Mastodon State Historic Site

Just off of I-​55 at the Kimmswick exit is this historical park. I became more enthused with it after a stl250 cake was placed there (its still there as of this writing). I visited there in the summer of 2014 but I returned recently since I was in that area. The park has 3 recreational trails; unfortunately I didn’t take the time to cruise through them. I did go inside the museum. It’s $ 4 admission to just stand inside one big room. If you are an ancient world history enthusiast you’ll be intrigued. Some cool statues here and there, but not very much to offer. Otherwise I didn’t think it was worth any money to just go in that short museum. Don’t get me wrong, I know the state of Missouri needs money as bad as Illinois. The young, college-​age people working there were not friendly at all and they just didn’t want to be there, it seemed. Just thought I’d throw that out there. Overall, it does tell a great story of what was believed to be a huge mastodon roaming in what is now Jefferson County.

This is probably our new favorite place to hike! We did the Limestone Hill Trail. It was only about 1.5 miles and only had a short bit of up-​hill — it was definitely a nice, easy hike! There aren’t any look outs or any special views. But the walk is so simple and pleasant that it doesn’t matter! There’s also a playground and a shorter paved loop!

Pretty cool displays. There’s like a giant sloth and some pigs and then a big scary mastodon skeleton that looks like something out of that Jurassic Park Dinosaur movie. Except mastodons are not dinosaurs. IF you went here you would know that, DUH!
The trails are pretty easy and the scenery is nice so if you want to get out into nature this is a good place to go. It is also not far from the highway so it is also easy to get to.
I learned a lot and I got some exercise so I will give this place 5 stars.

This museum is worth seeing but I doubt I will need a second visit. It was informative and I liked seeing the mastodon (as stated in an earlier review a reconstruction of several mastodons). And yes, the original one is in London. The arrowhead display was neat too, but I am just really into that kind of thing (I have my own collection). I agree with the review that said you should watch the video first — the museum will make a more sense. They had some neat books for sale and I couldn’t pass up in Missouri natural wonders guidebook. All in all it is worth the visit as it is just a unique experience… Small museum but it is made up by its uniqueness. We got there kind of late so I didn’t get to experience the hiking trails which really bummed me out. I live hiking trails and it sounds like these are worthwhile! So I will be making another trip for the hiking trails alone! Also, the man in the museum is very knowledgable, friendly, and nice!

I learned AND had fun today.
I admit my brain was not fully committed to the experience, so I probably didn’t learn as much as I could have. But I tried halfheartedly to walk away with some knowledge.
My expectations were squashed upon arrival. I hear «mastodons» and I think this place is gonna be like Jurassic Park or some shit. It’s not.
It’s a tiny little building, which calls itself a «museum» and then charges you 4 bucks a piece to see everything you can see while standing there paying your 4 dollars. Whatever. I considered it an investment in my education. I’ll just have Uncle Sam stick it on my tab.
After perusing around the museum, which consisted of:
–80’s-ish placards showing horrible «graphs» and «time lines» of nothing
–Lots of reading material about giant mammals
–A scene of plastic mannequins dressed as Neanderthals, and another scene of some unfortunately dressed cowboys discovering their corpses perfectly preserved in clay some 20 thousand years later. As Jessica C. pointed out, we called this second scene «the internship». You’ll know why when you see it.
–A giant scene of weird, giant animals, and a skeleton of the mastodon which they lead you to believe was found at this site, but which actually wasn’t found at this site, and which is actually a collection of random mastodon bones from around the world. Go fish!
The highlight of the museum was not the mastodon. It was the giant, big foot-​ish model of a man-​eating sloth. Please see attached picture.
After the museum, we got to watch a film (included in our $ 4!!!) that we should have watched before looking at the museum (would have saved me a lot of reading). The film primarily consisted of interior shots of the museum we just walked through. Too high brow for me.
What I gathered is that the main reason this museum exists is because they are excited that humans and mastodons lived at the same time. The main thing that I’m excited about is that mastodons lived.
After the museum, we got to go to another building, included in our $ 4, and look at plaques showing what a stream is. Good stuff.
After that, we took a .4 mile hike (that’s almost a half mile, not a quarter mile, math geniuses) so we could see where the mastodon in this museum wasn’t found. Breathtaking.
*******SPOILER ALERT**********
Mastodons are NOT the same thing as Woolly Mammoths.
Would I go here again? Depends on how much sleeping with you hinged on me going here again.
PS I would have been less reluctant to spend $ 4 if I could have touched or petted the mastodon bones, or if we could have played Jenga with the mastodon bones.

