Cliff Cave Park – The Complete Visitors Guide
Cliff Cave Park is a great place to go if you live in St. Louis and you’re looking for a beautiful park to explore. Walking or hiking on the Cliff Cave Park trails is a great way to enjoy a nice day outside while enjoying some Missouri scenery.
We want to make it easy for you to enjoy this beautiful park, so we’re going to cover it all. From where to park – to choosing the best trail to walk or hike. Keep reading for everything you need to know so you can get out there and enjoy Cliff Cave Park too!
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Cliff Cave Park Information
- Address – 806 Cliff Cave Rd, St. Louis, MO 63129
- Hours – Dawn until 30 Minutes Past Sunset
Getting to Cliff Cave Park
Cliff Cave Park is located near Oakville Missouri which is about 20 minutes south of downtown St. Louis on the Mississippi River.
Telegraph Rd runs through the middle of Oakville so you will take either a right or a left onto Cliff Cave Rd depending on if you’re coming from the north or the south.
Once on Cliff Cave Rd, it’s a short 1-mile drive through a nice neighborhood before you come to the first entrance for Cliff Cave Park.
Cliff Cave Park Upper Trailhead
Trailheads at Upper Parking Lot:
- Mississippi Greenway Trail – 7.1 Miles
- River Bluff Trail – 1 Mile
- Spring Valley Trail 1.8 Mile
- Spring Valley Trail Inner Loop – 1.2 Mile
The first entrance that you will pass on Cliff Cave Rd is the Upper Trailhead. It’s a paved parking area with around 50 parking spots. There is also a nice bathroom. When we went to Cliff Cave Park this most recent time we parked at the Upper Trailhead first because we wanted to hike River Bluff Trail.
From the Cliff Cave Park Upper Trailhead, you can access pretty much any trail in the park.
We arrived around 10:00 am on a Sunday and were lucky enough to get the last parking spot! There was a Park Ranger at the entrance directing people to go down to the Lower Trailhead parking area.
Cliff Cave Park Lower Trailhead
Trailheads at Lower Parking Lot
- Mississippi Greenway Trail – 7.1 Miles
If you continue along Cliff Cave Rd past the Upper Trailhead parking lot you will drive under the pedestrian bridge, over some railroad tracks, and end at the Lower Trailhead parking lot.
The Cliff Cave Park Lower Trailhead is a much larger parking area that also has overflow parking in the grass. There are probably over 100 parking spots in the paved area alone! This trailhead/parking area also has a bathroom and a pavilion.
Hiking to Cliff Cave Park Cave
You can hike to the Cliff Cave Park Cave from either the Upper Trailhead parking lot or the Lower Trailhead parking lot.
From The Upper Trailhead Parking Lot:
From the Upper Trailhead Parking lot, you will want to start by following the Mississippi Greenway Trail towards the overlook. After a relatively short walk, you can take a moment to stop and enjoy the overlook.
When you’re done checking out the views and waving at the boats on the Mississippi you can continue following the Mississippi Greenway trail down to the right towards the Lower Trailhead Parking area.
This portion of the trail will start to get a little steep going down the bluff, but the trail is paved so walking is still fairly easy.
Shortly after you cross the black metal pedestrian bridge you will see the Cliff Cave Park Cave off to your right. There aren’t any marked paths up to the entrance of the cave, but it’s relatively easy to get up to the cave if you would like to take a closer look. Please make sure to practice leave-no-trace principles!
From The Lower Trailhead Parking Lot
From the Cliff Cave Park Lower Trailhead parking area, you’ll want to follow the paved path that takes you over the railroad tracks toward the Upper Trailhead Parking area. You’ll need to cross Cliff Cave Rd and after that, it’s a short hike up the hill to the cave.
The Cliff Cave Park cave is a shorter walk from the Lower Trailhead Parking area, but if you’re only going as far as the cave you won’t have the opportunity to see the overlook. You will need to hike both up and downhill at some point no matter which parking area you start from if you want to see the cave since it’s about halfway up the bluff.
