Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center

No Dogs, no bikes! A little confusing considering the trails are paved. Looked like a decent place to hike, despite their restrictions.

Rain or shine this place is awesome. The kids and I love the trails and the classes/​programs offered as well.

Paved trails, trees, chipmunks, no creepers in the woods, sunshine, and fresh air. It’s the perfect place to get your heart beating with your significant other, friends, and family. Its a well maintained trail system close to STL how can you go wrong. It’s worth a hike at least once. If you don’t like the 2.2 miles of trails head to the nearby Luminer (sp.) sculpture park.

Powder Valley is exceptional! It is great for both adults and children. They have great trails with one to accommodate handicapped visitors. There are two levels in the building. The comfy indoor observation area allows deer, birds, etc. to come close enough for people to really see and appreciate. There is an indoor active beehive where the bees enter the hive through the wall via a secure tube with one end attached to the hive and the other for outside access by the bees. Fascinating… and no stings! Real and stuffed indoor exhibits… a big, functioning aquarium, a stuffed deer… on and on.
Adults and children will learn a lot and enjoy the experience. Visit often!

Powder Valley is a gem. It’s nestled b/​w I-​44 and 270, on the opposite side of the highway from Laumeire sculpture park. I had no idea this was here so I’m glad I took a chance. There’s an information/​nature center that is totally not boring at all. I was surprised. After a quick meander, check out one of two main hiking trails. We took the longer one and it was a doozy. Such incline. It’s a paved trail but you are most definitely surrounded by forest, which you might forget until you hear the 44 traffic. Still, very lovely.

This review is just for the trails at this conservation center. Went here on a mild, rainy winter day because all of the trails are paved! The Hickory Ridge trail is the longest trail but it is not very long however it is very hilly so you can still get a good workout. Be careful on this trail in wet weather as the pavement can be slick, it also has a ground-​level creek crossing which can be flooded (odd since there are so many nice bridges in this small conservation area).
I’ll have to go back during the summer because with the leaves off the trees interstate 44 is loud and visible. Also there are no bikes or dogs that hikers have to watch out for and the nature center is large and very nice.

Great place to go in both good and bad weather. Outside, there are many trails to walk and take in Missouri’s beauty. Various wildlife roam the landscape and deer are used to seeing people here so you can get fairly close. Inside, there is a learning center for children where they can do various activities such as color, smell natural outdoor smells (including not so pleasant ones) and see some animals in tanks/​aquariums. Plus… it’s all free

This is a hidden gem in South St. Louis County. Unfortunately on the day I fought the kiddos the main building was closed but the trails were still open. There are a handful of trails from beginners to slightly more challenging but all decently marked and easy to follow. I was immediately impressed at how large the park was sitting along side highways 270 and 44.
We easily came across 2 different herds of deer maybe 12 deer in total. Though an every day occurrence where we live, still a welcome sight for the kids. Plenty of nature to take in all around.
Be warned the trails can be somewhat steep so wear appropriate footwear. There are nice bridges that cross creek beds.
We can’t wait to come back when the main building is open to experience some of the hands-​on experiences there.
Building closed on Sunday and Monday. Trails still open.

The nature center was closed when we went, but we had fun walking the trails anyway. There are nice walking paths and informational signs. This is a good place to spend an afternoon with the kids.

What a fun discovery this was! Having driven past the sign for Powder Valley hundreds of times, I decided to take my toddler there one Sunday. I had read the Unilocal reviews, but it really exceeded my expectations.
Disclaimer: there are taxidermied animals EVERYWHERE. If that makes you squeamish (which it does me a bit), be forewarned.
Anyway, my toddler thought the birds hanging from the ceiling were super cool. There are non-​live birds, raccoons, a beavers, a bobcat & some live reptiles/​amphibians (turtles, frogs, snakes). There’s also a big fish tank with some monstrous Missouri fish, which they feed at 2pm (update to Dave F’s review).
Side note: it seems like there were a lot of random pelts laying around. I don’t think that I would recommend this place to a vegetarian or Ace Ventura.
From a parent perspective, it’s really quite a decent indoor display for rainy days. There’s a running movie of some dude making animal noises that’s pretty amusing and plenty of stairwells, hallways and displays for a wandering toddler. I appreciated that the trails are paved (no poison ivy on paved trails!) & they’re all marked with the length of the trail. There’s seriously nothing worse than getting stuck on a surprise marathon hike with a 35-​pounder that suddenly wants to be carried.
Looking forward to our next visit. It was definitely too much to take in on one visit.

A nice visitor center and a couple of great and paved hiking trails. This is a bucolic refuge nestled in a «urban» area. Great for kids.

No dogs, No bikes, No trail running, and all the trails are paved… Might as well go to the Missouri Botanical Garden or some other place where the no fun police prevail. There are to many other parks in Missouri where I can go and enjoy nature how I want to. Powder Valley is a waste of our taxes.

I love this place! I am only sad to have discovered it just recently, being a St. Louis resident most of my life. It is completely free, which is a plus. There are multiple trails with a variety of lengths to choose from. The nature center is great for kids. They even have a small gift shop with reasonably priced items to get for your kids. I try to get a little something each time we go in order to help support the park. The volunteers are very friendly and informative. Great place to go and have the kids explore and unwind a little. It’s free, close, and not an all day affair which I love.

