Somehow, during the last decade of camping with my family, we failed to venture very far beyond the two places that grew to be our “second homes” between May and September (Ozark Outdoors Riverfront Resort in Leasburg, Missouri and Twin Rivers Landing in Lesterville). However, after an incredible road trip through Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma last summer, my interest in National and State Parks was ignited. As I explore my home state of Missouri, I’m continuously discovering beautiful places, some of which I have not heard, and some that have been long forgotten since childhood.

I was told about the beautiful hiking trails in Hawn State Park (Ste. Genevieve) a couple of years ago, and finally got around to visiting during Spring Break this week. While researching the trails prior to my trip, I discovered that there was a campground in the park, and since camping is my favorite way to enjoy Nature, I decided to make checking out the campsites a priority during my first visit. I had so much fun exploring the cozy little campground and Pickle Creek (a shut-ins stream which flows along it), that I didn’t actually have enough time to hike the trails because it started to rain. So, I made a reservation for later this year, and can’t wait to visit with my family and see what everything looks like during the warmer seasons!

Here are some photos I took during my March visit. Since I had trouble finding visitors’ pictures of the campsites online, I took a couple of my own in case anyone else searched Hawn State Park campsite photos. Many of the sites were booked, but I’ve included images of campsite 17 (and possibly campsite 23 with my car on the concrete pad, but now I can’t remember where I was parked when that photograph was taken) and walk-in campsites 49 and 50. All of the campsites along the creek have nice views, tall pines, and Pickle Creek running behind them. The entire campground is pretty flat, so if you’re tent camping, you’re sure to find plenty of level ground no matter where you are. There are running toilets and showers in the shower house near the end of the campground and vault toilets throughout the campground and near the trailheads. There are four trails between 300 ft. and 9.75 miles (one good for backpacking and three for hiking).

(LEFT) Pickle Creek behind the walk-in sites, (RIGHT) campsite 17:

(LEFT) Pickle Pickle Creek behind campsite 17: 

(LEFT) campsite 17, (RIGHT) campsite 17 or 23):

Walk-in campsite 49:

Luna running in the sand behind the walk-in campsites:

Walk-in campsite 50 (Pickle Creek is to the right; a trickle of flowing water runs along the front of the bluff):

Pickle Creek trailhead:

Hawn State Park in March {Missouri Nature Photographer}