Elephant Rocks State Park — Attraction in Bismarck

Wow, what an amazing park. First of all, it's just outstanding to see a park providing a paved wheelchair path AND braille signs! There are ropes on a lot of the path and the ropes have one knot to tell you there's a sign to read, and two knots to signal a resting place. The park also has a ton of very clean bathrooms (although there are no sinks to wash, just hand sanitizer - but thats better than most parks I've been to).

If you are physically able, you must venture off the paved path to visit the Engine House Ruins, along the blue blazed hiking trail. There are apparently maps available, but I missed those - so grab a map if you can. We went counter-clockwise around the park, so we encountered the blue trail from the eastern side, and visited the engine house. After the engine house, you can follow that trail to find two abandoned quarries. The trail is well marked at the start, but then there's a four way intersection with no marking - if you came from the engine house, go straight north to see one ruin, then go back to the intersection and head west to follow the trail. The blue markings start to appear again, and you'll find the second quarry and the paved trail. You see a lot of cool quarry remnants along the hiking path.

To the east of the parking is a great area to climb and explore.

The scale of the rocks and quarries is hard to capture in the photos, it's truly beautiful and one of my favorite parks I've been to in the entire US. My three young children were fascinated by the entire thing. The youngest is four and the distance ended up being just a bit too much for him, if you want to do the extra blue path with a younger child, you might need to carry them for a while, he hit his limit after that and we still had a bit to...

Great short accessible trail to view the features of this geographical anomaly complete with interpretive plaques to explain what you are looking at. It is absolutely beautiful any time of the year. If you are more adventurous there is plenty to explore and enjoy about this place. My pics really don't do it justice, but no one's I have seen really do.

The family and I come down here 4 to 5 times a year and all I have to do is mention Elephant rocks to my teenage kids and they are getting ready to head out with us. It is truly that great.

It is also a wonderful place to walk your well behaved dog. Please bring refuse bags for your furry family member and use the receptacles around the park for the trash. Kids of all ages love this place. It is a little more than an hour outside of St. Louis and well worth the drive. There are more nature areas in the immediate area and you can easily spend an entire day exploring beautiful Arcadia valley. See reviews of Johnson Shut-Ins and Taum Sauk State Park.

When you make the trip down make sure you stop at the Mercantile Store in Caladonia for some of the best coffee in the state and some excellent hand made ice cream!

Pack up the family, pack a lunch and enjoy your day in beautiful Arcadia Valley and Elephant Rocks State Park. You will not be...

Elephant Rocks State Park was a fun experience, especially living in the Midwest. The large granite bolders reminded me of Colorado.

Handicapped accessibility appears to have been a priority consideration when planning this recreation area. There are even handicapped designated picnic tables.

There are clean, semi-primitive restrooms in the parking lot. Again, these were handicapped accessible. The toilets flushed, but no sink to wash your hands. Hand sanitizer was available.

An asphalt path leads from the parking area to the Braille Trail. It was marked with red blazes, but I really only saw a couple of blazes along the way. It wasn't a problem. We just followed the paved path. In areas that might be problematic for a wheelchair, an alternative bypass path is provided.

A small playground was in the picnic area. This is definitely a place to bring the family. Children and reckless adults would need close supervision in the boulder area to avoid injury on the rocks.

Be sure to bring a camera, pack a picnic, and enjoy a beautiful walk...