You cast more than 28,800 votes to determine the best of outdoor recreation in St. Louis. Now, here are your favorite outdoor businesses, destinations, events and people for 2018.

Your Favorite Businesses

Favorite Bike Shop
1st Place – Big Shark Bicycle Company
2nd Place – Trailhead Bicycles
3rd Place – Revolution Cycles
Honorable Mention – The Hub

Editor’s Pick – Ballwin Cycles
Some of the friendliest bike mechanics paired with the best-stocked beer cooler around. What’s not to love?

Favorite Running Store
1st Place – Big River Running Company
2nd Place – Fleet Feet
3rd Place – RunWell
Honorable Mention – Running Niche

Favorite Outdoor Store
1st Place – Alpine Shop
2nd Place – REI
3rd Place – KAMP
Honorable Mention – Take a Hike Shop

Favorite Fly Fishing Store
1st Place – T Hargrove Fly Fishing
2nd Place – Feather-Craft Fly Fishing
3rd Place – Bass Pro Shops
Honorable Mention – Outdoors Inc.

Favorite Climbing Gym
1st Place – Upper Limits
2nd Place – Climb So iLL
3rd Place – REI
Honorable Mention – Go Ape

Favorite Yoga Studio
1st Place – Yoga Six
2nd Place – Shanti Yoga
3rd Place – Urban Breath Yoga
Honorable Mention – Jane’s House of Wellness

Favorite Local Outdoor Brand
1st Place – Qikcover
2nd Place – So iLL
3rd Place – Arch Apparel
Honorable Mention – Kuat

Editor’s Pick – Outbound Lighting
We tried one of these automotive-quality gems at a nighttime bike race last summer and haven’t respected our regular lights since.

Favorite Outdoor Nonprofit
1st Place – Trailnet
2nd Place – Gateway Off-Road Cyclists (GORC)
3rd Place – Gateway to the Great Outdoors
Honorable Mention – Great Rivers Greenway

Favorite Sports Medicine Clinic
1st Place – Athletico Physical Therapy
2nd Place – Washington University Orthopedics
3rd Place – Optimal Performance Center
Honorable Mention – Apex Networks

Favorite Brewery
1st Place – 4 Hands Brewing Co.
2nd Place – Urban Chestnut Brewing Company
3rd Place – Schlafly Beer
Honorable Mention – Civil Life

Favorite Winery
1st Place – Augusta Winery
2nd Place – Montelle Winery
3rd Place – Stone Hill Winery
Honorable Mention – Cedar Lake Cellars

Favorite Restaurant for Refueling
1st Place – Bike Stop Café
2nd Place – The Wolf Café
3rd Place – Lulu’s Local Eatery
Honorable Mention – Mission Taco

Editor’s Pick – The Gramophone
Flavorsome sammies and rotating craft beers. Pool, video games and great music. All located in one of the hippest neighborhoods in St. Louis. Game, set, match.

Your Favorite Destinations

Favorite Park (city/county)
1st Place – Forest Park
2nd Place – Tower Grove Park
3rd Place – Greensfelder County Park
Honorable Mention – Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park

Favorite Park (state)
1st Place – Castlewood State Park
2nd Place – Hawn State Park
3rd Place – Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park
Honorable Mention – Katy Trail State Park

Favorite Hiking Trail
1st Place – Lewis & Clark Trails
2nd Place – Chubb Trail
3rd Place – Ozark Trail
Honorable Mention – Trail Through Time (Pickle Springs)

Favorite Mountain Biking Trail
1st Place – Rock Hollow/Zombie Trail
2nd Place – Chubb Trail
3rd Place – Lost Valley Trail
Honorable Mention – Bootlegger Trail 

Editor’s Pick – Matson Trail
There’s a lot packed into this 7.5-mile system: rock sections, flowy wooded lines, a fast downhill (after first climbing up), creek crossings. Challenging but always fun.

Favorite Bicycling Route
1st Place – MCT Trails
2nd Place – Clayton Road in West County
3rd Place – Katy Trail State Park
Honorable Mention – Grant’s Trail

Favorite Paddling River
1st Place – Meramec River
2nd Place – Current River
3rd Place – Huzzah River
Honorable Mention – Black River

Favorite Fly-Fishing Spot
1st Place – Current River
2nd Place – Bennett Spring State Park
3rd Place – Meramec Spring Park
Honorable Mention – Mill Creek

Favorite Climbing Area
1st Place – Jackson Falls
2nd Place – Elephant Rocks State Park
3rd Place – Robinson Bluff
Honorable Mention – Pere Marquette State Park

Favorite Kid-Friendly Outdoor Destination
1st Place – Elephant Rocks State Park
2nd Place – Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park
3rd Place – Missouri Botanical Garden
Honorable Mention – Castlewood State Park

Favorite Outdoor Resort
1st Place – Big Cedar Lodge
2nd Place – Bass’ River Resort
3rd Place – Pere Marquette Lodge & Conference Center
Honorable Mention – YMCA Trout Lodge & Camp Lakewood

Editor’s Pick – Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa
This lakeside resort’s proximity to three IMBA Epic Trails makes it an outdoor mecca. Plus, the amazing lodging options.

