Al Foster Trail at Sherman Beach Park

Absolutely flat and easy to walk trail along Meramec river. Nice at any weather.

Decent sized parking lot, very short walk to the River(beautiful view) now if you walk the path going towards the river it is Sandy and unpaved but if you go to the right of the trailhead towards Al foster Trail it is paved. Very beautiful Conservation Area to enjoy nature and take a hike

PSA 1: The ticks are out already (3/3/24), so don’t forget the Deet/bug spray like I did. I pulled one tick off the back of my knee several hours post-hike. PSA 2: Parking tickets. The small parking lot is limited and on Sunday, March 3 at 2 pm, just as we were returning from a 5.5 mile out and back hike, the St. Louis County Park Ranger was writing up tickets to the 6 or so cars that parked along the shoulder, ours included. None of these cars were blocking the drive, and it’s unclear where the non-parking zone begins and ends. It would be helpful if the sign simply said “No Parking on Shoulders”. Since this has become such a popular outdoors destination, StL County should consider adding overflow parking. Otherwise, it is a beautiful area.

Pretty flat easy hike along the Meramac from Sherman Beach past the Rock Hollow Trail. Small parking lot of about 16 cars at Sherman Beach. Could not believe it but saw pricky pear cactus in a tall grass field just past the end of the Rock Hollow trail. It was a well marked and wide trail. Great views of the Meramac.

Really enjoyable trail with a bunch of branching side trails. The Al Foster Trail itself reminds me of a mini Katy Trail (shorter and narrower). It runs parallel to the river and has nice views.