Hiking in the winter in Columbia is the best, and anyone can do it — even if, like me, you don’t see yourself as a “real hiker.”
I’m more the kind of person who says, “Oh, that looks like an interesting walk; let’s give it a try.” I don’t have any fancy gear, no big stomping hiking boots, and I don’t know where all the great views are, but you don’t need all these things to take a hike.
I know because for about eight years, every single Sunday, I’ve hiked the 6-mile Gans Creek Trail in Rock Bridge Memorial Park — when it was snowing, blowing, and even a few times in the rain. During those years, I’ve also walked four 10-mile days on the Appalachian Trail and 6-13 miles through the woods and fields of Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and the U.K.
But I still don’t think of myself as a hiker.
A LITTLE PIECE OF PIE
It started one Sunday years ago when my husband, David O’Brien, and I decided to take a 15-minute walk in Rock Bridge after brunch. One of my guiding principles is that a little piece of pie is better than no pie at all. In this case, that translated to walking 15 minutes after lunch rather than going home to take up residence on the couch.
You might laugh at such a low bar — 15 minutes — but we were not then, nor are we now, svelte, youthful adventurers. We both carry a few extra pounds around our middles and a full quota of gray hair. I’m now 71, and my husband is 85, and we’re still walking. Of course, when we started, we were mere kids in our 60s and 70s.
We started going a bit farther each time, and soon we were walking 30 minutes one way and another 30 minutes back on the trail and saw some really cool sights. After a while, we decided to try walking the whole 6-mile loop trail. The idea of starting off and not doing any backtracking appealed to us. Soon, we were walking the whole 6-mile trail in roughly three hours every week. We’ll never set a speed record, but we are out there every single Sunday. There’s a lot to be said for persistence.
WINTER JOY
Winter hiking is amazing. From the bluffs, you can look out over the trees and valleys and see the slender white fingers of the sycamore trees reaching upward, marking out the winding creeks in the forest. The air is crisp, and you can see farther at each overlook. Finally, winter hiking means you won’t be hounded by mosquitoes or biting flies, a big plus in Missouri. You’ll still need bug repellent through November and again starting in February or March to ward off the ticks, though.
GEAR SUGGESTIONS
Despite all our hiking, we don’t have a lot of fancy gear. In fact, our first walks were in street shoes and jeans. Along the way, we’ve upped our game but not by much. We started using hiking poles after our Appalachian Trail walks. On the Gans Creek Trail, the poles keep us upright on the slippery rocks during the two creek crossings and on rocky portions of the trail. Buy quality hiking poles if you can. The discount brand I tried bent the first time I used them.
As for clothing, avoid cotton. Once damp, cotton stays wet, and you’ll feel chilled. I’ve invested in a couple of wool T-shirts; wool wicks away moisture and still keeps you warm. I also bought bug-repellent-treated pants, a light pair for summer and a heavier pair for winter. I don’t trust cold weather to kill Missouri ticks — what can I say? I also carry picaridin, an effective, low-smell bug repellent.
For me, three things are crucial for a hike: a snack, water, and a backpack. Somehow, knowing you’ll get a break and a snack like grapes, hard-boiled eggs, or mixed nuts makes any hike easier. We start the trail at the Wagon Wheel trailhead at the end of Bearfield Road, and there are picnic tables at almost the halfway point at the Shooting Star trailhead.
The most crucial thing is to always take water — and more than you think you’ll need. Trust me on this. A backpack with pockets will make it easy to carry at least two bottles of water, and staying hydrated even when it is cold is essential. That backpack will come in handy when you heed another rule of cold-weather walking: Wear layers. As you go along, that jacket that felt so good when you started will make you sweat. A down jacket is light on your back and in your backpack.
There’s no need for fancy boots. Like many “real” hikers, I wear light trail runners. I like KEENs or Merrells, and I buy them locally so I make sure I get a good fit. But if you don’t want to spend the money, remember, I did a lot of hikes in regular shoes.
HIKE DOWNTOWN
Winter is the perfect time to walk any of Columbia’s three downtown trails in our compact historic downtown area.
- Columbia’s African-American Heritage Trail has more than two dozen stops, all marked with informative plaques about Columbia’s African American history. You can walk this historic trail via the Otocast app or by scanning the QR code to view the map: https://www.como.gov/archive/2024/11/African-American-Heritage-Trail-map.pdf.
- The Columbia Public Art Trail consists of 35 stops and is also available on the Otocast app, which features photos as well as written and audio information.
- The North Village Art Walk includes 24 spots, featuring sculptures, murals, and other art, along a trail that winds its way from College Avenue to Eighth Street, and Rogers Street to the alley behind Walnut Street. Scan the QR code to check it out: https://www.northvillageartwalk.org/art-walk-map
GO WILD
Here is info on Gans Creek Trail and two other winter-worthy trails.
- Gans Creek Trail, 6 miles, 629-foot gain. It offers scenic views and two creek crossings. Trailheads are across from the main Rock Bridge Memorial Park entrance, at the end of South Bearfield Road, and at 5499 E. Bonne Femme Church Road.
- Grassland Trail, 1.9 miles, 95-foot gain. This open, sunny trail is an easy walk. The trailhead is off Rockbridge Lane off Highway 63.
- Moon Loop, 6 miles, 475-foot gain, in the Mark Twain National Forest, just a bit south of Columbia. It offers a wide variety of terrain, meadows, woods, creeks, and scenic views and has two trailheads: one on Barnes Chapel Road and the other on Ginn Road, off South 63, near the Deer Park exit.
Remember, any hiking is good hiking, so feel free to go for five minutes, 15 minutes, or as long as it takes to complete the trail. Then when you get back home, you can treat yourself to a little piece of pie — because that’s better than no pie at all.
