Places to Go, Things to do

Lots of outdoor activities for August

Because August is the last month before school starts, Young Saint Louis.com will highlight lots of outdoor activities for kids and their families.

City, county and state parks have all sorts of scheduled activities for young people in the St. Louis metro area.

Here is a rundown of some of the activities. Some have fees attached but many of them are free.

Fun bike rides for Kids

Trailnet. Inc., continues its new Bicycle Fun Rides for Kids in August with two different rides. These rides are specially designed to be easy for kids and families.

There is a Fahrradtour and Augustfest ride on Sunday, Aug. 8. The ride starts at 8 a.m. in Mascoutah, Ill., and has routes of 16, 23, 36 and 50 miles. The terrain is described as "flat with a few small hills."

This ride is in conjunction with the Mascoutah Homecoming and there are plenty of food, drinks, games and displays.

On Sunday, Aug. 15, there is the always-fun My Just Desserts Bicycle Ride, starting from Orchard Farm, Mo. One of the big attractions of this combination Missouri-Illinois ride is the chance to stop at My Just Desserts in Elsah, Ill., for food, drinks and a slice of pie.

The ride starts at Orchard Farm School at 8 a.m. There is a scenic barge ride across the Mississippi and Illinois rivers at Grafton, Ill.

For more information, visit www.bicyclefunclub.org.

Ice sledding and other city park treats

What could be better than a chance to go ice sledding in what is often the very hot month of August. You can do it Saturday, Aug. 14, at Sioux Passage Park.

The St. Louis Parks Department supplies the block of ice on which you can slide down the hill at Sioux Passage Park. For directions, call (314) 615-7275. There is a $6 charge.

There are dozens of other activities in the city parks during August. These include classes in backpacking, beginning archery and using a map and compass.

For complete details, visit www.stlouisco.com/parks.

Hunting lessons at MDC ranges

The Busch Memorial and the Jay Henges ranges and outdoor education centers have all sorts lessons for just about every kind of hunting. These ranges are run by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The lessons involved everything from basic archery and .22 caliber rifles to muzzleloading and blackpowder firearms. There's still time for Missouri hunter and bowhunter education certification courses.

For a complete schedule of range courses, visit either:
www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/ranges/busch or www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/ranges/henges.

Conservation Frontiers program for families

Frontiers is a program sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Its goal is to encourage development of conservation-minded citizens, both young and old.

There are over 130 activities to choose from. Each activity is led by an adult and is assigned a point total.

You can move through 13 levels of conservation awareness and service.

The Frontiers program is designed to develop a competence to help Missouri preserve and improve its outdoor resources.

For more information, call Anna-Lisa Tucker, naturalist, at (636) 458-2230, Ext. 25.

Other MDC activities in August

The Missouri Department of Conservation also has other outdoor facilities in the St. Louis area. They include the large August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area in St. Louis County.

Other facilities are the new Columbia Bottoms area, the Rockwoods Reservation and the Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center.

For program schedules, see www.mdc.mo.gov/areas. Then, click on the area you want.