Pacific MO: St. Louis Chapter, Shaw Nature Reserve Hike + Hawthorne Inn Lunch

Let’s hike the beautiful Shaw Nature Reserve in Pacific, MO! Afterward, we’ll head to The Hawthorne Inn in nearby Labadie, MO for a group lunch.

HIKE LOCATION:
Shaw Nature Reserve is on I-44 in Gray Summit, Missouri, approximately 22 miles west of the I-44/I-270 interchange. The Gray Summit I-44 exit is #253, just two exits west of Six Flags (Allenton/Eureka).
We’ll meet at the Shaw Nature Reserve Visitor Center parking lot at 9:00am. You will need to buy a token at the Visitor Center to enter the park. The cost is $5 ($3 for 65 and older).
Once we have all arrived and purchased our entrance tokens, we’ll enter the park and proceed to the parking area near the Maritz Trail House.

DISTANCE: Starting at the Maritz Trail House, we’ll hike the 2.5 mile Goddard Trail, and the .75 mile Wildflower Trail (for a total of 3.25 miles).
We will take an easy to moderate pace to take full advantage of the beautiful Meramec River and scenic bottomland nature views.

BRING: This is a dirt/rock trail, so wear hiking boots or sturdy tennis shoes, bug repellent, water, and possibly a snack. Also, some people like to use trekking poles to help keep their footing while hiking hills. Bring money for entrance to the Reserve, and to pay the tab for your lunch.
After the hike, we’ll meet at The Hawthorne Inn in Labadie for lunch and fellowship (it’s 10 min from Shaw). I hope you can join us!

AFTER-HIKE LUNCH: The Hawthorne Inn, 123 Front St, Labadie, MO 63055

* IMPORTANT* IF WE HAVE BAD WEATHER OR THE TRAILS ARE TOO MUDDY, THIS HIKE WILL BE CANCELED. Please check the St. Louis Chapter Facebook group event notice or contact hike leader Bob Trende at stlouis@americanpilgrims.org to confirm whether the hike is still on.

RESOURCES:
Shaw Nature Reserve:
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/…/hikes-trails…
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/…/shaw-nature…

The Hawthorne Inn
https://thehawthorneinn.net/