St. Louis, MO: Shoreline Trail
This 3.4-mile out-and-back in the heart of Missouri's Little Dixie region travels the wavy, wooded banks of a 205-acre lake.
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Trail Facts
- Distance: 2.8
Waypoints
SHL001
Location: 38.9060592651367, -92.1265411376953
Hike N and turn R onto Shoreline Trail. Catch occasional views over Little Dixie Lake and nearby ponds
SHL002
Location: 38.9085998535156, -92.1267013549805
Cross small footbridge (first of several on this hike); trail leaves grassy area and enters oakhickory forest
SHL003
Location: 38.9095306396484, -92.1290588378906
Keep R and contour along small bay. In the late 1950s, the Missouri Department of Conservation dammed Owl Creek, creating Little Dixie Lake
SHL004
Location: 38.9107894897461, -92.12890625
Bear R @ 3-way (still Shoreline Trail); swing E, then N
SHL005
Location: 38.9140090942383, -92.128303527832
Head through shady hollow with thick undergrowth to a patch of grasses by the shoreline
SHL006
Location: 38.9153099060059, -92.1265182495117
Trail nears sandy banks. This region was settled by farmers from the hemp and tobacco regions of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee?hence the nickname Little Dixie. Most of the old fields are gone
SHL007
Location: 38.9161796569824, -92.1265182495117
Another bridge, trees thinning out
SHL008
Location: 38.9174118041992, -92.1263275146484
Cross bridge; area opens up
SHL009
Location: 38.9188919067383, -92.1259536743164
Reach picnic area on W side. Okay fishing for bass, crappie, and sun fish in this 205-acre lake. Retrace trail to car