Get Outside in October

Nature Gets Colorful

Fall color peaks around mid-October for most of the state. It’s a great time to get outside and enjoy the beauty of sugar maples, sweet gums, dogwoods, white oaks, and more. But while you are on your fall hike admiring the tree canopies, be sure to look down and appreciate the colors also coming from fall flowers. These flowers provide late-season nectar for pollinators and hummingbirds as they fuel up for their long journeys south. Some flowers to look for include asters, cardinal flower, showy partridge pea, great blue lobelia, native goldenrods, rough blazing star, and more.

Nature Gets Halloween Ready

October is the month for Halloween, and Missouri outdoors is ready. You may come across jack-o’-lantern mushrooms while you are hiking in the woods. These mushrooms form showy orange clusters at the bases of trees. These are poisonous, so just enjoy them for their looks and their timely name. If you are in the woods looking for edible mushrooms, we suggest hen of the woods. For more information, consult A Guide to Missouri’s Edibe and Poisonous Mushrooms at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZNf.

Nature Gets Ripe

If you enjoy working with Missouri’s bounty in the kitchen, this is your month. Pawpaws and persimmons are both ripe. Pawpaw trees are increasingly popular for native landscaping and fruit trees and have become one of the top choices as edible native trees. The sweet fruit is eaten 

raw or baked. Persimmons are best when they’ve gotten mushy, but you must find them before raccoons, squirrels, and opossums. For recipe ideas, visit short.mdc.mo.gov/4mN.

Nature Gets Loud

Fall has a soundtrack and it’s led by a choir of chirping field and house crickets and several species of katydids. Field and house crickets set the mood for a quiet autumn evening while common true katydids, singing high in the treetops, join in the chorus until cool weather causes them to drop to the ground where they join other species of katydids. They’ll sing until the first frost. Get out, enjoy a campfire, and listen to the cool sounds of fall.

Hiking: Where Can I Backpack?

Wednesday, Oct. 9 • 12–12:30 p.m.

Online only.

Registration required by Oct. 8. To register, call 888-283-0364 or visit short.mdc.mo.gov/4bn.

All ages

Fall is coming and with the cooler weather and leaves beginning to change color, now is a great time to get out and hike. Our conservation areas have miles of hiking trails, and we will discuss areas throughout the state where you can hike and see our wonderful outdoors.

Fall Frolic

Sunday, Oct. 20 • 1–5 p.m.

Tower Grove Park, Roman Pavilion

4378 Northwest Drive, St. Louis, MO 63110

Registration not required. For more information, visit short.mdc.mo.gov/4b7.

All ages

Have you ever taken a stroll through Tower Grove Park and an animal passes by unexpectedly — on the ground, in a tree, or up in the sky? Did you know that for a park in the city, Tower Grove Park hosts a wide variety of urban wildlife, just within the 289-acres of land?

Join MDC and Tower Grove Park to discover all the flora and fauna that call the park home through autumn-centric activity stations and wildlife encounters. Begin at the Information/Passport Station located in front of the fountain to pick up your passport and a map of the event. Visit the interactive activity stations from various organizations from around St. Louis to learn fun information about plants, animals, and ways to explore nature in our urban areas. We’ll have photo ops with folks in animal costumes, live music, campfire with s’mores and other snacks, face painting, and more.

Find more events in your area at mdc.mo.gov/events

Simple Outdoor Moments

Write, draw, or journal – Spending time in nature is never wasted. Find a place to go. Download the free MO Outdoors app.

Natural Events to See This Month

Here’s what’s going on in the natural world.

• Green-winged teal migration is at its peak.
• Fox and gray squirrels gather nuts for winter.
• Indian pipe blooms.