Places to Go: Rockwoods Reservation

Rockwoods Reservation

Area offers visitors hiking, climbing options

If you’ve been pacing the floor and climbing the walls indoors this fall, Rockwoods Reservation can provide a better outlet for your pacing and climbing urges.

Located on 1,880 acres in southwest St. Louis County, Rockwoods Reservation has six named trails totaling nearly 13 miles of mixed surface (asphalt, chat, and natural) routes that wind through the area’s mostly wooded hills, making it a destination for St. Louis residents wanting to spend time outdoors, according to Gateway District Supervisor Raenhard Wesselschmidt, who oversees the area.

“It’s a very popular hiking area all year long and has been ranked as having some of the top hiking trails in the St. Louis area,” Raenhard said.

Two of the trails — Green Rock and Hamilton-Carr — connect to an additional 16 miles of trails beyond Rockwoods Reservation.

Rock climbers will find new opportunities at the recently opened climbing area that takes advantage of an abandoned quarry on the property, he said.

“It’s geared more toward that intermediate-type climber,” Raenhard said of the area, developed by MDC partner Beta Fund, an organization that supports rock climbing in the Midwest. “It’s a great opportunity for people to get out and do some outdoor climbing close by in the St. Louis area.”

Rockwoods Reservation consists of 1,880.8 acres in St. Louis County. In Wildwood from Highway 100, take Highway 109 south for 2 miles, then Woods Avenue west 50 yards, and Glencoe Road north to Rockwoods Reservation.