Best places to get donuts in St. Louis
The best places to get donuts in St. Louis.
Let me start off saying….St. Louis donuts exceeded my expectations. In my research, I noticed there were a lot more donuts in the St. Louis area than I anticipated. Donuts were a large part of my trip but I also had to juggle exploring, hiking, and trying the local food as well. This post is to capture my thoughts on the donut shops I did visit. There were a few donut shops I hoped to stop by but I ran out of time. I can’t for sure say who the best was. What I can tell you is that St. Louis has amazing donuts.
I saw this sign a mile away.
Most donut shops in St. Louis are old school. They don’t offer crazy toppings and stick to the basics such as glazed, frosted, and jelly fillings. I found most shops did open early and close by early afternoon. So, you better get there early. Be sure to check shop hours. They make donuts fresh in the morning. Once they run out, they are done for the day. While it is challenging to get there in a timely fashion to get your fill of donuts, I appreciate the old school mindset. What stood out to me the most was that the actual donut was so amazing and fresh. Even after sitting in the car a few hours, they still tasted awesome. They weren’t the most Instagram worthy or fancy but I would choose them over most donuts I have had.
Truth Vincent Van DOughnuts.
Pharaohs Donuts
The first donut shop I checked out was Pharaoh Donuts. They are located in the downtown area of St. Louis. My girlfriend and I stayed downtown just for one night so this was our first stop in the morning. We arrived mid-morning and they were already out of some donuts. Walking up to the donut case, I was overwhelmed as usual. I had to make my selections count. I appreciate the patience of the staff. I noticed a donut that I know to be a maple bar from the Northeast. The poor guy kept saying Long John and explaining that it had caramel frosting. I just kept saying maple bar. My girlfriend just kept shaking her head with embarrassment. Donut excitement got to me.
We purchased 4 donuts and walked over to the Gateway Arch. I got the Long John, chocolate glazed (cake), coffee crumb (cake), and a raspberry filled glazed donut. The donuts cost about $1.50 each. Not bad at all. On this day, I did not expect to have one of the best donuts in my life. The Long John was amazing. The donut was perfect and chewy. The caramel frosting was dynamite and not overly sweet. Nichole isn’t a huge donut fan (ironic) but this donut had her fighting for bites with me. The perfect donut hands down. I dare you to tell me otherwise. The chocolate cake was awesome. The cake base was almost gooey because the delicious glaze was soaking into the fresh made donut. The raspberry filled donut was great. Perfect amount of filling and the donut itself was very good. The coffee cake was my least favorite but still very good. As my first donut experience in St. Louis, I didn’t know how this could get better.
the best donut in st. Louis. Caramel frosted long John.
Yes, this is real. this is not a background photo. the arch makes a great donut pic.
Donuts Drive In
The Donuts Drive In is a classic, well known donut shop off Route 66 in St. Louis. They are open 5am to Midnight on Friday and Saturdays. The shop is located in the Lindenwood Park area of St. Louis. We were driving looking to try Ted Drewes but the line was way too long. Lucky for me, the Donut Drive-In was right down the road. I saw all the lights lit up from afar. There were a few cars but then out of nowhere there was a 10pm crowd for donuts. They couldn’t even fit everyone in. All the donuts were standard (glazed, frosted, apple fritter etc) with a specialty donuts. Nothing fancy. And, completely fresh. They had racks and racks of fresh donuts ready to go. I went with a vanilla frosted, glazed bow-tie, plain glazed, chocolate frosted cruller, Blueberry cake, and Maple walnut. This costs about $6 for a half dozen, very inexpensive. We actually saved them for after our hike the next day. We tore down that box. Every donut was phenomenal and satisfying. The consistency to each donut was extraordinary. The yeast dough was exceptional. The cake batter donuts were moist and chewy. I could eat a box of these every week. I don’t recall a collection of donuts from one place that made me so happy. Again, nothing extravagant. No need for crazy toppings. Just a shop that knows to how make a bangin’ donut. Go there!
I’m ready for donuts.
World’s Fair Donuts
Another great, local donut shop is World’s Fair Donuts. This is a small mom and pop in the Southwest Garden area. This is a very crowded area with little parking. We went there a few hours before it closed and they had barely any donuts left. Rookie move. I can tell they were very similar to the Donut Drive-In as far as options. The only two types left they had was plain glaze and a strawberry filled glazed donut. They only took cash and each donut was only 60 cents! I was like this can’t be real. That’s too cheap. We took our two donuts and enjoyed them on the ride back to our hotel. Again, the yeast donut was so good. Almost like a krispy kreme type donut but less sweet. St. Louis has the yeast donut down.
donut selfie
Now, that’s old school.
