Well my plans got cancelled for today and there was no reason to sit at home on a perfectly good Saturday. So El and I jumped in the car and headed down to Hickory Canyons Natural Area outside of St. Genevieve, Missouri. Hickory Canyons is about an hour south of St. Louis and has two short trails. Today, since this was my first solo hike, I decided to hike the 1 mile loop trail. This trail starts out on the opposite side of the road from the parking lot.

I hiked the trail counter-clockwise. The trail leads downhill past some really interesting rock formations.

^ El was happy to be hiking and liked the rock formations ^

The trail then crosses Hickory Creek a couple times.

And then begins to wind uphill. A sign reminds you that you will be hiking on some steep bluffs with drop offs on each side.

I loved this trail. It is short and fairly easy, but packs so much scenery into such a short trail. The moss covered rock formations are beautiful.

Once you get back to the parking lot, there is another half mile out and back trail which features a box canyon and a wet weather waterfall. Since we have had zero rain lately, I decided to skip this trail and head over to Magnolia Hollow Conservation Area. Be sure to check Hickory Canyons out, it is truly spectacular! You can find more information on this area from the Missouri Department of Conservation.