I like this place for the inside and outside. The inside is a place where a kid can be a kid in a somewhat educational environment. What kid doesn’t want to put their head in a fish head? The fly head is probably the favorite. There things to touch, to open, to explore. I used to run around this place for hours as a child. And the outside is a great place to walk around because the trails are well maintained. It’s not a far drive from the city, and it’s free.

I’ve been going to Power Valley since I was child. I have such strong memories of this place. As the child of a single mother, we scoured St. Louis, looking for free stuff to do. Power Valley was on the shortlist rotation. Mom would get her walks and my brother and I would run free. After hiking the long trail, my mom would take us inside the conservation center where we played with raccoon and turtle puppets and stared in wonder at the oversized dirt organism diorama. The first time I ever got hit on by a boy, I was running around the inside of this place with my brother. During the summer, we’d stop in at Powder Valley on our way to the old Kirkwood Pool (RIP). Those were the days…
Years later, I go trail jogging in this beautiful little (sub)urban get-​a-​way. I haven’t been inside the center in years and don’t even know if they still have the turtle puppets. I like to go early now, when the mist is still in the air and the trail is slick. The deer are still nested down in last night’s bed. Now, there are multiple paved trails of varying distances on various sides of the parking lot. Powder Valley sits right in the crux between Highways 270 and 44, so if you need to blow off some steam after work and commune a little with nature, Powder Valley will take good care of you. The air is cleaner than you’d expect given its location next to the highways and the land is rich with wildflowers, fungi and other little natural wonders. Deep breaths. Recharge.

The trails around the Nature Center are paved and steep in some areas of the trail. They are perfect for short walking/​hiking. They suggest no jogging or bikes, which is good advice because it is very steep and limited vision in a lot of areas of the trail.
Many beautiful beautiful streams, trees canvassing above, bridges, and well placed park benches all through out the trails. Bring your camera, if you are a hobbyist, because there are plenty of great shots!
Their «long loop» trail was just 1.5 miles long.
Just a really great spot to go for a small hike!
We saw 2 deers grazing near the path and took a couple pictures.
The Nature Center closes before the park does (5pm for the center and the summer hours of the park are 8 a.m. — 8 p.m.)
There are bathrooms in it’s own area separate from the Nature Center.
Inside the Nature Center there are sofas to sit and look out the window at an active squirrel feeder, which would be nice to sit in the winter near the fire place while looking at a winter’s landscape.
Right now it was slightly musty smell, dust maybe.
The Center itself was cooler then the outside but the AC is not a priority it seems. Fine for me as long as it is not steaming hot inside like it was outside today!
Worth going for the trails. I will have to return when I have enough time to check out more of the Nature Center.
Very nice people!

This place is great! I can see nature from a nice paved trail or go inside the Missouri Conservation building and learn about the Show-​Me States animals.
Inside the building that is open till 5 PM except once a month till winter they are open till 8 and this happened to be the day. Wed June 9^th, Fri July 9^th, Tues August 10^th, Sept 15 and Friday Oct 8^th are the «linger longer» nights.
I saw live animals like bees, frogs, turtles, fish and snakes. Plus I saw stuffed beaver, raccoon, fox, bobcat, groundhog, birds and a bat. They even have a treehouse!
On Saturday at 1 PM, I read, they feed the fish!
They had a fish that if I was little I could see through the eyes and have panoramic vision. This place is just too cool for UnCool Dave.
The Conservation center has 4 paved trails ranging from a ¹⁄₃ mile disabled accessible trial to a 1−1÷5 mile «steep» trail. First go to past the conservation center to the restroom/​pavilion and look on the wall next to the men’s room door for cool 3D map of the overall place.
There are more interesting unpaved trails and picnic/​bbq areas by the Meramac River at «Russell E. Emmenegger Nature Park» just down Cragwold Road from the entrance to Powder Valley and make a left @ the T in the road.

Gorgeous nature center and property. They have a viewing room off the back with a «feeding» station set up, so you can visit and view wildlife all from the comfort of a controlled climate system.
Great educational facility with resources for teachers all available for free. Take advantage of their tours, library and selection of materials that can be checked out.
I visited the other day and saw three deer feeding around dusk. A peaceful retreat from the hectic suburban sprawl just several hundred yards away.

Consider this «Urban Hiking.» Imagine a refuge, peaceful, quiet, fairly undisturbed by the sprawl surrounding it, however, all compacted into a teeny tiny area. The trails are nice and paved, so you don’t have to worry about tripping on routes or getting lost in the woods, which is nice. But the trails are short… very very short. They are also not so difficult, which is good for the inexperienced hiker, but will likely bore any experienced hiker to death. If you are looking to spend a short time in nature or you just want to take a quick walk through the trees it’s a nice place to go. There’s also areas all around it to to picnic or read a book. You can even check out the nature canter if you are so inclined.
If you are looking for more walking, you can always cross I-​44 and walk through Laumeier Sculpture Park… that will certainly be a change of scene.

Powder Valley is a nice little refuge for hiking. There are a few short trails, and I believe it is more aimed at nature watching than actual hiking. For me it is just fine, because I have bad allergies, and therefore can’t spend too much time out in nature anyway. What I really like is that the trails are paved, because I have fallen and hurt myself pretty badly at one reserve in particular. When you’re all alone in the woods up on a hill and you get hurt you can get pretty scared. That isn’t going to happen here… unless a tree falls on you or something. Other hikers are friendly here, and the paths are wide enough to accommodate foot traffic. The nature center is cool, and would likely be a great place to take kids. Dogs, hunting, fishing, and anything other than walking is prohibited — although bicyclists are often there anyway.