Hiking Devil’s Icebox and Sinkhole Trail at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park
Hiking Devil’s Icebox and Sinkhole Trail at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park
Mere minutes from Columbia, Missouri resides Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, one of Missouri’s finest examples of karst topography. Devil’s Icebox and Sinkhole Trail leads hikers through the park's most prominent features: Devil’s Icebox, Connor’s Cave, the many sinkholes that dot the park, and ultimately the namesake Rock Bridge. It’s not often a trail features two subterranean sections, but this trail does.
Devil’s Icebox & Sinkhole Trails
Type: Loop | Rate: Easy / Moderate | Traffic: Moderate | Distance: 1.8mi | Elevation Gain: 157ft
Experience the Rock Bridge, Devils Icebox, Connor’s Cave, and abandoned silos all in one loop trail.
View this hike on AllTrails.
Missouri’s Karst Topography
Karst landscapes are characterized by their many sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, and springs. These features are formed when the water percolates through cracks in the bedrock dissolving the rock over time, which leads to wider cavities and conduits. Eventually some of these cavities collapse forming sinkholes on the surface, or in the case of Rock Bridge Memorial, a Rock Bridge.
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Devil’s Icebox & Connor’s Cave
Devil’s Icebox Cave is only accessible via guided tour via the park office to protect the endangered gray bat population who use the cave as a summer roosting site to give birth and raise their young. Thankfully though, to the left is Connor’s Cave which is open to exploration. There is 166ft of accessible/walkable cave before it dives below the water further into the depths. Flashlights and/or headlamps are a must as it is near total darkness at the back of the cave.
Sinkhole Trail
Sinkhole Trail winds through the forest dotted with sinkholes and past several concrete silos remnant of the land’s agricultural past. There are interpretive panels along the trail sharing the history of the park.
After completing the 1.2mi loop that is Sinkhole Trail, just past the picnic shelter, sits a stone foundation built in the 1800s that held a general store and blacksmith shop when the area was home to an active mill. Across from the foundation is a short trail with a bridge leading to the mouth of the 125 foot long tunnel under the Rock Bridge. At the far end of the tunnel is a stone dam that was built to harness the power of the water flowing from Devil’s Icebox Spring to operate a gristmill.
For centuries the Rock Bridge has served as a gathering place for the people living in the area. Rock Bridge Memorial State Park was established in 1967 to preserve these wonders for future generations.
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Hiking Gear List
Headlamp - Petzl Tikka Headlamp
Jacket - Patagonia Nano Puff Hoodie
Beanie - Ope Outdoors Chunky Knit Beanie
Long Sleeve Shirt - REI Co-op Midweight Base Layer
T-Shirt - REI Co-op Sahara T-Shirt
Pants - Wrangler ATG Fleece Lined Pants
Underwear - REI Co-op Everyday Boxer Briefs
Shoes - The North Face VECTIV Fastpack FUTURELIGHT Hiking Shoes
Pack - REI Co-op Flash 22 Pack
Water Bottle - REI Co-op Nalgene 1L
Camera Gear List
Camera - Sony a6400
SD Card - ScanDisk Extreme Pro 128 GB 200 MB/s
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