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Fall Hiking Series: Ha Ha Tonka

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Ha Ha Tonka is a Missouri state park in Camden County and a true treasure of our state. With tall bluffs, scenic views, unique geologic sites, and castle ruins, it is a super unique and something for everyone adventure.

Being down in Camdenton at the Lake, I think some people overlook this park. But this is a destination in itself!

Ha Ha Tonka Quick Facts:

  • over 17 miles of trails
  • located at Lake of the Ozarks
  • Amenities include: picnic sites and shelters, kayak rentals, fishing dock, boat docks, a special-use camping area

This is a wonderful location for a fall hike because of the gorgeous scenic views. You really can’t avoid it here- everything is beautiful!

The castle ruins are probably the number one attraction. The word “castle” is somewhat misleading, but it is probably the closest thing to a castle we have in the state of Missouri. It was a stone mansion built in the early 1900s by a wealthy family. It was later a hotel and then burned down in the 40s. The gorgeous stone arches and palatial window spaces do look very castle-like, and my kids were amazed.

The trail to the castle ruins is paved and it is handicap accessible. It is also perched atop the bluffs overlooking the spring and lake, so it is an incredible sight. We saw tons of hawks flying right by us, and it was a really special moment for our family. The water tower is also there that you can hike up to and it is another pretty hike, but not handicap accessible.

Another amazing sight is the spring. It’s a beautiful hike with a wooden boardwalk alongside the spring and the Niangua arm of the Lake of the Ozarks. The boardwalk leads to the spring and then a 300-step staircase up the bluff which is also beautiful, but maybe not for everyone. You can turn around and go back down the boardwalk. There’s also a small old millstone and some remains of an old mill. This was one of my kids’ favorite hikes. They couldn’t get enough!

The most impressive geological wonder of the park in my opinion is the large natural bridge. There is a beautiful trail that goes down under the arch, down into and up out of a large sinkhole, and along the bluff, then back over the natural bridge arch. There are some drop offs, but it’s still pretty kid-friendly.

Another nice thing is that many of the trails connect. So you can really customize the length of your hike(s). I love this as we have kids who can be unpredictable when it comes to hiking. Some days, we’re doing 6 miles and other days we can barely handle 1.2. 😀

We ended up grabbing a really good deal on Booking.com for a last minute time-share that wasn’t booked right on the Lake. It was super nice and perfect for us! We spent the day at Ha Ha Tonka, and actually went back for more the following day. A perfect fall weekend!

Fall Hiking Series: Taum Sauk

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Fall is in the air, my friends! While I am sad to say good bye to summer, I welcome fall and its crisp air, beautiful colors, and lovely lessons with open arms. I’ll be doing a fall hiking series here on the blog of places I *love* hiking in fall. We begin with the crown jewel- Taum Sauk Mountain State Park.

Taum Sauk Quick Facts:

  • Park Hours: sunrise to sunset
  • offers basic, walk-in campsites and two special-use camping areas (tent only)
  • Amenities include picnic area and overlook (and bathrooms!)

Fun fact about Taum Sauk- this is the highest point in Missouri! At 1,772 feet above sea level, Taum Sauk Mountain is.. well… some people would say it’s not really a mountain, comparing it to out West. But in my opinion, the St. Francois Mountains are really special. The oldest exposure of igneous rock in North America, these ancient hills are majestic in their own right.

When you go to Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, there’s not a whole lot to it. There’s a parking lot and picnic area. There’s an overlook that looks north at the mountains. There is a paved trail to a marker that officially marks the highest point in Missouri.

The Mina Sauk Falls Trail is about three miles and rated as “moderately rugged.” See Kareem’s Take for more details on that. 🙂 This trail is a loop, but it does connect to part of the OT. You can take this about eleven and a half rugged miles to Johnson’s Shut Ins. Or you can just hike it about one mile to the Devil’s Toll Gate and come back to the Mina Sauk Falls loop- a very popular choice. Devil’s Toll Gate is an eight foot wide gap in between the black, volcanic rock and stands about 30 feet high. It’s a really amazing sight and a beautiful place to take a moment to reflect on the ancient-ness of the rhyolite you’re hiking on. This does take you into Missouri’s deepest valley and up its highest point, so do keep in mind that it can be a challenging hike, depending on your level.

