Top Winter and Year-Round Outdoor Activities in St. Louis County

Forest Park’s Art Hill, the Steinberg Skating Rink in Forest Park, Hidden Valley Ski Resort in Wildwood and the World Bird Sanctuary’s Owl Prowls top the winter list for outdoor activity in the St. Louis region. Art Hill is described as “a rite of passage for St. Louisans,” with a panoramic view at the top and the specific caution to “don’t forget to bail before you reach the Grand Basin at the bottom,” making it a must-stop sledding hill when there’s snow on the ground.

Ice skating appears across downtown and the parks. The St. Louis city events page lists Winterfest Downtown in Kiener Plaza and several Winter Film Series showings — Feb 15 at 1:30 PM at the St. Louis Public Library, Feb 21 at 9:30 PM, and Feb 22 at 1:30 PM — while Visit Missouri calls Forest Park’s Steinberg Skating Rink “one of the largest outdoor ice-skating rinks in the Midwest.” Hidden Valley Ski Resort in Wildwood offers tubing, snowboarding and skiing, with Visit Missouri noting operations “even after dark,” while a separate regional attraction, RYZE Adventure Park, posts the site notice: "\\ CLOSED for the Winter. Check back soon for 2026 dates!"

Nighttime wildlife programs are a distinct winter draw. The World Bird Sanctuary’s Owl Prowls run on select evenings from November through March, where participants “meet the amazing birds that fly by moonlight,” learn from a local naturalist, “come face-to-face with live owls, take an easy night hike across the grounds and try to call to an owl in the wild.” The Explorestlouis excerpt adds the short, playful line: "Hoot. Hoot." For eagle watchers, Pere Marquette State Park — about an hour’s drive from St. Louis via the Great River Road through the Illinois River Valley — draws birders in January and February searching for wintering bald eagles, and visitors can book rooms or cabins at the Pere Marquette Lodge, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Year-round attractions include the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, whose deck spans 5,353 feet and now serves pedestrians and cyclists while offering eagle-watching over the Mississippi. Citygarden, just a short walk from Gateway Arch National Park, showcases interactive sculptures created by two dozen artists. Alley Spring & Mill in the Ozark National Riverways sits six miles west of Eminence and features a 1.3-mile loop to an overlook of the 19th-century community.

Park trail specifics give options for different fitness levels. Cuivre River State Park’s trail system is divided into two loops totaling 13.4 miles and includes Frenchman’s Bluff, Big Sugar Creek Wild Area and Lincoln Hills. Ohlendorf West Park offers a 0.81-mile nature trail with outdoor fitness stations — pull-up machines, sit-up platforms, a chest press machine, stair steppers and a mobility station — and Alyssa Hui-Anderson of St. Louis County Parks and Recreation says, “These are designed primarily for teens and adults with beginner or moderate to advanced fitness levels,” and “The equipment is spaced along the trail and offers a ‘challenge by choice’ experience for those looking to add a workout to their walk.”

Seasonal light displays and festivals round out winter programming, including Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden, Wild Lights at the St. Louis Zoo, Candy Cane Lane in South City and Brewery Lights. Stlmag notes that many regional outdoor destinations, from Cave Vineyards to Pere Marquette, are about an hour’s drive from downtown and that “none of the destinations on this list are more than a two-hour drive from downtown.”