dr. edmund a. babler memorial state park

Babler Park web site:http://mostateparks.com/park/dr-edmund-babler-memorial-state-parkAt 2,400+ acres, Babler is one of the largest and oldest parks in the Missouri State Park system. Located in Wildwood in far west St Louis County, this park offers many recreational opportunities including hiking, camping, swimming, horse trails, and picnic / bbq facilities. There are picnic sites scattered throughout the park and campgrounds - some with RV hookups - can be reserved through the office on site. There is a stable on-site, but it's not in use. Bring your own horse or if you live in the area, just ride on over...Much of the park was developed during the depression and used the resources of two Civilian Conservation Camps (CCC) which were stationed within the park to develop the property. Many of the stone buildings and bridges built by the CCC are still evident in the park. Within minutes of the busy Chesterfield Valley area, this park provides a very quiet and nurturing retreat. Take a drive through or get out of your car and walk a bit, it's very enjoyable.

Just spent the weekend camping at their campground. The site was very level & backed up to the woods. Got a chance to hike couple of their trails & stopped at their visitor center. The bathhouse was clean but no soap available near the restrooms. Several showers were available to use. The biggest plus was there was wifi available at the campground.

I walk in this park several times a week. It is rarely crowded and has wonderful trails and green spaces to explore. The RV section is usually not crowded and is beautiful with many large mature trees and lots of space between campsites. It is a great place to ride your bike, hike, ride your horse if you are so inclined, or just relax and enjoy the park and scenery. It is definitely a hidden gem.

This place is so big that you will need a map to find where you want to go or how to get out. Plenty of privacy between picnic areas. This the great outdoors at its best.

We are camping across the US, so this review is limited to the campground. BIG plus is free wifi. When on the road it's a big deal. Nicely laid out camping area that has most but not all sites in some shade. Others, though are sun city, so beware of the ones past the shower block. The block was clean and tidy, and as a plus had real toilet paper. Yes, folks, none of that huge roll of tissue paper masquerading as toilet paper, this is the real thing. Nice hosts who were obliging and friendly even on a busy weekend. Ice and wood available. StL is a bit of a haul away but for a whole day, no big deal. Plenty of trails to hike on, as its quite a large place. Very reasonable $22 a night includes power.

Trails are great. Have a 5 and 3 year old, so we love the diversity of the trails. Can hike a short one, ride bikes on the paved ones, or load up in the double stroller and go for a fun ride on others. Signs are clearly marked, and park is very well maintained.

This state park offers many wonderful well marked trails, night programs, and a fantastic campground. There are not many amenities in this park, however this convenient location to the St. Louis area makes it a great place to take the family. Take in Six Flags, The Cardinals, the free St. Louis Zoo, and all the wonderful museums in the area.

Visited the park the last weekend in September and the campgrounds were "packed". (The Girl Scouts had a function at the park, and Scotish days were held nearby the park.) The park is free and the camping fees were reasonable like most state parks.The restrooms and showers were clean and well maintained. The campsites, visitor center, and trails were in great shape. Be careful around the bicycle riders and hikers on the park roads. We had a great time and will venture here again soon.

We only spent a couple of hours at the park - lovely visitor center and nice facilities. There weren't a lot of people in the park which was a shame.

Babler State Park is located on the western fringe of St. Louis county. This massive park has beautiful forested rolling hills. If you enjoy hiking, you may like the trails. It seems that the park is also popular with bicycle riders and joggers. There is an equestrian trail as well.All of the facilities have seen much better days. There is a huge pool, but it's decaying and filled with green water. Grass is sprouting up through the pool deck and the impressive buildings are clearly not receiving any maintenance. It's unfortunate, because Wildwood does not have an aquatic center like Ellisville or Chesterfield -- if the pool was open and modernized it would get some use. There are tennis and basketball courts across from the pool. The tennis courts are crumbling and there are no nets. The basketball hoops and backboards were taken down long ago.There are also many fields that were originally intended for baseball or softball, but these are decrepit as well.The stable is a glorious old building with beautiful stonework. If it was put into regular use with organized trail rides, it would be popular. Now it is used for the Babler Wild educational programs -- which are excellent -- as the surrounding buildings fade into history. The park has an abundance of picnic tables with grills, making it a great spot for a picnic. The visitor's center has a very small educational area. Hands-on exhibits include microscopes, but only two of them were working. There's a birdwatching area towards the back of the building, but the empty feeders were not attracting any birds. I am happy that this valuable land has been preserved and saved from development. Given the park's proximity to St. Louis, I think it would thrive if the amenities were updated. I would envision someplace with an aquatic center, horseback trail rides, a lodge with rooms and a conference center, maybe even a restaurant. Modern tennis and basketball courts and an indoor playground/activity center, like at Mahoney State Park in Nebraska. An ice skating rink. An outdoor ampitheater. A toboggan run. A zip line down one of the wooded hills. So much potential!As it stands now, if you just want to relax and get out into nature, Babler is fine. But it could be so much more.

The park itself is just beautifully wooded and hilly. For a day of hiking or biking, it's a winner.Other than that, I would pass.The whole park is run down. Stables? Closed. Pool? Shut down years ago but still advertised. Basketball courts? Nope, backboards all gone. Tennis courts? No nets. Baseball fields? No bases and no infield markings or sand.The playground is by itself nowhere near anything else and it's very small with no bathrooms around.The campground is OK for a short stay but has no playground or any other amenities except wood and ice IF anyone is around to sell it. Visitor Center is old and dated with displays that have seen much better days. All of the buildings including bathrooms have seen much better days.However, we did camp there and the kids loved it but that was for the raccoons, bonfire, biking and hiking. The sad part is if this were a maintained park with the advertised amenities, it would be our favorite local destination.

There are miles and miles of roads and trails here, more to discover than you might imagine just outside the metro area. This is a good place to come to bicycle as asphalt roads weave throughout--be ready to do some hill work though!

Went on a Saturday afternoon, found a nice quiet spot and laid out a blanket. We ended up taking a 2-hour nap, it was VERY relaxing and relatively quiet (only a few bikes and couple of cars came past). Love this park!

There are a lot of things you can do at this park, I just have not taken advantage of most. I normally just go to this park to take my dogs out, or to have a picnic. They have a playground for children, a swimming pool (I'm not sure about the admission price). You can also camp out there etc. There are trails for runners, and I see a lot of people riding bikes out there. My favorite thing about the park is getting there. If you are coming from 40/64 from the west, once you get up into the hills of chesterfield you get great looks at some very beautiful houses!

This is a fantastic campground, with easily accessible and level camp sites. There are several hiking trails that we have been on, and the nature interpretive center is first class - small, but museum quality exhibits help visitors understand the surrounding area.