ShareKid’s Fishing Day set for Saturday May 19 at Maramec Spring Park
The Missouri Department of Conservation, the Maramec Spring Trout Fishermen’s Association and The James Foundation proudly present Kids Free Fishing Day at Maramec Spring Park. Kids fish free and there will be no parking fee on this day for cars with kids fifteen and [...]

ShareBy Jo Schaper
We try to treat everyone equally well around here, but occasionally a special request from a special person gets a special response
About a week ago, Rich Orr asked when we were going to take a picture of the old St. Clair Motel sign. He said he thought that was all that was left. [...]

ShareBat festival swoops into Onondaga
By Tom Uhlenbrock
Missouri State Parks
LEASBURG, Mo. – Rob Mies is coming to Missouri’s first ever Bat Festival on Saturday, April 21, at Onondaga Cave State Park. And he’s bringing a few of his furry friends.
Mies is the director and founder of the Organization for Bat Conservation, the largest grassroots bat conservation [...]

ShareUPDATED 12:46 p.m. We’ve added a photo of Mr. Robinson, a link to a KETC video interview and an aerial map to the area.
(Photos from Hilda Young Conservation Area, located nearby in the LaBarque Hills, by Jo Schaper)
Due to the generosity of Don Robinson, the 87th Missouri state park has just become reality
And it [...]

ShareBy Jo Schaper
Tomorrow morning, when Michael Clark of Big Muddy Adventures, John Ruskey of Quapaw Canoe Company, David Hanson, adventure journalist, and Mark Peoples, a 1Mississippi River Guide intern, put their paddles into the Bourbeuse River at the Union, Missouri boat ramp, after having begun in Washington, MO, and [...]

ShareWhen I was a kid, we had this book series called “Through Golden Windows.” They were a collection of short stories, essays and poetry, some classic and well-known authors, some not, but that’s what probably got me first interested in literature (and what would happen if a field full of popcorn caught on [...]

SharePowder Valley Conservation Nature Center (building and grounds) in St. Louis metro will be CLOSED January 7-8-9 for an archery managed hunt. The facility will open as usual on January 10.
When it reopens, bring your binoculars and cameras and take advantage of a new birding blind in the bird feeding area off Tanglevine Trail [...]

ShareSullivan News story link.

Share(The following is not an official editorial view of the River Hills Traveler but that of Jo only.)
By Jo Schaper
This week, according to a short, unattributed story on STL Today, the city of Valley Park has expressed interest in taking over ownership of Simpson Park, which is within the city limits.
Few details have been [...]

ShareBecause our focus is usually elsewhere, Traveler isn’t often concerned with the ins and outs of St. Louis County politics. Since the St. Louis County parks issue is at its heart a budget issue, we focused some effort to understand it.
Jo found this explanatory story by Paul Hampel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch/STL [...]