Elephant Rocks State Park in southeast Missouri is home to massive, elephant-shaped granite boulders that definitely live up to the name. These giant rocks formed over 1.5 billion years ago are impressive in size. When the rocks are lined up end-to-end, they like a parade of stone elephants.
Trail
The Braille Trail is an easy, accessible way to check out the main rock formations, and it even loops out to the old railroad engine house ruins, which adds a cool bit of local history to the visit.
- Trail Length: 0.9 miles
- Surface: Paved/Concrete
- Difficulty: Easy
- Estimated time: 30 minutes
Here you can see the boulders, and in the following photo you can see how big they really are.
This is the old Engine House, where maintenance crews would preform repairs to trains and cars starting in the 1890’s.
I thought this was cool how they made a path in between the boulders.
On the map, you will see a body of water, that’s actually the old quarry.
Elephant Rocks State Park is a fun place to explore. You probably won’t spend more than an hour or two here, but it’s definitely worth the stop. With unique geology, cool local history, and easy trails, it’s a great way to break up a day. At the end of the day, giant boulders that look like elephants, what’s not to like?