Summer Getaway: A Hidden Gem Just An Hour Outside St. Louis

Every city has its hidden gems – restaurants, theaters, schools, music acts, people, and the list goes on. As any St. Louisan knows, there are many across the region, but step a bit outside the metro region into rural Missouri and the list grows even longer.

One such gem is located in New Haven, Missouri, exactly half way between the state’s principle winery centers of Augusta and Hermann. Just off the beaten bath of Route 100 is the sprawling, rather rustic 200-acre Cedar Creek (VisitCedarCreek.com) which up until last year was only open for small group conventions, weddings, and like-events but is now open to the general public and is perfect for that summer getaway we all crave.

The diversity of offerings is hard to imagine – from golf to fishing to swimming to hiking, local wines and beer brewed on site – and a recent weekend my family spent there demonstrates why it's a great consideration next time you’re looking for a weekend getaway.

9 am (Saturday): My wife, our two sons and I pile in the minivan for the hour and fifteen minute trek from Clayton to New Haven down I-44 and then onto Route 100 West until just past New Haven.

10:15 am: We arrive at Cedar Creek and quickly check in up at the Lodge where the check-in desk is. The property has nearly 50 rooms in total – 37 rooms in The Lodge and several private homes for rent as well. This is not 5-star accommodations but what I’d call “country comfortable,” and we had reserved the “Little Lodge,” which was completed in the 19th century and has three guest rooms, two full baths, and a main level great room.

10:45 am: The boys are eager to dive in the salt-water pool so we do a quick change and get to it for about two hours, overlooking the picturesque rolling hills of the property.

12:45 pm: We’re hungry. Time for a meal and for me, perhaps a beer as Cedar Creek is also home to 2nd Shift Brewing. We walk into the Town Hall in the property’s Western Town. I order  2nd Shift’s “Art of Neurosis,” a hoppy IPA, and for lunch I choose the Chicken Tarragon 

Salad Sandwich (and requested that bacon be put on it), with Cedar Creek’s house-made chicken salad topped with bacon, served with lettuce and tomato on homemade bread.

2:00 pm: The leisurely lunch over, the four of us hop on a couple of golf carts and head to the 9-hole par three golf course. This is not for the golf snob, but if you want to fire away at nine challengingly narrow holes in the middle of beautiful rolling hills, it’s very nice. And for kids, it’s perfect. We played it twice.

4:30 pm: It’s getting warm so we took a break and dove back into the pool. I had to help myself to another 2nd Shift and my wife got herself a nice glass of wine.

6:30 pm: Time to eat dinner and hence back to Town Hall. I ordered the Shrimp Creole, the infamous Louisiana dish with shrimp, the Holy Trinity of onion, celery, and bell pepper, spiced with a cayenne-based seasoning, served over white rice, and hot sauce on the side. Plus it went perfectly with a few more 2nd Shifts.

8:30 pm: The sun is getting low and can be faintly seen over the horizon. A spectacular view. We sit outside on the deck while the kids splash around in the pool a bit more before heading to bed in the Little Lodge.

8:00 am (Sunday): I’m up early and the boys are always up, or so it would seem. We grab a quick yet amazing breakfast – eggs, bacon, sausage, fruits, homemade breads – and then its time to focus on fish!  We make our way to Cedar Creek’s 7-acre pond with our fishing poles and begin to pull out large mouth bass after large mouth bass (catch and release), the biggest of which was about 5 lbs. 

12:00 pm: We had a great haul and have earned a good lunch. Back to Town Hall for sandwiches and some hydration.

1:00 pm: The pool is calling us again so we hop in. Refreshing would be an understatement and we just lounge and play for about three hours.   

3:30 pm: Time to hike and Cedar Creek’s got a number of really lovely trails through the woods across the property and so we simply meander around some of the paths

5:30 pm: My golf game is horrendous so I need as much honing as I can get. The family grabs the golf carts and heads to shoot a quick nine.

7:30 pm: I’m still a terrible golfer but my high quality hacking has earned a meal. But instead of eating on-property we hopped in the car and headed to the extremely quaint downtown New Haven. Just a mile or so away, it’s somewhat o f an architectural time capsule of small town America and only block long with a fully restored Art Deco movie theater, a restaurant, Colter’s Museum, and several interesting shops.

9:30 pm: I’m done. The kids and wife are whipped. It’s been a great day. Time for bed for a nice night of sleep in the Little Lodge.

6:30 am (Monday): We wake up early the next morning and head back to Clayton – work for me and summer camp for the kids – after two wonderful days at Cedar Creek. A hidden gem indeed.