Don Robinson State Park
- Nature & parks
- In Cedar Hill, Missouri
- 6.6 mi from Route 66
Don Robinson State Park covers more than 800 acres of rugged woodland in Cedar Hill, MO, in Jefferson County. A businessman spent decades buying up the land and left all of it to the state when he died in 2012, and the park opened to visitors in 2017. Box canyons of sandstone, rock shelters and cliffs make it a wild, green break from the city stretch of Route 66 in Missouri.
What is Don Robinson State Park?
The park sits at the head of the LaBarque Creek watershed, and the ground is anything but flat. Sandstone has worn into narrow box canyons, overhanging rock shelters and cliff faces, with open glades on the ridges and forest both up high and down along the creek bottoms.
Facilities are simple: two hiking trails, a picnic area and the stone house where the park's namesake lived for decades. Restrooms on site make it an easy place to pull in for a break.
History of Don Robinson State Park
Don Robinson was a businessman who started collecting parcels here in the 1960s. His goal was to put together a holding as big as Central Park in New York City, and once he reached it he stopped buying. From 1978 he lived in a stone house on the property.
When he died in 2012 he willed the whole tract to Missouri. The state opened it as a park five years later, in 2017.
Visiting Don Robinson State Park: tips
Plan on a couple of hours if you want to walk one of the trails; the canyon country is the reason to come, and it is best seen on foot. Wear shoes with grip, since sandstone can be slick when wet.
This corner of Jefferson County has several protected areas close together. LaBarque Creek Conservation Area is about 2.6 miles away, the Myron and Sonya Glassberg Family Conservation Area about 3.9 miles, and Young Conservation Area about 4.4 miles, so a full day of woods walking is easy to string together.
Practical info
- Address
- 9275 Byrnesville Rd, Cedar Hill, MO 63016
- Phone
- +1 636-257-3788
- Hours
- We have no opening hours for this stop yet — check the official site.
- On site & nearby
Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix
On the map
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Stops near Don Robinson State Park
All of Missouri
2.6 mi from Don Robinson State Park
3.9 mi from Don Robinson State Park
4.4 mi from Don Robinson State Park
5.8 mi from Don Robinson State Park
6.3 mi from Don Robinson State Park
6.5 mi from Don Robinson State Park
Questions about Don Robinson State Park
Who was Don Robinson?
A businessman who bought land here from the 1960s on, lived in a stone house on the property from 1978, and left the whole tract to Missouri when he died in 2012.
When did Don Robinson State Park open?
The park welcomed its first visitors in 2017, five years after the land passed to the state.
Own or run Don Robinson State Park? Send us a photo or a correction.