Another trail we like to frequent in the St. Louis area is Mallard Lake Trail located just south of Creve Coeur Lake Park. If you park at Creve Coeur, you can lengthen the trail listed here by going around both lakes. If you are looking for a somewhat shorter trail, this is the one to choose as the one around Creve Coeur Lake is 3.7 miles.
If you solely want to hike the trail around Mallard Lake, the best place to park is at the Lakeside Cafe, across the street from the Lou Fuze Soccer Fields. That’s what we usually do. The day we took pictures, we headed to the south of the lot and worked our way around the lake that way.
The trail begins as a paved path with a line dividing the middle, but that doesn’t last for long! However the scenery is beautiful along the way!
A little way down the path you come to a sign that states how long the trail is.
After that you the trail winds it’s way through some “field” area before reaching a wooded area. If I recall correctly, you lose the pavement after the paved path branches off toward a neighborhood.
When you reach the wooded area, it can be a welcome relief from walking out in the open sunshine.
When you’ve made it through the wooded section, you will reach an intersection with the Lakeside Trail of Creve Coeur Park. If you keep going straight you will end up on the other trail. You want to turn left to use the shared trail portion as you walk beneath the overpass.
From this point on you will be back to a paved pathway. Along the shared stretch we saw some lovely cranes out in the water. I think a counted about 10 of them!
After the short walk along the overpass, you will reach another intersection. Again continue to your left, or else you will end up walking the Lakeside Trail instead of the Mallard Lake Trail.
Just beyond that area, you will reach yet another intersection, this time being a roundabout. Keep heading to the left! The other directions will take you out to various roadway paths that connect to other trails in the area!
You get a little bit more of a stretch with some lakeside views. Mallard Lake is much smaller than Creve Coeur Lake, but the trail allows you to see far less of Mallard Lake than when you take the Lakeside Trail around Creve Coeur Lake.
Finally if you’ve followed all the directions correctly, you will end up seeing the Lakeside Cafe up ahead on your right. If you’ve come around a mealtime, I highly recommend stopping by! Their patio space is dog friendly! Even if you aren’t in the mood for a full meal, their nacho plates are excellent, but more on those in next week’s post!
To follow more of our travel adventures in real time, follow sitesandbitesjournal on Instagram or sign up for email updates for this blog so you can have the full details when they get posted!
Sites & Bites 