A beautiful, secluded, old-growth forest among towering hills that border the Missouri River valley just outside of Wild Wood.

Highlights

  • The Fiddle Creek Loop is a 1.9 mile, hard-packed dirt, loop trail that starts along a ridge-line with dramatic drops on both sides and then loops down and through a valley before climbing back up to the ridge.
  • Lots of large old growth trees over 200 years old on land that was once owned by the Missouri Botanical Garden
  • A remote trail that is not well known so it is less crowded than many other trails in the area
  • A great winter hike with views over valleys all around that I suspect will be harder to appreciate when foliage comes in.
  • A very scenic and hilly area with lots of towering steep hills all around but the trail slope is generally very gradual.
  • Trail was very well maintained with frequent and obvious markings and signage. Several large trees were very recently cleared with chain saws when we were there.

Lowlights

  • Parking lot is quite small. Only fits a few cars but my impression is you generally shouldn’t have problems getting a spot.
  • I suspect the large creek bed might not be cross-able in wetter times of Spring or after big rains. But it’d probably be an exciting and very beautiful site to see.
  • The starting spot is a bit confusing. From the parking lot, you actually want to take the wide-ish gravel road behind the gate rather than the single track that starts where the map is posted.
  • No dogs allowed.

Getting There

A 35 minute drive from University City. Out 100 (aka Manchester) West of Clarkson just outside of Wildwood's borders. Google will get you there accurately.

Links

Tags

  • After a big climb out of the valley
  • A massive dry creek bed -I’m assuming this is Fiddle Creek
  • The white bark of a sycamore pops in the background
  • Was fascinated by the color layers here
  • 3 of my usual hiking companions in blue
  • The parking lot is quite small but it is rarely crowded

Wet Weather Waterfalls and Streams

I enjoyed this area so much the first time I visited that I decided I needed to go back 7 days later on a day when there had been a steady rain all day (along with some snow melt from earlier in the week). Missouri doesn’t have a lot of waterfalls that flow year round but there are many beautiful wet-weather waterfalls. Sometimes, you have to be willing to deal with a bit of rain and mud to get the best views. Totally worth it!

  • Unsurprisingly, it was a bit muddy in spots after a full day of rain in Winter.