Field Trip Sites and Directions

Babler State Park
From the intersection of Hwy. 40 and I-270: Take Hwy. 40 west from I-270, 9.5 miles to the Long Road Exit. The exit goes off to the right, crosses back over Hwy. 40 and becomes Long Road. Continue straight, through the signal, on Long Road about .8 mile to Wild Horse Creek Road (Long Road dead ends here). Turn right on Wild Horse Creek Road and go about 3 miles to Hwy. 109 (there is a BP/Amoco station on the corner). Turn left on Hwy. 109 and go about .8 mile to Hwy. BA. Turn right on Hwy. BA and go about 1.5 miles to park entrance on the right.
Busch Wildlife Conservation Area
From St. Louis County, take I-64 (Hwy 40) across the Missouri River bridge and exit at Hwy. 94. Go left (south) on Hwy 94 approximately 1 mile to Hwy D. Turn right onto Hwy D and go about 1.5 miles to the entrance on your right. Turn right and at the T intersection, turn right again and proceed to the parking lot at the Visitor’s Center. Meet at the Jim Ziebol Butterfly Garden at the bottom of the parking lot.
Cuivre River State Park (2 options)
OPTION #1: From the intersection of I-270 and Hwy. 40/64, take Highway 40/64 west and travel approximately 25 miles until you come to the intersection with I-70 at Wentzville. Get on Hwy 61 north/west and travel approximately 14 miles to Hwy. 47 at Troy. At Hwy. 47, turn right (east) and travel for approximately 3 miles to Hwy. 147 (watch for Park signs). Turn left (north) off of Hwy. 47 onto Hwy. 147 and travel 2 miles to the Visitor Center on the left.
OPTION #2: From the intersection of I-270 and I-70, travel west on I-70 for 12 miles to Hwy. 79 (Exit 220). Turn right (north) onto Hwy. 79 and travel for 14 miles to Hwy. 47. turn left (west) onto Hwy. 47 and travel approximately 10 miles to Hwy. 147 (watch for Park signs). Turn right (north) onto Hwy. 147 and travel 2 miles to the Visitor Center on the left.
Fults Hill Prairie
From St. Louis County, take I-270 south to I-255 and cross the Jefferson Barracks Bridge into Illinois, then go south on Rt. 3, the first exit. We will meet at 11:00 a.m. at some place in Columbia, IL along Rt. 3 where we can leave cars (exact location TBA in April newsletter). For those who want to drive directly to Fults Hill Prairie, here are the rest of the directions: Take Rt. 3 south to Waterloo. Turn right on Rt. 156, then take the first left onto Lakeview Road (also known as Mayestown Road). After you have passed downtown Mayestown, turn left onto Bluff Road. The site is located on Bluff Road, south of the town of Fults. From the south end of the town of Fults, continue on Bluff Road for 1.6 miles. There will be a small parking area on the left, across from a small brown sign for the site. Yvonne will have her cell phone on that morning if you need to reach her: 314.600.5526.
Hilda Young Conservation Area
Take I-44 west to Hwy 109 exit. Turn left onto Hwy 109 (formerly called Hwy. W). Go south on 109 for 2 miles. At the T intersection, turn right onto Hwy FF and go for 2.7 miles to a well-marked parking lot on the left. There is a Mo. Dept. of Conservation sign at the parking lot. There are gasoline stations on Hwy 109 to stop for restrooms; these are the last public facilities.
Horseshoe Lake
To get there from the St. Louis side, cross the Poplar Street Bridge into Illinois and follow the signs for I-70/55 (do not get onto I-64). Exit at Hwy. 203 (only about 5 miles from the Arch) and go left. The racetrack will be on your left and a truck stop will be on your right, across from the racetrack. Meet outside the Taco Bell at the truck stop. We can’t leave our cars there but will simply use the Taco Bell as the meeting location and then head out.
Marais Temps Clair
From the intersection of I-270 and I-70, travel north on I-270 for 2 miles to Hwy. 370. Take Hwy. 370 (west/north) and travel for 4.5 miles, crossing the Missouri River, to Hwy 94. Go north on Hwy 94 and travel for 3.8 miles. You will see Hwy. 94 make a sharp turn to the left. Do not turn left but instead continue straight ahead at this intersection—you will now be on County Road H. Travel on Hwy. H for 1.8 miles to Island Road, which forms a T intersection—watch for the MDC sign at the intersection (the sign is on right). Turn left (north) onto Island Road (the only direction you can turn) and travel 1.9 miles to parking area on the right (east) side of Island Road.
Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center
From the intersection of Interstates 44 & 270, take Watson Road to Geyer Road. Turn north on Geyer for 200 yards to Cragwold Road. Go west on Cragwold for one mile to the nature center entrance on the right, and follow the drive to the parking lot. Enter the building through the left entrance.
Riverlands
Take I-270 and exit at Hwy. 367 north. Stay on 367 until just before the Clark Bridge that crosses the river into Alton (do not cross bridge!). At the Fisca gas station on the Missouri side of the bridge, turn right into Riverlands and go straight on the main road. The Visitor’s Center is on the left. The Visitor’s Center is closed on weekends; however, rustic toilets are available along the main road—just continue on about a 1/4 mile beyond the Visitor’s Center.
Route 66 State Park
Take I-44 west to the Lewis Rd. exit (No. 266), and after exiting continue past the West Tyson County Park entrance to the Route 66 Visitor’s Center on the left.
Shaw Nature Reserve
Starting at the junction of I-270 and I-44, travel west on I-44 for approximately 23 miles to Hwy. 100/Gray Summit Exit (Exit #253). Upon exiting, turn left (cross over I-44) on Hwy. 100. Turn right (west) immediately after crossing I-44 and travel 0.1 mile and turn left into the Shaw Nature Reserve entrance. The Visitors’ Center is just inside the gate. Note: there is a modest entrance fee for non-Missouri Botanical Garden members.
Two Rivers NWR
Meet at the Visitor’s Center of Riverlands. We will cross over into Calhoun County, IL on a ferry. Directions to Riverlands: Take I-270 and exit at Hwy. 367 north. Stay on 367 until just before the Clark Bridge that crosses the river into Alton (do not cross bridge!). At the Fisca gas station on the Missouri side of the bridge, turn right into Riverlands and go straight on the main road. The Visitor’s Center is on the left. The Visitor’s Center is closed on weekends; however, rustic toilets are available along the main road—just continue on about a 1/4 mile beyond the Visitor’s Center.
Tyson Research Center
From the junction of I-44 and I-270, go west on I-44 about 7 miles to the Antire Road/Beaumont exit (#269). Proceed on the exit ramp through the stop sign. The entrance (Gatehouse) to Tyson is about 100 feet past the stop sign.
Victoria Glade
From the intersection of I-270 and Tesson Ferry (Hwy. 21), go south on Hwy. 21 for 24 miles to Hillsboro. At the traffic signal at the corner of Hwy. 21 and Main Street, you will see a Hardee’s on the southeast corner. Turn left by the Hardee’s onto Main Street. (Note: on the right, Main Street is called Hwy. BB—do not turn in that direction). Proceed on Main Street east one block where it ends. Turn right (south) onto Vreeland Road and travel 2.2 miles—watch for the Victoria Glade sign at a small gravel parking lot on the left side of the road. Note: Vreeland Road changes names to Victoria-Hillsboro Road or Victoria Road. There are no facilities at Victoria Glade.