Today I’m hiking Swimming Deer Trail at St. Francois State Park just outside of Bonne Terre, Missouri about an hour south of St. Louis. Swimming Deer Trail may not offer the best bluff views in Missouri, but it is a Missouri hiking trail that offers several unobscured bluff views of the Big River.

Located about an hour south of St. Louis in Washington State Park, Rockywood Trail is a roughly 6 mile loop trail featuring beautiful Missouri bluff views overlooking the Big River, the oak and hickory forest of the Washington State Park Hardwood Natural Area, and classic Missouri glades.

Hike to some of the best Missouri bluff views on the Lewis and Clark Trail in Weldon Spring Conservation Area. With its proximity to St. Louis and multiple amazing bluff views of the Missouri River, the Lewis and Clark Trail is one of the best St. Louis day hikes.

Hiking the West Ridge Trail in Weston Bend State Park in northwest Missouri, about an hour north of Kansas City. This 2.4 mile loop trail is actually a combination of three trails (Harpst Trail, West Ridge Trail, and the Paved Trail) and offers some pretty beautiful bluff views of the Missouri River.

I recently headed to northwest Missouri to hike the Loess Bluffs Trail and drive the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour. Loess Bluff Trail is a short 1 mile loop trail offering panoramic views of the National Wildlife Refuge below, and host to thousands of migratory birds.

My wife Abby and I were lucky enough to honeymoon in Hawai’i in December. While there we visited Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawai’i and hiked the Kilauea Iki Trail vai Crater Rim Trail. It was an amazing experience hiking through a Hawaiian rainforest and then atop a lava lake

Enjoyed the beautiful fall colors in Missouri on this 10.3 mile hike from the Council Bluff Lake boat launch to the summit of Johnson Mountain (1660 feet). Council Bluff Lake Trail is in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri about 2 hours south of St. Louis.

I recently returned from an Alaska vacation where myself and 3 friends hiked the Kesugi Ridge Trail in Denali State Park. Hiking Kesugi Ridge in Fall was a special treat because we were able to see all the Alaska foliage in its beautiful Fall colors.

Every July we head to Huron National Forest for a summer camping trip on the Au Sable River in Northern Michigan. It’s a weekend full of playing on the lake, skiing down sand dunes, and laughing around the campfire.