Mile 174.0 - RBD Bellerive Park

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

174 RBD Bellerive Park

Bellerive Park sits on top of the short bluffs right bank descending and almost directly across the river from the mouth of Cahokia Chute. Although inaccessible to paddlers, Bellerive provides a rare land-side public view of the river in South St. Louis. Bellerive’s cliffs are the first examples of the Missouri Bluffs that will accompany you on-and-off right bank descending from here down to Commerce. Also known as the Mississippi River Hills, they start out short in St. Louis and grow taller south of the city. St. Louis itself sprawls over sloping 100-200 foot tall bluffs that attain their greatest heights along the Missouri River (above Bellefontaine) and gently undulate eastward as they drop in elevation towards the Mississippi River. Limestone and dolomite of the Mississippian Epoch underlie the area, and parts of the city are karst in nature. This is particularly true of the area south of downtown, which has numerous sinkholes and caves. Most of the caves in the city have been sealed, but many springs are visible along the riverfront, and you will see them at the base of the exposed cliffs here and elsewhere downstream, particularly in low water. Coal, brick clay and millerite ore were once mined in the city, and the predominant surface rock, the St. Louis limestone, is used as dimension stone and rubble for construction. (Adopted From Wikipedia)

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