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Hawn State Park: Whispering Pine Trail

Hawn State Park, Missouri State Parks (near Ste. Genevieve)

Hawn State Park, near Ste. Genevieve, is one of the Missouri state parks where backpackers camp at designated sites along the trail. The Whispering Pine Trail, built in 1976 and 1977 with help from the Sierra Club’s Ozark Chapter according to the park map, is a 10-mile figure-eight along Pickle Creek and the River aux Vases.

The park now has 10 designated backcountry sites on the trail, reservable through the state park system.

The hike

The park map rates the Whispering Pine Trail “Rugged,” with an estimated 10 hours to hike all 10 miles. It’s signed counterclockwise with colored arrows: red for the north loop and blue for the south. White Connector 3 shortens the hike while staying on the trail, and White Connectors 1 and 2 link to the White Oaks Trail. Spur trails with extra markers lead to the camps. The map notes extensive sandstone and granite along both streams, and lists rocks, roots, steep grades, bluffs, and unbridged water crossings among the trail’s conditions.

Backpacker’s 2013 description of the north loop, mapped by Greg Porter, follows it counterclockwise from the trailhead off Park Drive: a vista over the northern woods at about half a mile, a boulder outcrop, Pickle Creek at mile 1 (where it suggests filling bottles), cliffs and rock slabs near 1.2, and the White Oak Connector split near 1.3. The route climbs away from the creek at 2.4, passes through a “tunnel of trees,” and reaches a high point of 938 feet before ridgetop views, a Y-junction where you bypass the south loop, and cliffs over Pickle Creek on the way back.

Steve Kohler’s 1999 Backpacker piece calls the full figure-eight about 11 miles and recommends going counterclockwise along Pickle Creek and the River aux Vases. He describes rounded, often bald knobs, sunny outcrops, and dogwoods, redbuds, and wild azaleas, with short, steep climbs and loose rock on the knobs, and suggests “a leisurely two-day visit.”

The park recommends spring and winter, or a summer hike that ends with a dip in Pickle Creek. A 2011 Backpacking Light forum post suggests Hawn for a one-night first trip, noting that the stacked loops let you choose anything from a short out-and-back to the full figure-eight.

For another St. Francois Mountains overnight, see the Bell Mountain Wilderness loop.

Tips

Camping

Backcountry camping is limited to 10 designated sites on the Whispering Pine Trail and White Connector 3, according to Missouri State Parks. Sites are reservable online or by phone (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily); same-day reservations are accepted March through November, up until 7 p.m. the day of arrival. Any site not reserved is open for walk-up registration. Camping is self check-in; if you have no cell service, check in at the office or with a campground host. The maximum group is six per site, with two vehicles per site. Check-in is 3 p.m. and checkout 2 p.m. Dogs must be leashed. Stoves are recommended; the park’s rules on campfires conflict (see the note above), so confirm before lighting one. Pack out everything.

Inside Intel: No camper accounts recommending a specific site were found. Backpacker’s 1999 writer found the camps, then first come, first served, “rarely occupied,” but the park now takes reservations.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Supper on the banks of Pickle Creek:

Hawn's reserved sites make an easy first overnight, and a simple dinner by the creek is half the reason to go.

See the picks →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.