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Park Hills, Missouri

St. Joe State Park ORV

Riding AreaATVDirt BikeSxS / UTV
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About

St. Joe State Park OHV Area offers over 54 miles of ATV, UTV, and dirt bike trails across 2,000 acres of former lead-mine land near Park Hills in St. Francois County, eastern Missouri, approximately 65 miles south of St. Louis. The park sits within the Old Lead Belt, where extensive surface mining and processing operations from the late 1800s through the 1970s created the post-industrial landscape that now serves as Missouri's most-visited OHV destination. The riding terrain reflects this origin: sand flats, hard-packed dirt, water-filled pit areas, wooded sections on mine waste hillsides, hill climbs, and open play areas that feel unlike any naturally formed landscape. The variety makes St. Joe State Park exceptionally popular, beginner families can ride the flat sand loops while expert riders find challenge on the technical hill and mud sections. The park also includes four lakes for swimming and fishing, equestrian trails, and developed picnic areas alongside the OHV zone, making it genuinely multi-use. A Missouri State Park OHV permit is required and available for purchase on-site. Operating hours are dawn to dusk daily. The park is managed by Missouri State Parks (573-431-1069).

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Park details

Vehicle Types
ATV, Dirt Bike, SxS / UTV
Access
Public land

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Rider reviews

What riders are saying

4.6· 1,644 reviews on Google
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  • J
    Jonathan Cochran· a month ago

    I really enjoyed the park it was clean and peaceful and the water was nice I can't wait to spend more time there definitely a place to relax and take your family

  • S
    Safa Hasan· a year ago

    Stopped by during my road trip and it was worth it. Park includes several day use area with a decent size lake. Decided to do the hike by the lake which was beautiful!!! You can see early signs of fall and beautiful trees with different shades of green and some orange colors. There is a long paved trail for biking as well, I do recommend visiting!

  • N
    Nathan Powers· a year ago

    This was a much larger Park than I expected. I also had no idea that it was a very popular place for off-road vehicles. We selected the campground closer to the off-road vehicle area which includes 54 mi of off-road trails. The campground was large and spacious. I had one of the cleanest bathrooms I think I've seen in a Missouri State Park. Even the 2 vault toilets next to our campsite were kept clean. While you could hear sometimes the dirt bikes or four-wheelers off in the distance from the campground and people would drive around the campground on them. They were respectful of the area and didn't go speeding through. And everybody was respectful of quiet hours, not revving up their engines all night. The campground locked at night and you needed a code to get in and out at night. Probably to deter thieves I did not get to check out the Horace centric campground because it was gated shuts and I think you needed a code to get in and out.

  • C
    Cindy Reed· 2 months ago

    Campground is A1. Level pads with the ability to leave straight from your site to go riding. Loved the sand and wooded area. Definitly will go again. Loved the time there side x siding and camping with my grandson.

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Current conditions

93Go/ 100 conditions scoreBest day: Wed, Sep 23 (97)

High today

72°F

Wind

9 kt

Gusts 18 kt

Rain chance

16%

Week ahead

Tue72°F16%
Wed71°F2%
Thu80°F3%
Fri81°F1%
Sat82°F9%
Sun69°F15%
Mon76°F13%

Forecast from Open-Meteo global models (NOAA & ECMWF).

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