lone elk park

Another fine example of the wonderful and FREE activities in and around St. Louis! Get there early to catch animals before too many vehicles have circumnavigated the park and moved the local residents to less accessible areas. Bring a camera and binoculars, and consider visiting World Bird Sanctuary (just across the street from park entrance) while you're in the neighborhood.

A drive through park where wild animals roam free. You have to stay in your car with the Windows up so make sure your AC works. You can see buffalo and elk, deer , antelope, etc.

We went in early and went to the very back of the park. This is a good location to see the Elk and if you are lucky you may get a photo of them in the lake.

This is always a great place to see deer, elk and buffalo, take a hike in the out of doors and observe other forms of nature. It isn't safe to ride a motorcycle through the buffalo area, as they take it personally. (We saw this happen!)

This is not a commercial drive-through facility where the animals are forced to be along side the vehicles although there are a number of viewing sites where you 'might' see some animals and they're not just Elk. The better time of year is the spring when the animals are most likely to be active and view-able. Bring a good pair of binoculars.

We take grandkids and go before sunset when a lot of animals are out roaming. We see the animals in their habitat. It's fun to go in the summer to see the baby deer, buffalo and elk. You never know what you're going to find. There is also a Wild Bird Sanctuary in the park that is open to public. They have special events listed on line.

Lone Elk is a quiet, sprawling , scenic park. The elk are beautiful in their natural habitat and the drive alone is amazing. There are places to picnic, to walk, to just get out and breathe fresh air. If they are not being shy, a bison might cross your path. Very cool

The trails at Lone Elk are great for kids - enough challenge but not too much. My athletic 6-year-old loved to run ahead to "explore" the trail ahead of me. There are also opportunities to see the Elk along the way!

Lone Elk is a lovely drive through park located about 25 minutes west of downtown St Louis. You can almost always see both bison and elk in this park. There are some nice picnic areas also.I especially love it in the winter, when it has snowed and you can see through the woods.

Yes these wild animals all free to roam while you enjoy your lunch or just watching the large animals in their natural habitats. Remember it's their home, your the visitor.

We've always enjoyed this hidden gem right off of I-44 in West St. Louis. We are lucky to have a lot of free family activities in St. Louis and this is another one (there is a free-will offering box at the beginning of the park if you want to make a donation).This is really exciting for the kids, as it's a drive-thru park to view various animals like elk and bison. They roam freely throughout the park and can get incredibly close to your vehicle. Sometimes they can get rather aggressive, especially during mating season, so make sure you stay in your vehicle. Depending on how many animals are on / along the road, and how often you stop, you can make it through the drive in around 15-20 minutes.There are also spots for picnicking throughout the park. Just be wary during the summer months, that there are a LOT of ticks in this park. We found out the hard way by having to pick numerous ticks off of our son after a visit there where we cooked out / picnicked. (There is a warning about this as you enter the park, so if you do plan to picnic, then take bug spray).The entrance to the Wild Bird Sanctuary is also on the same entrance road on the way to Lone Elk - so you should check that out too! Check it out - you'll like it!

The females were very frisky around dusk this evening and the bull was very protective. People who were stupid enough to get out of their vehicle to 'get closer' to these wild animals seemed surprised when the bull charged at them. At 11 points, he is not to be taken lightly. The bison side of the park was closed to motorists today. But as always, this was a great way to spend the late afternoon.

A lovely drive through the park, spotted elk and bison. Beautiful scenery and exciting for the children to seek out the animals

We like to drive through and look for animals. Usually we can see deer and elk. Bison are sometimes hard to find. I am hoping to picnic or hike here soon.

We took our little "almost granddaughter" there last Friday (Jan 2, 2015). Cold damp day and we could stay in the car. The elk are mating so we saw a big herd right next to the road-almost too close for comfort. We watched them for a while and then moved on. Before we left, we saw a herd of buffalo right by the road. We stopped and shortly, they started crossing the road right in front of us. They got way to close to our car and they are so BIG up close. We enjoyed the drive to the park, the drive in the park and then we went to the Bird Sanctuary next to Lone Elk. It was a great adventure.