Elephant Rocks State Park - Missouri

Address:Pilot Knob, Missouri

Composed of 1.5 billion-year-old granite, the Elephant rocks at this State Park are a true geological treasure. Before the area was declared a State Park, the granite beasts were used by nearby quarries to produce material to pave streets and as building material. Today, however, the elephant rocks are preserved for all to enjoy. Visitors should take advantage of some of the 30 picnic sites in the park for lunch and exploration opportunities. There are weekly interpretive programs with nature hikes and demonstrations for the whole family available as well. And while here, don't forget to visit Dumbo - the largest elephant rock in the park, weighing in at 680 tons!

Imagine giant granite rocks standing end-to-end like a train of circus elephants. That's what you'll see at Elephant Rocks State Park. About 1.5 billion years ago, hot magma cooled forming coarsely crystalline red granite, which later weathered into huge, rounded boulders. Standing atop a granite outcrop, one of the largest elephant rocks, Dumbo, tops the scales at a whopping 680 tons! Visitors to Elephant Rocks State Park can easily view the granite boulders from the one-mile Braille Trail, designed to accommodate people with visual or physical disabilities. The trail passes by a quarry pond, which now supports a variety of animal life. A short spur off of the trail takes visitors to the top of the granite outcrop, where they can explore the maze of giant elephant rocks. A second spur brings visitors to a point overlooking an old quarry site. This red granite, first commercially quarried in the late 1800s, has been used as building material and as paving blocks for the St. Louis levee and downtown streets. Today, "Missouri Red" granite is cut and polished mainly for use as monuments. Thirty picnic sites allow visitors to rest and have a cool drink among the stone pachyderms. Come see for yourself why Elephant Rocks State Park is a place you'll never forget!