Read more: Hiking to the Tallest Waterfall in Missouri
Cliff Cave Park Overlook
- Distance – Less than 1 Mile Out and Back
- Surface – Paved
If you’re looking for a short easy walk I would recommend following the Mississippi Greenway Trail from the Upper Trailhead to the overlook.
Follow the paved trail just to the right of the bathroom. You will see a park sign pointing you in the right direction. From the bathroom, it’s a short (less than ½ mile) walk down to the overlook.
The Cliff Cave Park overlook has great views of not only the Mississippi River but also the rolling hills of Illinois across the river and downtown St. Louis to the left.
This section of the Mississippi Greenway Trail is a great option for pretty much anyone. The trail has very little (if any) elevation gain and the trail is paved the entire way making it great for parents with small children or strollers.
River Bluff Trail
- Distance – 3.3 Mile Loop
- Surface – Natural
The River Bluff Trail is a great option if you would like to get off of the paved trail for a little while. To hike the River Bluff Trail you will need to start at the Upper Trailhead Parking area. From there follow the signs for the Spring Valley Trail. When you get to the top of the hill the River Bluff Trail will separate off to the right.
However, you can also hike the River Bluff Trail by following the sign to the left of the bathroom. You will walk through the field and then follow the trail into the woods and through some beautiful wooded ravines.
There are lots of Cliff Cave Park Trails, but the River Bluff Trail is one of my favorites. It has great views of not only the Mississippi River but also the surrounding area from the top of the bluff.
Spring Valley Trail And Spring Valley Trail Inner Loop
- Spring Valley Trail – 1.8 Miles
- Spring Valley Trail Inner Loop – 1.2 Miles
- Combined – 3 Miles
- Surface – Mixed (Paved and Natural)
Either section of the Spring Valley Tail would be another great option. We like to do it as one loop which makes it about 3 miles long. You’ll leave from the Cliff Cave Park Upper Trailhead. The trail follows Cliff Cave Rd before heading off into the woods where the trail switches to the natural surface.
The trail is marked better in some places than others so it may be a good idea to have a look at the St. Louis County Trail Map for the Cliff Cave Park Trails before you head out!
The Spring Valley trail offers a combination of views of the Mississippi River as well as sections of mostly wooded areas.
It takes most people about an hour and a half to complete the trail and if it’s been raining recently you’ll want to watch your step because sections of the trail can become pretty slippery.
Mississippi Greenway Trail
- Distance – 7.1 Miles
- Surface – Paved
The Cliff Cave Park Mississippi Greenway Trail is 7.1 miles long if you leave from the Upper Trailhead Parking lot. If you start from the Lower Trailhead Parking lot it’s only about 5 miles long. The entire trail is paved and is a great option if you would like to ride a bike, but would prefer to stay on a paved path.
Jess and I had lunch in the grassy field between the pavilion and the Mississippi Greenway Trail.
While this trail is great for a longer hike or like I said riding a bike, it wouldn’t be my first choice of trails to hike in Cliff Cave Park.
Except for the portion that leads up towards the Cave and the Overlook, the rest of the trail is just a long loop through the floodplain next to the river. This means the Mississippi Greenway Trail is prone to flooding.
The trail is mostly flat through that area which can be nice, but since you’re hiking at the same elevation as the river and there are trees between the trail and the river, there are big sections of the trail that don’t have anything to see.
There is a small loop of the trail just north of the Lower Trailhead and the pavilion that follows very close to the river. I would recommend hiking in that area, especially if you’re hiking with kids.
That section of the trail has lots of great little areas to walk down close to the water where you can see not only great views of the river up close but also barges and other cool things to see!
Read More: The Top 10 Best Float Trips in Missouri
When is The Best Time To Visit Cliff Cave Park?
The best time to visit Cliff Cave Park depends on what you would like to see/do while you’re there.
