Robinson Bluff continues to evolve into more than a Missouri rock climbing destination; its recent unveiling of mountain biking trails adds miles of new downhill adventure. In addition to a two-mile cross country loop, the park’s 11 downhill trails offer beginner-to-advanced riders a hefty number of natural and built features. It’s not just the uniqueness of these features, but also the sheer quantity that make the new bike park a worthy attraction in-and-of itself.

While the St. Louis mountain biking scene has a lot to offer, Robinson Bluff’s trail builder, Eric Lewis, says these new trails are unlike any of the other local trail systems.

“There isn’t anything like it in St. Louis,” Eric said. “We’ve had some ex-pro riders test out the jumps and they agree.”

That’s because Eric fashioned them after Colorado’s famed downhill trails. 

“I got a lot of ideas in Colorado,” he said. “When I came back, I knew exactly what I wanted to build.”

​Trail Guide
The six miles of new trails at Robinson Bluff include three machine-built flow/jump downhills, eight single track downhills and a cross country loop. The mountain bike trails start to the right of the pay station. Each of the numbered trails is marked with signs and is color coded. 

Black Diamond Trails
Robinson Bluff’s three most difficult trails are steep and technical with tight corners, ledge drops and rocky, off-camber sections. 

• 5 - Trail starts out with a couple switchbacks and deep catch berms. Tight corners continue with off-camber sections leading to a small rock garden ledge drop. The trail concludes with a rock garden and steep, off-camber terrain. 
• 6 - The steep trail weaves through cedar trees with long, straight, off-camber sections leading to rocky outcroppings. You’ll have three options at the trail’s most difficult section, the finish. Turn right for a corner ledge drop; keep straight for a smaller ledge drop; or go left to bypass the drops altogether.
• 7 - This is the hardest trail with a series of tight corners, off-camber rocky sections and rough rock gardens. Save your mental grit for the finale, with its series of steep, rocky switchbacks.

Blue Trails
The eight, intermediate single-track trails are decked out with small berms, rock gardens and natural rock ledge jumps.

• 1 - This is a jump flow trail that includes a couple tabletops at the top with big berms at the corners. Its highlight is a 17ft gap jump, which can be bypassed via a roll around trail. 
• 2 - This is the second easiest trail, which starts out with a couple catch berms on some tight corners. Mid-trail features include small rock gardens and a short, steep section with a deep rut corner at the exit. 
• 3 - This is a more difficult flow jump trail that’s rated blue/black for its 18 challenging features and mandatory drops. Starts out with a table top, followed by a couple rollers into a tight berm and the first of several jumps. This one has a roll around to the left. Next, tackle the step up, three rollers with a step down and three mandatory drops that are around two feet tall. The final feature is a jump on/off tabletop with a steep landing. 
• 4 - Another featured jump flow trail with 14 different features, including lots of roller jumps, small ledge drops and a couple tabletops. Ends with a steep section into a creek crossing. 
• 8 - A short trail with tight corners and small rock gardens and fast sections.
• 9 - This short, switchback-heavy trail has some fast and rocky sections.
• Split - This trail is aptly named….at the split opt for the right side for its tight corners and off-camber rocky sections; or go left for even more off-camber rocky sections. The trails come back together near the finish with a couple really tight switchbacks.

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Green Trails 

• 0 - This is the easiest of all the mountain bike trails. A fun downhill with plenty of beginner-to-intermediate features, including tight turns, small berms and a rocky sections. 
• Cross Country Loop - A wide, leisurely two-mile loop that’s ideal for beginners, or a warm up or a nice woodland hike. 

Multi-Sport: Climb, Bike, Hike, Fish, Paddle, Camp, Climb
In addition to the new mountain biking trails, Robinson Bluff is a destination for hiking, fishing, paddling, camping, and, of course, rock climbing. Thanks to volunteers like Eric -who has also set more than 25 stellar sport routes at Robinson Bluff - our Midwest multi-sport destination continues to evolve into a place for outdoor adventure enthusiasts and adrenaline junkies. As such, there’s just too much to explore in a single day; check out all the ways to stay at Robison Bluff when you aren’t ready to leave! 

Robinson Bluff is a privately owned rock climbing and mountain biking destination. Completing a waiver and paying the $10 per person daily entrance fee is required to participate in any — or all — of the property’s activities, with the exception of camping, which is $10/night per campsite. 
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Whether you’re the tent type, the cabin-only climber or camper van vagabond, Robinson Bluff has the right setup for your week or weekend of rock climbing. Choose from these three ways to stay:​

Tent Camping
Robinson Bluff’s campground has 21 primitive, wooded campsites with fire ring and natural seating. Sites are a quick walk from our brand new restrooms with potable water and shower; even closer is the maintained, portable restroom at the top of the grand staircase. Sites are available on a first come first serve basis, and can accommodate up to 6 people per campsite. 

