Chubb Trail (West Tyson County Park / Lone Elk Park)

 

Difficulty Rating: Intermediate to Advanced

Type: Out-n-Back

Distance:
Chubb Trail - 7 miles linear. Flint Quarry - 3 mile loop.

Directions:
From St. Louis, go west on 1-44. Get off at Lewis Road Exit 266. Enter West Tyson Park, make first right, follow to the end of the road and park. Or, the Lone Elk end of Chubb Trail can be reached by exiting 1-44 at Meramec Station Road (Hwy 141). Turn right (west) on the Outer Road. Follow this to Lone Elk County Park. The Chubb Trailhead is the fire road before the Lone Elk gates.

Description:
West Tyson County Park has the trailheads of both the Chubb and Flint Quarry Trails. The Chubb begins at the Circle at the top of the road to the left as you enter the park, and Flint Quarry at the parking lot at the end of the lower entrance. There is a 0.3 mile connector between the 2 trailheads. Both trails come together at the Picnic Table, around 1.5 miles into either trail. The Chubb continues on down to the Meramec River bottom while the Flint Quarry makes use of part of the Chubb, and the trail formerly known as the Ridge Trail, making its way back to its starting point for a 3 mile loop. Both trails at this end offer many opportunities to test your skills with steep climbs, loose rocks, drop-offs, and tight switchbacks. This section of the Chubb contains "the Steps", an exposed section of the Kimmswick Limestone, which is sure to challenge your technical ability. The eastern end is mainly dirt singletrack with a moderately steep climb which ends at the trailhead in Lone Elk County Park. In between, there are some technical sections, but for the most part, the trail winds along the flat river bottom. The Lone Elk connector is subject to standing water and even flooding after rain, so it’s to be avoided when wet conditions are present. The Chubb and Flint Quarry trails are more durable when wet, but can be very treacherous due to the slippery rocks.

Maps:

Download/View Map as Hi-Res Adobe Acrobat File (130KB)

 

About the Chubb Trail, Flint Quarry Leg:
The Flint Quarry trail was built in September of 2000 with the help of over 90 volunteers!!! Thanks to GORC member Sam Mitchell (trail designer and advocate), who with the help of Sue Kuhnert from St. Louis County Parks, put on the largest and most successfull workdays ever in St. Louis.

The Flint Quarry Trail is a 1.5 mile addition to the Chubb Trail that offers more hilly riding options on the Tyson Park side of the Chubb Trail.

The St. Louis County Parks Department has provided area mountain bikers with some of the best, well maintained trails that the region has to offer.

GORC hopes to continue to support this great relationship and help build on it (literally) by working with the Parks Dept. to add new trails each year.