Kareem claims this is the hike I took him on to kill him! Haha. We did it counter-clockwise. The first mile and a half was lots of rocks and Kareem was very taken aback by this. I don’t know what he expected, but… well, not that. We got to the falls, which was a great pay off. Then we had to hike back up. He’s like, Susan this is more than three miles! It wasn’t, but I think to him it felt like it! In the end, he left with a positive experience. For weeks, he talked about how proud he was of himself and he was so impressed that he pushed through. And I was really proud of him too!

Mina Sauk Falls is about 1.6 miles into the hike. This is Missouri’s tallest waterfall- it’s about 132 feet tall! It is a wet-weather waterfall, so try to go during winter or spring or after a good rain to see it flowing nicely. This next photo is at the top of the falls, which is a beautiful series of pools to climb around and play. The falls flow over a series of ledges down below.

The views cannot be beat. There is not a lot of human interference- you don’t really see any towns, wires, or roads from the trail. You do not hear road noise. It is a popular place, but I have never seen it super crowded. Because of these gorgeous uninterrupted views, this is a prime fall hiking destination. We went a bit ahead of peak in 2019, but it is gorgeous any time of year.

Photo credit: Jordan Beecher

Kareem’s Hot Take: One of the challenging hikes in Missouri, because it really is an actual mountain. It’s beautiful. You have to be prepared though. It can be hard on your feet because a lot of it is rugged- so wear proper footwear. Definitely go down and see the waterfall, because it’s awesome!

Our Hiking Map

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When I started the 52 Hike Challenge the very first year, I started keeping a little notebook where I would write down the place, the trail, the companions, the weather, and notes about the experience.

As my hikes became more frequent, this became more tedious. 🙂 I started adding them to a Google map. Then I somehow lost that map. So now I have a map that I keep track of places we’ve been and places we want to go. I started linking my blog posts to the map. I would like to continue by making some notes about the locations on the map, but let’s get serious- I’m not there yet. Someday though!

It is only for local hikes. Local meaning in Missouri and surrounding states, basically. And it’s recent hikes. Recent meaning in the past two or three years.

I have shared this with some people and have received good feedback, so now I want to share it with everyone. I have it permanently linked on the nav bar of this blog, and I will link it here or if you click on the map below, it will take you to the interactive map. Let me know if you have any questions about any of our places!

Busch Wildlife

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We are so fortunate that Busch Wildlife is practically in our backyard! I never really went there too much for hiking, just fishing and nature programs and an occasional picnic by a lake. But it actually has quite a lot to offer!

Busch CA Quick Facts:

  • open 4am to 10 pm
  • almost 7,000 acres large with over 3,000 acres of forest
  • 28 fishable lakes
  • Amenities include boat rentals, pavilions, picnic areas, shooting range for firearms and archery range, visitor center, hunting and wildlife viewing blinds, docks, swimming, and trails

One thing I think everybody around can attest to is Busch is full of secrets and surprises. When I was little, my dad took me here to teach me to fish. Tragically, I remember a little girl meeting a tragic fate at Busch, and for years, I was wary to come out. As I got older, I found the old bunkers cool to explore. And now, I go there for its convenience and its variety of programs.

There are a couple of longer trails- the Busch Wildlife Hiking and Biking Trail and the Hamburg Hiking/Biking Trail- and several shorter trails within Busch. There are LOTS of connector trails that connect lakes and other trails. Click on this map– it will help. If you use AllTrails or Hiking Project, many of these trails are not mapped out. A lot of people also enjoy just hiking the service roads and exploring.

The Pine Trail is very popular, especially for family photos. It’s super short, but it connects to other connector trails, so you can make it a longer hike to the lake and back. It’s absolutely gorgeous, a small grove of very tall pine trees. There’s a stream nearby too, best in wet weather. We frequent this one.

