Granite Boulders Dominate Elephant Rocks State Park

Elephant Rocks State Park is a natural playground for grown-ups and kids alike. You can climb the giant boulders, crawl under some of them and explore the maze-like crevices between. Climb the rocks at your own risk--and keep an eye on the kids—because there's no rubber safety mat on nature's playgrounds.

Elephant Rocks is a favorite day trip for St. Louis hikers and nature seekers. The park is located about 80 miles south of St. Louis County and it takes around an hour and a half to drive there, depending on your starting point and which highway you take. The best route is by way of Hwy 67 (pick it up in Festus) to Farmington, but from there you’re on smaller state roads. You can also take Hwy 21 all the way to the park if you want a scenic country drive on a two lane road. It’s highly recommended to get your directions from the park website here—if you type “Elephant Rocks” into some GPS and mapping systems you may be directed to the local park ranger office, which is nowhere near the rocks. Elephant Rocks does not have a street address.

The park gets its name from the giant elephant sized boulders that dominate the center of the park and are scattered throughout the surrounding woods. Some of these boulders are over 600 tons!

The park was originally part of a 19th Century quarry that mined red granite. Bricks and cobblestones in old St. Louis, like those in the Eads Bridge, were taken from this quarry. Fortunately for 21st Century visitors, the land making up Elephant Rocks State Park was donated in 1967 to preserve it, though neighboring areas are still mined for granite.

Visitors to Elephant Rocks can choose to follow the blacktop trail that circles the park. The trail does a one mile loop and shows you all the different features of the park—it winds through giant granite boulders, past views of the abandoned rubble filled quarry and a beautiful lake. Signposts do a great job explaining everything you see, like where long ago stone carvers left their marks or places where forgotten iron spikes were left behind by the quarry workers. Stone walls made of granite blocks edge the trail in many places, offering a great demonstration of what the finished stone looks like. A side trail leads through the woods to an abandoned train shed—also made of native red granite.

More adventurous hikers completely ignore the leisurely trail and head right to the center of the park where the real fun is hidden. The middle of the park is dominated by a rocky outcrop of granite, dotted with “elephant” sized boulders. The slope up is fairly steep, but can be easily climbed with rubber soled shoes. Boulders on top can be climbed freestyle and many athletic hikers leap from boulder to boulder. No rock climbing equipment is permitted in the park.

If you go, wear old jeans and rubber soled tennis shoes or hiking boots. The rock surface is extremely rough and it’s highly likely that rubbing up against the rock will put holes in your pants. Use caution in the summer if you go in shorts—the same pants-destroying granite will scrape knees as well as denim. Rubber soled shoes are helpful to climb the rocks or just to hike to the top of the granite outcrop.

Services are limited at this state park. There is a picnic area with a primitive playground and bathroom facilities—now with both indoor plumbing and latrines—located near the parking lot. Camping and swimming is not allowed at Elephant Rocks, but Johnson Shut-Ins is only 15 miles away if you want to make a weekend of it.

The nearest restaurants are located in Farmington, 18 miles away. Or just bring a picnic basket—the park has picnic benches nestled between the rocks and trees very near the parking lot.

Elephant Rocks is both family- and dog-friendly. The paved trail makes it possible to explore most of the park with a stroller, but you’ll have to climb a few wooden steps if you want to see the top of the rock outcrop from the trail. Parents of children old enough to climb should exercise extreme caution to make sure children don’t tackle rocks above their abilities or get to close to the edges. Many of the smaller rocks are only eight or ten feet high and can be supervised from the ground.