Vincent Van Doughnut
The last stop on our St. Louis donut tour was Vincent Van Doughnut. There was a location only a half mile from our hotel in the Forest Park district. The other location can be found in Clayton. This shop was way different from the others. More gourmet and trendier style of donut. Not only that but they make square shaped, yeast raised donuts. And, they are pretty big. They do offer cake base donuts in the standard shape as well as vegan and gluten-free options and even other desserts and pastries. The woman behind the counter suggested the cookies & cream which consists of Cheesecake glaze and topped with scratch-made chocolate streusel, cheesecake, and ganache stripes. The french toast was the most popular, with Maple and Cinnamon glaze topped with pecans and walnuts and a dusting of powdered sugar. I went with those as well as the chocolate frosted with peanut butter. All of those were the yeast base. I wanted to try a cake base one, so I got the blueberry glaze. This shop was pricier than the rest I visited. Averaging about $3 per donut. My favorites were the cookies & cream and the french toast. I thought they were good donuts. I only tried these 4 but I didn’t have the same excitement eating them as the donuts I mentioned earlier. I like more gluttony than the next guy but the donuts were a little too big. Each donut had a different texture, one was perfect and one was too chewy. They didn’t taste as fresh. There was a higher dough to topping ratio. With big donuts, that can be too much. The consistency wasn’t similar to the other donuts I had. And, the cake batter blueberry was crumbly and forgettable. The flavors were there but the donut itself could be better.
The Donut Reviews
I left St. Louis a changed man. Yeah, I love the big, fancy, crazy topping donuts. After visiting St. Louis, I have a better appreciation for the simple donuts. Every great donut shop or bakery should be able to make a basic glazed donut taste amazing. You don’t need pop tarts, candy bars, cookies, or pancakes to make a donut taste good. But if you make an awesome donut and add that crazy stuff, I’m in! Don’t sleep on St. Louis donuts. If I ever make it back there, I can’t wait to try more donut shops.
Pharoah Donuts: 4.5 out of 5
Donut Drive-In: 5 out of 5
World’s Fair Donuts: 4 out of 5
Vincent Van Doughnuts: 3.5 out of 5
HIKING FOR DONUTS
A blog for the outdoors foodie enthusiast
Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every chance I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.
If you are looking for posts in a particular place, search by city or state here.
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Elephant Rocks State Park
Elephant Rock State Park
Trail Description: Located in Southeast Missouri, Elephants Rocks State Park has a unique attraction. The trail will lead you to large granite boulders which resemble a train of pink circus elephants.
Trail Info:
Where: Elephant Rocks State Park, Belleview, MO Distance: 1.4 miles (1 hour or until you are done exploring) Difficulty: Easy Trail Type: Out and Back Features: Boulders, Water, Quarry
How to get there:
The park was easy to find via GPS. However, you may lose cell signal nearby so make sure your map is up already. Here’s the address to put in your GPS:
7406 MO-21, Belleview, MO 63623
Hiking Tips:
This is a very popular destination. Prepare for crowds.
The Engine House Ruins Trail is less crowded and worth hiking.
The Hike
My trip to Missouri continued to mystify my original thoughts of the state. Prior to my visit to St. Louis, I stumbled upon online Elephant Rocks State Park. The main attraction for this park is there is the line of giant, 1.5 billion year old granite boulders that stand end-to-end, like a train of circus elephants. The pics looked intriguing online.This is a 2 hour drive south from St. Louis. I wasn’t sure if it was worth the drive. However, it just so happens, I chose another hike nearby and figured why not throw this in afterwards. Smart decision, always go all in on exploring in new areas. This park did not disappoint me.
Park entrance sign.
Elephant Rocks State Park is located in the St. Francois Mountains in Belleview, Missouri. The park was easy to find via GPS. Being labor day weekend, the park was packed. There is ample parking for lots of people. Picnic tables are scattered before the trail begins. There are bathroom facilities. Families can have picnics, enjoy the outside, and take their kids for some fun exploring the boulders. This is definitely a tourist hotspot.
Parking area , Boulders, And aMerica.
There are two trails to explore through the park. The main trail is called the Braille Trail. This is a self-guiding trail that winds among the rocks and takes you throughout the park. This is paved and accessible for people with disabilities, physical or visual. At different areas of the trail, we noticed interpretive signage with information of the landscape and the history of the park. The trail is one mile and marked as red. There are various viewpoints and we kept walking off the trail to explore more of the boulders.
Once we reached the old engine ruin house, we noticed the blue marker trail to our left for the Engine House Ruins Trail. The terrain is more rugged but still easy. This added another 0.4 miles, which leads around the back side of the old quarry that connected us back to the Braille Trail. We followed the blue arrows on the trees and did our thing. There is some fun climbing that can be done on this section. Along with views beyond the bluff. Not many people tend to add this section of the hike so it was a nice break from the crowd.
old engine ruin house
pretty cool, this is in the middle of the park.
views from the top.
taking it all in. the best part.
