FRIDAY - See Fort Bellefontaine - 10am

COST: $5 (cash or check only) Make check payable to St. Louis County Parks and Recreation
Last went: 2023
Will go again: 2033

When you get there, you will have to sign in with the guard at the front gate. Let the guard know you are there for a group walking tour with the St Louis County Parks & Rec. At this point, you will NOT pay the guard. Just hang on to the money until you get to the tour! Ask the guard for directions to the Grand Staircase.

We will meet at the Grand Staircase to begin the tour, and the meet-up group can park in the grass on the opposite side of the road from the Grand Staircase.

Please note, this is on a Friday! NOTE from the last time we went: Guard will tell you to turn right - then just keep going and going and going until you see people!

We will have a docent-led tour of the grounds of Fort Bellefontaine. All will need to sign a waiver first. Also, wear closed-toe shoes!

"Fort Belle Fontaine, Missouri, was the first United States military installation in Louisiana Territory. This frontier military post was located on the south bank of the Missouri River near its confluence with the Mississippi River. After the Louisiana Purchase, a treaty was made between the United States and the Sac and Fox tribe in November 1804, which allowed the building of a fur trading post of the United States Government. The fort took its name from a nearby spring named “Belle Fontaine,” which means “beautiful fountain” in French.
"The trading post served as a starting point for many expeditions to the American West. The site of the fort was Lewis and Clark’s first campsite after they left Camp River Dubois in 1804 and the site of the fort where they spent their last night on their return trip in 1806.
"The use of the fort as a trading post was discontinued after 1808, and from 1809 to 1826, it served as a United States Military Fort." from Fort Belle Fontaine, Missouri – The First Fort of the West – Legends of America