There’s a paved trail behind the Conservation Office called the Fallen Oak Trail. This has a short loop or a long loop for you and it’s about a mile long. There’s also a bird watching blind, a bridge across the creek, and creek access. This one’s pretty but its major advantage is the pavement for when it’s way muddy or your companions are older or have physical limitations.

The Woodland Trail over by the archery range is one of my favorites. I’ve literally never seen anybody else there, even during the pandemic. And it’s very woodsy. It’s more of my favorite during the late fall and winter months because it’s got lots of undergrowth and so I don’t frequent it as much in the summertime.

And then of course, there are lots of opportunities to walk around the lakes, enjoy a picnic or a sunset, or fish in the lake. Busch has a lot more to offer than one might think, especially for hiking.

Kareem’s Hot Take: So for me, I like being around bodies of water. It brings me great comfort and helps in my meditation. So Busch is a great example- many lakes to walk around, fish, be in a good place. There are a lot of really nice paths- kid-friendly paths, short, long, relaxing, not challenging, easy trails there for everyone.

Glassberg Conservation Area

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Hiking during the quarantine can be a challenge because nobody has anything else to do, so everybody is out. If we see a full lot, we usually move on because we want to social distance responsibly while hiking. We were dropping off things at Kareem’s mom’s house and picking things up at my parents’ house, so we were looking for something in the area. And so was everyone else! Sunday was a super nice day, so parking lots everywhere were full. My first two ideas for a place to go not far from my parents’ were both a bust. So we went to Myron and Sonya Glassberg Family Conservation Area, not far from my first two ideas.

This has been on my list for a while, but never really topped it because there wasn’t anything too compelling for me about it. But boy was I wrong! It was absolutely gorgeous.

Glassberg Family CA Quick Facts:

  • located in very northern Jefferson County, about four miles from the 109/FF junction
  • open from 4 am- 10 pm
  • LaBarque creek runs through it and offers overlooks of the Meramec
  • No bathrooms, picnic tables, or other amenities- hunting is allowed
  • Hiking opportunities: 3 mile loop trail

There is just one hiking trail in the area. It is a 3 mile loop. We got about 3.5 miles in total on our visit, with the spurs and exploring the creek and service road. The trail is a mix of surfaces- gravel road, old blacktop, dirt, and grass. The elevation gain is about 350 ft. It is pretty much all uphill for like the first mile. There is some up and down for the rest of the hike though as well. It goes through woods for most of it, but includes the three acre lake, overlook on the bluffs, and there is a manmade glade for the power lines to go through the hills- you go through this area a couple of times.

I should never have written this conservation area off for later or maybe next time- it was worth it! My word for this hike was “pretty.” The woods were very pretty. The beginning of the trail has a lovely memorial to the Glassberg family, and it starts as a gravel road. You’ll come to a small waterfall (if it has recently rained, it will be making more noise) on the right very shortly into the trail.

It continues uphill forever according to Kareem, although it’s actually about a mile. The gravel gives way to broken old blacktop and it varies from gravel to old blacktop for a while. On your journey uphill, there’s a spur off to the left to access the three acre lake. At the top of the hill, there’s a spur off to the right that is marked to get to the scenic overlook with a viewing platform for a lovely look at the Meramec from the top of the bluffs.

You then go along a dirt trail into the forest. You’ll come out for a little bit into a “glade” which is actually the clearing for the electric wires. Then back into the forest. You cross the glade again and go downhill for a while, which Kareem was excited about.

The dirt then gives way to grassy trail then back to gravel road. There’s another rock ledge with waterfall that I imagine is completely dry if it hasn’t recently rained.

I’m really glad we checked it out! It was much less crowded than Young or LaBarque Creek, so it’s the perfect quarantine hike.

Kareem’s Hot Take: I really liked this one. It was a challenging hike- lots of ups and downs. It was a good workout because it felt there was a lot of incline, but really it was just pretty. Well-maintained. The paths were very clear. It wasn’t rocky underfoot. It was really pretty- you get a little bit of everything. You get a lake, woods, a stream, waterfalls. Awesome views.

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