The Most Dramatic Landscape in Missouri | Devil’s Honeycomb
NOTE: In the video I say I think camping is permitted on Hughes Mountain, it is NOT (info).
I think I’ve hiked the most dramatic landscape in Missouri, the Devils Honeycomb Trail in the Hughes Mountain Natural Area. Unique geologic formations left over from ancient volcanoes that formed the St. Francois Mountains created these amazing rock formations known as the Devils Honeycomb. Hiking to the Hughes Mountain high point you’ll find one of Missouri’s geological wonders which makes for one of the best Missouri day hikes.
AllTrails Stats
Devil’s Honeycomb Trail
Type: Out & Back | Rate: Moderate | Traffic: Moderate | Length: 1.6mi | Elevation Gain: 387ft
This hike is just a gradual incline to the top good for all ages and well worth it.
What is The Devil’s Honeycomb?
A quick hike through fields and forest, past the open savanna, you’ll see The Devil’s Honeycomb begin to reveal itself. Ancient rock liquified from ancient Missouri volcanoes that formed the St. Francois Mountains cooled and cracked leaving behind the red and gray polygonal columns of rhyolite Missourians call The Devil’s Honeycomb. A Missouri geologic wonder formed 1.485 billion years ago in the Proterozoic Eon.
Rhyolite is an extrusive igneous rock. Similar to granite, it is predominantly made up of a combination of quartz, sanidine, and plagioclase. The most exciting quality of rhyolite is that it is a silica-rich volcanic rock so it is extremely viscous and prone to explosive eruptions. When the St. Francois Mountains formed 1.5 billion years ago, it wasn’t from lava flows, but giant explosions. Cool.
Follow me on Instagram @mshepjordan9 for more photos from this hike!
Hughes Mountain Natural Area
The Hughes Mountain Natural Area is named after John Hughes, his wife Susannah, and their children who settle the land in 1810. Located in Washington County, Missouri just south of Big River in the St. Francois Mountains section of the Ozarks, Hughes Mountains has an elevation of just over 1200 feet. The land remained in the Hughes family until the Missouri Conservation Committee purchased it in 1982 and dedicated it a state natural area. BIG thank you to the Hughes family for sharing this Missouri geographic wonder.
Camping is NOT permitted in Hughes Mountain Natural Area, hunting however is (More Information). Pets are permitted but must be kept on a leash.
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My favorite Missouri State Park
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