The Rocky Mountains National Park is absolutely stunning! The mountain scenery and wildlife are among the best in America. The park offers plenty of fishing, hiking, camping, climbing, and driving sight seeing. There is a plethora of information on their website.
Photos By Jerry Suchman
The shut-ins are a really cool area of the Black River where incredible rock formations form a virtual bridge across the river. “Water-borne sand and gravel cut deeply even into this erosion-resistant rock, swirling, churning_carving potholes, chutes and spectacular canyonlike gorges,” is the description for the website. A favorite swimming spot, the water can be crystal clear and 15 feet deep or more in the swimming hole. Jumping from the 30 ft high cliff is banned (and not to mention dangerous)…additionally, the Taum Sauk Resevoir broke in December of 2005, flooding much of the valley. The park is undergoing a massive recovery, so swimming is out for a while, but you can still hike. I recommend you check the Recovery Info site.
Elephant rocks is basically a great hiking trail with some good scenery. The rocks really do look like a line of huge elephants walking trunk to tail. The park is not huge, but the hike is nice for the family. A pretty good day trip from St. Louis if you enjoy a good drive.
Located on Highway 53 outside of Pilot Knob.
Great place to get away from the city and stay in a nice cabin by the waterfall. Opportunity for helicopter rides, fishing, or heading on over to sulfer springs for some stinky water.
Kids will enjoy!
