Things to Do in Lake Saint Louis

As cool breezes cut summer heat and the leaves fade into sunset hues, Pin Oak Farms celebrates autumn with pumpkin picking, bonfires, and other activities. Tractors full of hay bales and visitors rumble out toward vegetable fields, happy shouts spiraling back toward areas for face painting and petting farm animals. A 5-acre corn maze or smaller straw-bale maze test one’s sense of direction or ability to crack open a compass and eat the good parts. Kids plop themselves down in a giant tub of corn, clamber around in bounce houses, or putt games of pumpkin-themed mini golf. At dusk, bonfires warm hands and bring to life dancing shadows behind groups and scout troops.

It’s only 5 kilometers long, but the Zombie Survival Dash, as the name might suggest, is a bit more than the average run. As runners tagged with timing chips for tracking, placement, and action shots make their way toward the finish line, they're also equipped with three flags representing their health. Meanwhile, the course's stretch is littered with both traditional obstacles and costumed zombies who block, stumble, and chase runners and attempt to steal their health flags.

All the while, spectators look on, as every half hour a wave of 300 survivors is unleashed upon the course. Then, spectators, survivors, and zombies retire hand-in-hand to an all-day after party with live music and entertainment, just like at the end of a real zombie movie. Vendors dispense food and drink as partiers participate in zombie-themed fair activities such as faux-grenade tosses and body-bag drags.

With a strong belief in life’s simpler pleasures, the staff of Riverview Ranch oversees a host of watersports, campsites, and cabins along the picturesque shores of the lazy Meramec River. Shuttled upstream, visitors push off in canoes, rafts, or kayaks to enjoy the easy-moving currents of the stream before arriving back at vehicles or campsites to do celebratory touchdown dances and life-vest spikes.

Lush trees, sand, stone, and tall grasses encroach the banks of the Meramec River. Recognizing the area as an idyllic setting for camping, hunting, boating, and fishing, Green's Canoe Rental & Campground's owners determined it was also the optimal place to set up shop. They equipped their campgrounds with restrooms, hot showers, hiking trails, and a country store to give visitors a comfortable place to stay while participating in area activities. As deer, raccoons, and birds wander bankside, fishermen wade into the semitransparent waters to catch rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, and the attention of passing pastoral painters. Guides with firsthand knowledge of the river point visitors to the best spots to find fish, such as large catfish and rock bass, just as they help hunters locate the best spots along the 6,000 acres of wooded land to find deer and wild turkeys. Staffers rent canoes, rafts, and kayaks for leisurely floats to riverside picnic spots or nature walks. They can also help curate family stays with adventure packages that include camping, all-day floats, bonfires, and barbecued pork-steak dinners.