Find the top rated birding trails in Washington, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Reading past reviews, I was apprehensive about this trail, but it seems to have been cleaned up nicely. I rode about 8 miles south from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and back in the evening. There’s a climb in the woods near the north end, the rest is level. No trash, no glass, no people at all except at the parks.
I personally loved this bike trail. It is close to home and takes me straight to Belleville. It actually starts in Dupo. It definitely needs resurfaced and it would be a lot better
I rode the Katy trail from Clinton to St Charles in 5 days . I started before Mother’s Day and completed the ride after. What a lovely gift to myself. The trail is well maintained, easy to follow, and I always felt safe riding alone. The towns on the trail are very accepting of bicyclist . Make sure to refill your water bottles every chance you have, especially towards the end when closer to St Charles there are fewer fountains. I look forward to riding this again !
We rode this trail for the first time in June 2024. It is level, well marked and passes along many suburban municipalities in the St. Louis area, the athletic complex in Affton, Grant’s Farm and Historical Site, Thomas Sappington House and The Barn (great place to stop for brunch). It can be crowded, especially around Grant’s Farm.
Started in Glencoe at the miniature railroad depot. Trail started out promising but seemed to get more and more narrow and is poorly marked. We attempted to follow the Al Foster trail. This really isn’t a 10 plus mile trail as it’s broken up. We originally started in Eureka and quickly realized the trail stops after roughly 1.7 miles. Luckily for us that after a few miles of an ever shrinking trail, we decided it wasn’t for us. Got back to our vehicle and put everything away just before a storm came through.
Rode this for Celebrate Trails Day. It’s a nice smooth ride that is mostly flat. It was a little crowded on a Saturday morning, but that is to be expected. There is plenty of room to pass. I was a little confused where the trail goes by the sports fields, but figured it out. We visit the park occasionally. It’s a nice spot to have a picnic or just hang out and watch the world go by.
Well maintained, nearly all paved trail. We started at trailhead at Metro east parks and rec center. You can find benches bathroom tools and even air for tires. Thanks!! Only warning is that trail has great signage until we were at Chained Rock and Sand Lane… guessed that we had to travel on crushed rock road over expressway to find rest of trail. Correct turn.
Man this stretch would be mint if I could actually hear myself think along the parts that are literal feet from 170. So much energy and effort building a nice paved trail that is once again ruined by vehicles
I rode this trail in late 2023 from Russell Commons in Alton to Chain of Rocks bridge. The surface is old but well-maintained. A lot of filled cracks along the asphalt portion, views of the industrial use of the river (barge facilities, chemical plant), and several places where the trail comes down from the levee top and crosses a road, then climbs back up. I didn't find these hills to be particularly steep (and they're always short). The chip-and-seal surface of the next part of the trail could use fewer chips and more seal, although it was perfectly flat and smooth.
I left the trail at Chain of Rocks bridge, and did not ride the remaining 5 miles. The detailed MCT map shows after a few more miles it changes briefly to stone, then is paved & alongside city streets to its end.
Construction at the Missouri end of the bridge has led to some closures. There is a new park and trailhead facility being built in 2024; I haven't seen what the plans are to keep the bridge and connecting trail open during that phase. Parking on the Illinois side is plentiful.
This was a very nice addition to a ride along the levee in Illinois when I first rode across it around 2012. A decade later the displays are showing their age though the information on them is still readable and worthwhile, as is a ride along the original Route 66 surface that's almost 90 years old!
I rode from Alton, IL along the Confluence Trail, across Chain of Rocks Bridge (pedestrians and bikes only), then the full length of the St. Louis Riverfront trail to Gateway Arch and a little beyond. This made a very pleasant 55 mile round-trip.
The trail surface is generally quite good, but as an urban trail I preferred to mount my road bike with the wider tires I use on stone trails (I was also passed by fast riders on narrow tires). A new trailhead is being developed at the north end in 2024, but just a mile or so down the trail there are city parks with full facilities. As I continued south the landscape became more commercial and industrial (barge facilities, railroad terminal, auto graveyard). Rather than detracting from the ride I found it interesting to see what activities still remain from the Mississippi's heyday as a working river. Throughout this section the trail runs along the levee- on top, or along either side of it. There are a few "rest stop" facilities along this stretch, and painted arrows with an arch symbol reminded me of my destination.
Towards the south end the trail came to an abrupt end between 2 brick buildings. A one-block ride next to the building and through 2 open gates in a chain-link fence brought me onto a recognizable trail again. A long-term project has closed the trail from here to the Eads Bridge, but the detour is simple (go 1 block west and take the cobblestone street). The trail resumes at Gateway Arch National Park as a wide path along the river and past the statue of Lewis and Clark (and Seaman the dog), who are looking west through the Arch toward the vast new U.S. territory they have just returned from exploring.
The trail continues about a half mile further south, then ends with a flourish.
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