The main gate stays locked, so be prepared to haul your things to your campsite (approximately 500 yards) or email climb@robinsonbluff.com ahead of time to request the gate code. Campers looking for a different landscape, and who are willing to hike their gear further, may want to camp along the gravel bar next to the river. 

    Cost to camp: $10 per site per night

Camper Van or Car Camp
With a large, level gravel parking lot, Robinson Bluff is equipped to handle camper vans, small RVs and travel trailers up to 19 feet. While not the same wooded surroundings as the tent camping, nearby trees offer some shade. No electric, water or sewer hookups, but the brand new restrooms with potable water and showers are located right across the street from the parking lot. Be aware that camper vans, RVs and travel trailers will not be able to make the loop in the campground. 

    Cost to camper van, RV or car camp: $10/vehicle​

If you’ve rock climbed much at Robinson Bluff, you’ve probably seen Chuck McGibbon crowbarring boulders off the wall, using a leaf blower thirty feet up, and drilling hole after painstaking hole while dangling in space. He is hands-down Robinson Bluff’s most prolific route setter, having established nearly 30 percent of our 178 sport routes. 

With his stockpile of first ascents, you’d think he had been climbing and setting his entire life, but Chuck and his wife, Becky, both started rock climbing in their 60s. Before technical rock climbing, Chuck mountaineered fourteeners like Mounts Shasta (14,179’) and Rainier (14,411’) before tackling North America’s highest peak, Denali (20,310’). Then, he took on the world’s tallest peaks with Ama Dablam (22,349’) in Nepal, Aconcagua in Argentina (at 22,837’ it is the tallest mountain outside of Asia), and Cho Oyu (26,864’) in Tibet before training for the “roof of the world," Mount Everest, where in 2007, he reached its south summit (28,704’). 

A year later, Chuck traded his high altitude career for a shorter, more affordable variety of climbing, technical rock climbing. He was 63. As with most new climbers, 5.9s felt out of reach, but that didn’t last long. 

“I was inspired by Jack LaLanne (the godfather of modern fitness). When he turned 70, he towed a flotilla of 70 rowboats across Long Beach Harbor. I wanted to do something like that in my 70th year, too. So, I decided to try to red point at least 70 routes that are at least a 5.11a grade. I passed that goal with 84 before turning 71, and I just kept climbing and counting.”

Rock Climber to Route Setter

In 2017, Chuck and Becky visited Hobart, Tasmania for the second time. While Chuck had spent much of their first trip to the Australian island climbing on dolomite on nearby Mount Wellington, the second trip offered something new — recently discovered sandstone cliffs in the Sand River area. His mates invited him to help develop this new climbing area. 

When he returned home, he wasn’t planning on using his new setting skillset. But then… 

“I was climbing with Bill Weishaar one day at Robinson Bluff,” said Chuck. “Bill asked if I was interested in setting routes there. The Covid pandemic was just starting, and I didn’t want to be stuck inside during it, so I agreed to give it a try. I just loved going down there. Still do.”

…so much so, he’s made more than 250 trips here! While some of those were just to climb, the number of outings certainly speaks to the time commitment required to do what he’s done. Chuck says he spends three or more, eight-hour days setting a single-pitch route. Applied to Robinson Bluff’s total number of sport routes, that’s more than 4,400 hours of cleaning, hammering, chain sawing, anchor building, sequencing, planning, drilling, gluing and everything else that goes into route setting. 

Thank you to every single one of our route setters! We recognize the significant time commitment you’ve given to set good routes. And we have a lot of good routes!

Route Setting at Robinson

Setting a route starts with finding an inspiring line. Then cleaning the rock. And finally, placing anchors and bolts. That’s about as basic an explanation as it gets. But there are many other steps and jobs as well (see 4,400 hour notation).

“Sometimes, there’s a lot of brush to remove,” said Chuck. “Some of it is easy (think pebbles, dirt, leaves, vines, poison ivy); other times, it might be an entire tree.”

Trading his chainsaw for a hammer and crowbar, Chuck then begins inspecting and pounding on the rock, checking for fractures, loose rock, and cavities. At Robinson Bluff, if it moves, it gets removed.

“Then, I figure out how I’d climb it and where the anchors should go. I try it on top rope and a fixed line a few times (he always sets from rappel), looking for decent rock to place the bolts. Then, I start drilling and gluing.”

In addition to his 50+ route contribution to Robinson Bluff, Chuck spends days — literally days — cleaning routes he hasn’t set, retrofitting anchors with mussy hooks, building and clearing trails, hand-crafting name plates for routes, and all around making the property better for climbers. Next time you see Chuck dangling along Robinson Bluff’s cliffs…first, watch out…then thank him.