserved land, either, but rather large, sprawling natural areas that are home to miles and miles of trails. 

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All total, the Missouri State Park system offers almost 1,000 miles of managed trails across 87 state parks and historic sites while the Missouri Department of Conservation takes care of 600 miles of trails over 800,000 acres of conservation areas.


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