Explore the most popular trails in Shaw Nature Reserve with hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you.
One of my favorite places to go and experience each season in Missouri. There are plenty of birds and other animals to see while walking, the trails are taken care of and it's usually not crowded.
Relaxing with kiddos
Easy 4 mile hike with great wildflowers, dogwoods and redbuds. Would recommend mid week visit to avoid the crowds and experience the tranquility. Will definitely revisit to see more of this park.
The map from the visitor center is well worth it.
Nice walk. My 2 yr old daughter was able to walk it. Well maintained. Could even take a jogging stroller thru it :)
My second and my fave of three hikes in 3 days. This place is FANTASTIC! A true gem. I spent 3 hours here on a lovely Sunday afternoon and did not even explore half of the place. Check in at the visitor center, pay your $5 and get a trail map. I drove around the loop to get a feel for the location and ended up hiking quite a bit of the Trail House Loop up to the prairie where a nice observation deck is placed in case you want to take in the view and burn one. I then went through the forest picked up the Goddard River Trail and took that up to the bluff overlook which didn't really impress as far as the view, but I double backed to the Trail House loop and took that to the Wetlands which has a boardwalk. There are lots of wildflowers which attract butterflies. I saw numerous rabbits but not the elusive bobcat I was hoping to catch. There is a pre-Civil War family cemetery plot off the Trail House loop as well as a school bus stop from the 30's. The elevation is not too strenuous and you could hike it in comfortable walking shoes as opposed to hiking boots. Traffic was minimal and the location is right off the interstate on Historic Route 66 just down the road from Six Flags. I will visit again. A real asset to the area. Enjoy!
The hike down to the gravel bar is very nice. There are also some very nice Woodland trails. Also the wildflower garden is pretty spectacular.otherwise Overall a very nice place to hike.
Shaw Nature Reserve was my first experience with hiking and I still love coming here. You can make your hike as short or as long and as easy or difficult as you like. For this trip, I put together part of the Brush Creek Trail, Prairie Trail, Wetland Trail and part of the Wolf Run Trail for an approximately 4 mile hike. I highly recommend this location.
My favorite place. Hike all the trails to get different aspects of nature. awesome for kiddos too. Has lake, historic houses, prairie, beautiful tree groves, wildflowers, gardens, wooded trails, ponds, river and glades. It has everything. I wasn't a fan of the bluff view. It was blocked so not much of a view. It's the only thing missing. So many trails that you can pick a long hike or a short one. Love love love this place and I am picky. Go!
Very nice trail
Beautiful
great trail, just challenging enough for a beginner hiker. pretty well marked, trails are nicely groomed. beautiful scenery!
What a pleasant discovery. Lots of diversity in terms of ecosystems. Mainly on Wildflower and BrushCreek Trail so lots of scenery--then climbed down to the river---worth it! The climb out was rough (steep) but challenging---caught me a few chiggers through a narrow overgrown trail. Will return & figure how to make this into a loop.I
Pretty scenery. Trails are easy to run. Navigating is a little difficult but I'm sure if u do it more than once would b fun!
Love it!
Shaw Bloom 10K Trail Run - great race.
Good family fun
Has a little bit of everything.. Can be as long or as short as you want depending on which cut throughs you use... Great for family or solo hike
Very nice trails. A little more put together than most we go on. Seems like a great place for running.
A great place to get out into nature with a young child. Beautiful wild flower garden. Wish the back trails were easier to access.
My favorite place to get out, hike around and photograph. The ecosystems are diverse and pristine, they put great focus into natural preservation and are constantly maintaining such. The trails are wonderful for independent exploration and seasonally they offer weekly trail runs with a guide to help pace.
It started storming the day we started the hike and had to turn around about half way. Would like to go again
Great place to explore. Well maintained, very kid and family friendly but not in sanitized sort of way. Plenty of open space here. Tons of animals, flowers trees and bugs to identify and observe. One of our favorites.
This is a great trail for the area. It was completely empty the day I went which might make all the difference but there are many different ecosystems here. I highly recommend going. There are shorter trails for people not wanting to do everything. This place is very photogenic and is one of my favorite trails in the area. I will likely return to it at some point. I base my star ratings on 2.5 being the level of most trails.
very diverse with alot of different plant life. Many many trails of varying difficulty, but none are strenuous. The gravel bar near the meremac river is a great place to eat lunch.
Sean R. on Shaw Nature Reserve Trail
Nice local place for short hikes, easy to moderate terrain, good for families. Popular place for people taking pictures.