Favorite Outdoor Town
1st Place – Hermann, Mo.
2nd Place – St. Charles, Mo.
3rd Place – Wildwood, Mo.
Honorable Mention – Bentonville, Ark.

Your Favorite Events

Favorite Bicycling Event
1st Place – Gateway Cup
2nd Place – Bike MS: MS 150 Ride
3rd Place – Pedal the Cause
Honorable Mention – Ride the Rivers

Favorite Mountain Biking Event
1st Place – Greensfelder Challenge
2nd Place – BT Epic
3rd Place – Southern Illinois Fat Tire Fest
Honorable Mention – 2 Timing Guys Dirt Crits

Editor’s Pick – Guided Path Adventures Taco Tuesday
For laid-back mountain biking fun, there’s nothing like this weekly summer frolic at Castlewood State Park. Shred with the guides, then chow down on homemade tacos.

Favorite Road Running Event
1st Place – GO! St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend
2nd Place – MO’ Cowbell Marathon
3rd Place – Macklind Mile
Honorable Mention – St. Patricks’s Day Parade Run

Favorite Trail Running Event
1st Place – The Skippo
2nd Place – Quivering Quads
3rd Place – Castlewood Cup
Honorable Mention – Alpine Shop Trail Run Series

Favorite Climbing Event
1st Place – So iLL Showdown
2nd Place – 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell
3rd Place – Gateway Boulder Bash
Honorable Mention – Holy Boulders Bouldering Competition

Favorite Paddling Event
1st Place – Missouri American Water MR340
2nd Place – Missouri Whitewater Championships
3rd Place – Race for the Rivers
Honorable Mention – Big Muddy Adventures Full Moon Floats

Favorite Triathlon
1st Place – New Town Triathlon
2nd Place – St. Louis Triathlon
3rd Place – HalfMax Triathlon (Innsbrook)
Honorable Mention – Lake St. Louis Triathlon

Editor’s Pick – XTERRA St. Louis
Relocated to beautiful Council Bluff Recreation Area, the annual race lets triathlon enthusiasts stoke their inner dirt-lover, and vice versa.

Favorite Adventure Event
1st Place – Castlewood 8-Hour Adventure Race
2nd Place – Conquer Castlewood Team Adventure Race
3rd Place – Ozark Trail Taum-A-Hawk Hiking Race
Honorable Mention – Gateway Xtreme Hike

Favorite Outdoor Lifestyle Event
1st Place – Life Outside Festival
2nd Place – Mississippi Valley Bike + Outdoor Expo
3rd Place – St. Louis Earth Day Festival
Honorable Mention – Fair St. Louis

Favorite Beer Festival
1st Place – Urban Chestnut Brewing Company Oktoberfest St. Louis
2nd Place – St. Louis Microfest
3rd Place – Lupulin Carnival
Honorable Mention – St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival

Favorite Music Festival
1st Place – LouFest
2nd Place – Big Muddy Blues Festival
3rd Place – Pointfest
Honorable Mention – Whitaker Music Festival

Your Favorite People

Favorite Outdoor Athlete
1st Place – Sunny Gilbert
2nd Place – Shalini Kovach
3rd Place – Laura Scherff
Honorable Mention – David Frei

Favorite Outdoor Personality
1st Place – Patrick Albert
2nd Place – David Chancellor
3rd Place – Teri Griege
Honorable Mention – Mike Weiss

Editor’s Pick – Mark Grumke
Be it standing the rain before a run or melting in the heat after a grueling bike race, we’ve never seen this guy without a smile on his face.   

Favorite Outdoor Guide
1st Place – Caleb Brackett (Guided Path Adventures)
2nd Place – “Big Muddy” Mike Clark (Big Muddy Adventures)
3rd Place – Jon Richard (Vertical Voyages)
Honorable Mention – Dave McNaughton (St. Louis Trail Running Club)

Favorite Coach/Instructor
1st Place – Mark Spewak (Spewak Training)
2nd Place – Sally Drake (Sally Drake Endurance Coaching)
3rd Place – Chris Mileski (Chris Mileski Coaching)
Honorable Mention – Jay Thomas (Roots Mountain Biking)

Favorite Bike Mechanic
1st Place – Francesca DeRanzo (Velofix St. Louis)
2nd Place – Mike Bobelak (Swim Bike Run O’Fallon)
3rd Place – Tim Ball (Ballwin Cycles)
Honorable Mention – “Big” Mike Eschmann (Bike Surgeon)

Favorite Sports Doctor
1st Place – Dr. Brian Laiderman (Optimal Performance Center)
2nd Place – Dr. Matt Melander (Melander Sports Medicine)
3rd Place – Dr. Matt Lytle (Precision Health Group)
Honorable Mention – Dr. Lauren Hendrix (West County Spine & Joint Chiropractic)

Except for Editor’s Pick selections, all winners in the Terrain Magazine Editors’ Choice Awards were chosen by open-ended survey over the course of a three-month period. More than 28,800 votes were cast in this, the inaugural year of the awards.

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