Park Trails

Deer Run Trail

This trail traverses hills along the park’s northern and western boundaries. Then it descends to the flat bottomlands and runs along the banks of Little Bonne Femme Creek, where it merges briefly with Spring Brook Trail before looping back to its starting point. Deer are common in the secluded woods and grassy openings, and signs of beavers and muskrats are sometimes seen along the creek. White connector 7 is available to shorten the trail. Paxton Passage, which is owned and maintained by Columbia Public Schools, connects Deer Run Trail with Rock Bridge Elementary School. Paxton Passage is a half-mile long. Mountain biking is permitted only when the trail is dry.

Devil's Icebox Trail

This trail is primarily a boardwalk with several short spurs, viewing platforms and numerous stairs. It takes you to the most impressive geological features in the park, including the 63-foot-high natural tunnel known as the Rock Bridge and a double sinkhole entrance to Devil’s Icebox and Connor’s Cave. Also of interest are a limestone glade, Devil's Icebox Spring and a valley formed by the collapse of part of the Devil’s Icebox Cave system. Displays tell you about the cave system and the area’s history.

The hike down the stairs to the cave entrance is refreshingly cool in the summer. You are permitted to wade in the underground stream at the cave entrance and also explore down stream into the 150-foot-long Connor’s Cave. Flashlights, helmets and good shoes are recommended. 

Devil’s Icebox Cave (6.5 miles long), which shares the same entrance and is upstream, is closed to the public except for those on park-led wild cave tours offered from April 15 to May 16 and Aug. 1 to Oct. 8. The beginning of the trail shares a path with Spring Brook Trail and the western half of the Devil’s Icebox Trail briefly parallels and connects once again to Spring Brook Trail. The eastern half of Devil’s Icebox Trail links to Sinkhole Trail. To protect the resources, please stay on the trail and out of closed areas.

Gans Creek Wild Area Trail System

Because of the desire to keep human impact at a minimum, this trail is not maintained at the same level as the other trails in the park. The solitude and beautiful vistas of the 750-acre Gans Creek Wild Area allow you to forget that the bustling city of Columbia is only a few miles away. Small streams dissect the hills and flow into Gans Creek, which is bordered by high bluffs. The bottom and sides of Gans Creek are often solid bedrock while other stretches of the stream have gravel bars. Except during heavy rain, the water flows slowly over riffles and into pools. Spring wildflowers are abundant. Basswood and walnut trees grow on moist, shaded hillsides. Scattered white oaks grace more open forested area. The rocky bluff tops have small glade openings filled with grasses and wildflowers. Coyote and Shooting Star bluffs provide vistas of hills and trees as far as the eye can see. Horseback riding is permitted only from July 1 to Oct. 31 and only when trails are dry.

Grassland Trail

There are two spurs on this trail. One leads to High Point Lane and the other leads to Rock Bridge Lane, west of the trailhead. Native grasses planted beginning in 1982 clothe the gentle terrain marked with scattered wooded sinkholes. Natural sinkhole ponds provide habitat for wetland plants and animals. White connector 2 cuts the loop in half. Mountain biking is permitted only when the trail is dry.

High Ridge Trail

This trail climbs to a hilltop and follows a ridge before descending to follow Clear Creek. The ridge top has scenic views of the surrounding park and of native grasslands. White connector 6 reduces the distance to one-half mile. Mountain biking is permitted only when the trail is dry.

Karst Trail

This trail is named for the karst topography that is prevalent in the area. Karst is a German word used to describe land that is filled with sinkholes, caves and underground streams. The terrain is relatively flat with many scattered sinkhole depressions. Some of these depressions are filled with water and the ponds provide good aquatic habitat. About half of the trail takes you through woodlands that contain large white oak trees. The other half takes you through native grasslands that include a three-acre prairie remnant. White connector 1 cuts the loop in half. Mountain biking is permitted only when the trail is dry.

Sinkhole Trail

This trail can be accessed from two trailheads. The first one begins at the Devil’s Icebox parking lot and follows an old road through the historic site of Rockbridge Mills. The trail continues up a forested valley to the top of a ridge, where you will find old fields and sinkholes. Two concrete silos stand as a memorial to the land’s agricultural past. One sinkhole is a gated, 30-foot-deep pit known as Hogs Graveyard Cave. White connector 3 is available to shorten your hike and white connector 4 leads to Spring Brook Trail. Mountain biking is permitted only when the trail is dry

Spring Brook Trail

Spring Brook Trail winds its way through woods and old fields, along small intermittent streams. Maples and sycamore trees grace the banks of Little Bonne Femme Creek, which is crossed twice. At the eastern crossing, a 100-foot bridge provides a dry crossing. The western crossing lacks a bridge and may require minor wadding. During high water, it is not safe to cross. White connector 5 is available to shorten your hike and white connector 4 is available for access to Sinkhole Trail. Mountain biking is permitted only when the trail is dry. Although not a designated trailhead, Spring Brook also can be accessed at the Gans Creek Wild Area trail system parking lot.