After connecting back to the Braille Trail, we slithered through the rocks and made our way to the giant boulders. Once I got the full view, I understood where the name of the park was derived. I could see the elephant like figure. Due to the crowd, it was tough to capture how breathtaking it was in person. Everyone was climbing between the boulder and snapping selfies. Children are fascinated by the size of the boulders as they enjoyed climbing. I found myself scaling the boulders and didn’t want to leave!
Trying to get a good picture amongst the crowd.
The elephant’s trunk rock.
rocks.
more exploring.
We ended up spending about an hour and half enjoying the park. That is about all you need. Very easy, go at your own pace and enjoy type of hike. And, if you want, you can throw in some climbing. When I booked a trip to St. Louis, did I anticipate incredible landscapes and geological boulders in the heart of Missouri? Heck no. But I am sure glad I got to experience them. The fun part about traveling is finding gems like Elephant Rock State Park.
Wow so strong!
Well….hello there. Just doin’ some climbing.
HIKING FOR DONUTS
A blog for the outdoors foodie enthusiast
Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every chance I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.
If you are looking for posts in a particular place, search by city or state here.
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Lone Elk Park, St. Louis County, Missouri
Lone Elk Park is located in St. Louis County, Missouri. This park is only 35 minutes from downtown St. Louis and is a must visit bucket list. This park offers you a great nature adventure without needing to get out of your car. I never thought I would find elks and bison roaming in Missouri. This was an fun and exciting adventure. Read more about this in my latest blog!
I bet if I were to tell you, within a 35 minute drive from downtown St. Louis you would find a park that was reminiscent of Yellowstone National Park; you would think I am out of my mind. Lone Elk Park gives you that type of experience. Don’t get me wrong, it is nowhere near the size of Yellowstone, it is pretty small in comparison (only 2600 acres). Nor does it offer any of the landscape of Yellowstone. However, being able to drive among wild animals in nature from your car is a very cool experience that reminded me of when I was in Yellowstone. Again, at a very smaller scale. But come on, this is in Missouri!!! Who would of thought? As the name of the park states, you will see a huge elk population roaming. In addition, you will see bison, wild turkey, waterfowl, and deer. Essentially, you drive a loop around the park that takes about 30 minutes and hope to see some animals walking around. And, the park is totally free!
Entrance to the park. Veer left.
The park is tucked away in Valley Park, around Hwy 44 and Hwy 141. It is very easy to get to via gps. The park opens around 7am in the summer and *am in the winter. After doing some research online, I read the best time to see animals out is early in the morning or late at night before the park closes (sunset). Pretty good advice.
ELk butt.
We drove in from our hotel and got there around 8am. We pulled up to the park entrance. There is a bird sanctuary to your right if that is what you like. You will see the caution signs to stay in your car. Within the first 20 seconds of driving in, Nichole says to me, “Umm…is that fake?” And I responded, “Oh snap. That is as real as it gets”. The first animal we see in the middle of the road was a massive male elk with huge antlers. It honestly did look like a statue from far away. We crawled slowly past the elk and it was almost arm’s length away from the car. We made sure not to make to make it angry. We had a small rental car and this guy would tear it up.
this is real. First Elk we saw. Massive.
Great view of the lake and ELk.
As we proceeded, we saw more elk in the woods and a herd to our left as we saw a full view of the lake. We continued to drive along the loop and we started seeing more deer and wild turkeys. The deer here were big guys. We passed the lake and once that was behind us, we started to enter the bison area. You we see more signs here as they want to make sure no one gets out of the car. On this morning, we did catch a few bison out in the fields but they were further away. Not as close as the elks. After that, there isn’t much to the drive and the exit was upon us.
The great thing about this park is you can keep driving around as many times as you want. We wanted to take one more loop to see if more animals came out. Unfortunately, they moved further away the second time. But worth a shot. Also, the park does have hiking trails where you can be out in the open and potentially cross paths with the animals. On your feet or in your car, be careful. Bison and elk will gore you or your car.
Second time around the elk went to down the water. The model stayed put.
That’s where they went.
MOre of the big elk in the lake.
This was first time Nichole has seen wildlife like this so close. It was a cool experience. Note, if you want pictures, make sure you are driver side. I went in the back seat. No way was I driving, too excited! Definitely glad we came across this place in our research and made the drive. If you are visiting, this is a must add to your list. It is a great opportunity to get in touch with nature and you don’t even have to leave your car.
Lake views from the top of the hill.
I don’t trust turkeys.
HIKING FOR DONUTS
A blog for the outdoors foodie enthusiast
Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every chance I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.
If you are looking for posts in a particular place, search by city or state here.
EXPLORE OTHER POSTS IN THE ARCHIVE
RECOMMENDED POSTS
MOST RECENT POSTS
See where I have been recently on Instagram. Follow @HIKINGFORDONUTS