Outdoors

If you enjoy camping, then WashU will be a great place for you. St. Louis is filled with many great campsites less than an hour away. And don’t fret if you don’t have any of the gear because the Wilderness Medicine Interest Group has everything from tents to sleeping bags to borrow. The group also organizes camping and hiking throughout the year, so it’s a great way to meet fellow classmates who love the outdoors!

What better way to spend a sunny autumn afternoon than at the farm? Grant’s and Eckert’s farms are a half-hour drive from campus and boast a wide array of fun activities. At Grant’s Farm you can watch elephant shows, meet the famous Budweiser Clydesdales, and hand-feed baby goats from a bottle, just to name a few activities. Once you are ready for a break, you can duck into the Brat Haus for a nice cold complimentary beer and a bite to eat. On another weekend, you can drive over the Mississippi River to Eckert’s Family Farms. There you can meander through the orchard to pick the most perfect apples and pumpkins, stay for the evening concerts and corn mazes, and savor the deliciously sweet caramel corn and pumpkin pies.

Missouri offers many gorgeous parks and trails. Castlewood State Park and Lewis and Clark Trail, with river views and limestone bluffs, are great for short hikes or runs close to the city. Chubb Trail offers more challenging terrain in West Tyson Park, traveling alongside the Meramec River. If you’re willing to drive a couple hours outside the city, you can find beautiful hikes in Shawnee National Forest along sandstone cliffs, waterfalls, caves, and rock formations. Most accessible and just as beautiful, however, Forest Park is directly west of the medical campus, with both biking and gravel paths interspersed with museums, lakes, a zoo, and much more.

Nothing lifts my spirits like seeing the tops of shiny steel roller coasters peeking over the horizon. If you’re like me, then you’ll be thrilled to know that the Six Flags amusement park and Hurricane Harbor water park are just over a 30-minute drive from campus. With great deals on season passes, there’s no reason to hold back. Test your limits on the Screamin’ Eagle or the Tower of Power, find out who is the sharpest shooter on the 4-D Justice League shooter ride, or beat the heat in Hurricane Harbor’s wave pools and water slides.