The Cliff Cave Park Cave
If you’re interested in seeing the Cliff Cave Park Cave then we would recommend going when it has been raining recently. There is water that flows out from the cave and down the hill towards the trail.
I think it adds to the beauty of the cave so if you visit Cliff Cave Park shortly after some rain has come through you’ll have the opportunity to see the most activity at the mouth of the cave.
Hiking Or Other Park Activities
If you’re interested in hiking or biking on any of Cliff Cave Park’s awesome trails then we would recommend going when it hasn’t been raining recently.
While the short walk from the Upper Trailhead Entrance to the Mississippi River Overlook, as well as the Mississippi Greenway Trail, are both paved surfaces, the rest of the trails at Cliff Cave Park are not. They can get very muddy and slippery at times so using them after it’s been raining isn’t very much fun.
Cliff Cave Park is very close to the city and a super popular park to visit so we would also recommend visiting during the week if possible just to avoid some of the crowds.
Jess and I visited the park for the first day of Spring which was a Sunday and there were tons of people there.
That being said it is also a pretty large park, especially the Lower Trailhead area, and so if you can’t avoid the weekend the park is still great to visit!
History of Cliff Cave Park
The Cave at Cliff Cave Park, as well as the surrounding area, has a long history of being used for all sorts of different things.
According to the St. Louis County website, the first record of the cave is a document that refers to it as “Indian Cave” in the late 18th century. At that time French fur traders had built a tavern in the area and the cave was being used as a cellar to store beer.
If you’re familiar with the St. Louis area you know that this was rather common. Most of the major breweries in St. Louis are built on top of caves so that beer can be stored in the caves below the brewery.
This went on until 1868 when the cave was purchased by the Cliff Cave Wine Company. They built the walls inside the cave that you can still see today. Around this same time, the area was also being used by soldiers from Jefferson Barracks.
The cave and the surrounding area then passed into the hands of the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department in 1969 but did not open to the public until 1977.
While there wasn’t a tavern located in the cave anymore, families and hikers continued to enjoy exploring the Cliff Cave Park Cave until 2009.
Due to the high number of visitors, the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department decided to install a large iron gate in front of the cave.
This was done to preserve any remaining archaeological artifacts that might be in the cave as well as to protect the habitat of bats living in the cave.
There are about 14 different species of bats that live in Missouri and three of them; Indiana Bats, Brown Bats, and Little Brown Bats can all be found in the Cliff Cave Park Cave. Indiana Bats are even classified as an endangered species.
What to Pack When Visiting Cliff Cave Park
One of the great things about Cliff Cave Park is that it can be used for so many different things! Hiking, bike riding, tossing around a frisbee or a football, you name it!
Even though many of the trails in Cliff Cave Park are relatively short and some are even completely paved we always recommend being prepared for any hike! Here’s a short list of the things we bring with us when we hike any of the Cliff Cave Park Trails.
Don’t forget that you’re going to want to take some awesome pictures of the river and cave to share on Instagram!
Camera Gear We Use
- Sony Alpha a6400 Camera
- Sony F4 18-105 Lens
- Sony Zoom Microphone
- Camera Clip (This clip is great for keeping your camera accessible, but hands-free while you’re hiking!)
Great Places To Stay Near Cliff Cave Park
Jess and I love hiking the Cliff Cave Park trails! We’ve been living in St. Louis for just over 6 years now and one of the things we love about it is all of the great parks in the area.
We’ve visited a ton of cities over the years and to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever been to another city that has so many great parks so close to the city center.
Cliff Cave Park is a wonderful place to spend the afternoon for all ages. Whether you’re looking for a scenic place to sit and have lunch or you’re ready to hit some trails on your mountain bike, Cliff Cave Park has you covered!
We hope this article about Cliff Cave Park helps you plan your trip. We would love to connect with you! You can learn more about us here or read more of our recent blog posts here. Also, follow us on Instagram (@UnearthTheVoyage) and Facebook to see what we are up to next!