Four stars is a bit generous, but I just can’t bring myself to give only three (A-​OK) stars to a state park that is pretty unique.
Let’s be honest: who thinks about what was going on in Jefferson County during the Pleistocene epoch? Anyone? My point exactly. So to learn about the megafauna and Clovis culture that inhabited what was to be suburban St Louis 12,000 years ago is pretty cool. Did you know there were giant sloths (as in, Sasquatch sized) in addition to Mastodons roaming around? I thought that was pretty interesting.
But on the other hand, the museum is informative, but small, and I would also add a bit incomplete. For example, the museum makes virtually no mention of the fact that the Kimmswick Bone Bed was also a lime quarry. You find this out by walking the trail. That seems like a fairly significant piece of history to gloss over in the museum.
Oh, and the mastodom skeleton that is the highlight of the museum? It’s not even from the area… it’s from Wisconsin! The mastodon excavated from that site was sold to the British Museum.
The hiking trail around the Bone Bed is almost half a mile long and makes for a nice, brief hike. If I lived close by, I’d definitely take advantage of the hiking opportunities. The museum is OK, all things considered, it just isn’t as complete as it could be.

How can you not enjoy getting out of the house for a bit and taking in a piece of nature? Took the dog here for a little hike today and it was peaceful and enjoyable. We have to work our way up to doing all the trails. Today we went to see the bone bed and it is pretty cool to know you stood right where prehistoric creatures walked many many moons ago… The place is well manicured and clean. Will be returning here often.

This was my trail when I lived in Arnold.
Off Seckman on the South (parking) side is a little river/​creek & low flat areas to hike.
Across Seckman– there is a loop trail. I usually went left (clockwise) because the climb up the hill is more gradual.

can i just say that i have the most awesome dog ever?! we went to mastadon park. my dumb ass decided to take the trail across the street from the easy trail. ummm yeah. not so smart if your not prepared. it is a steep climb single file with a dog. about half way it turns to a normal trail. it took us 2 hours to go around. buddy did not pull the whole walk. he kept looking back to see if i was ok. i fell and he checked to see if i was ok. even licked my forehead.
some of the views were very pretty. there are a few spots you can sit and take in the views.
i found that there is only one way up a hill, but two ways down. you can either go tumbling down and land broke bruised and lifeless. or go the same way down as you go up. one step at a time and a sense of knowing that once you go full circle. You are so relieved. i am still bruised and battered but i am relieved that i made it through.

One of my favorite state parks. Like Meg said there are two parks. Visitors can not get from one to the other by foot. Both are worth going too. The museum is in the part directly off the outer road. Great trail. There are a lot of steps to go down. This used to be a quarry. Bikes are not allowed on these trails so you will only have pedestrian traffic.
The other entrance is around a mile south of the main entrance off Secman road. This has the kids play ground and more hiking trails.
There is talk about opening another section of the park where the dairy farm used to be. They are asking for any information from the community about it.
The cave entrance has been barred for years so don’t plan on caving.
One last side note the mastodon in the London Natural History museum came from here.

Awesome place. Great hiking trails. The museum has an entrance fee that allows you to see the museum and the museum annex. Smallish museum, but great dioramas! Loved the complete mastodon skeleton. I also liked the fact that they put info. on the prehistoric & living animals in the same exhibit. They had a prehistoric beaver skull and a modern beaver skull. The prehistoric beaver’s skull was about twice if not three times the size of the modern beaver. Boy, oh boy, would I not want to mess with that prehistoric beaver. Overall, very informational. Staff were very helpful & nice!

Mastodon State Historic Site is an archaeological and paleontological site in Imperial, Missouri, containing the Kimmswick Bone Bed. Bones of mastodons and other now-​extinct animals were first found here in the early 1800s. The area gained fame as one of the most extensive Pleistocene ice age deposits in the country and attracted scientific interest worldwide.
Archaeological history was made at the site in 1979 when scientists excavated a stone spear point made by hunters of the Clovis culture (14,000 — 10,000 years ago) in direct association with mastodon bones. This was the first solid evidence of the coexistence of people and these giant prehistoric beasts.
Today, the 425-​acre (1.7 km2) property preserves this National Register of Historic Places site and provides recreational opportunities. A museum tells the natural and cultural story of the oldest American Indian site one can visit in the state’s park system. A full-​size replica of a mastodon skeleton highlights the exhibits. A picnic area, several trails and a special-​use campground offer chances to explore the land where the lives of Native Americans and mastodons once intertwined.
Now, that we have all the historical stuff out of the way i can give my own opinion of this lovely state park. I had no idea this place was here till i moved out to jefferson coounty when i was 13. Since then, i have become a fan of this place not only because of the historical aspect, but because it is quite a park for those who love to hike and enjoy the scenery. One must be careful when hiking because the park is split as seckman travells through it, on the other side of the main part is a series of picnic places and a lovely little childrens play area. Everyone can get something out of this park!