Now more than ever… we need to find opportunities to cope with the stress surrounding us.

Now more than ever… Alpine Shop's mission statement rings true: "We love and need the mountains, trails, rivers and wild places. They nourish our spirit."

We don't know how long this crisis will last, but while we're able to, we believe we need to "nourish our spirits" by taking a walk through our local parks, by hiking our beloved trails, by exploring the scenic rivers and lakes around us, or by rolling our bikes down the next path.

Now more than ever… we need to re-discover a favorite footpath, re-introduce our children to the wonders of the forest floor, and remind ourselves of the power of simply getting outside.

Now more than ever… take care of your family and friends. Take care of your neighbors in need. But also, take care of yourself. Nourish your spirit in any way that you can.

Because, now more than ever…we need the mountains, trails, rivers and wild places. They can nourish us all.

Where we go from here - Updated 4/3/20:

All Alpine Shop locations in Missouri are temporarily closed.

However, our Kirkwood store's Bike Shop remains open on a limited basis to accept bike service customers. Please call the store at 314-962-7715 for full details. We will post additional updates when we are able to reopen.

In the meantime, our webstore remains fully operational for any of your outdoor needs. The Pathfinder (Manhattan, Kan.) remain open, but are operating on shortened hours. For more information on all of our stores' current schedules, you can find it here.

Please note: Out of abundance of caution for both guests and team members, effective immediately, all returns and exchanges will be suspended until April 22. We are also extending the return date on any receipts by at least three weeks.

Alpine Shop's and The Pathfinder's Outfitters are passionate about the outdoors and are dedicated to continuing to help make your adventures as enjoyable and safe as possible. We've already posted about what we're doing in our stores to keep them clean and sanitized, as well as what events we have had to cancel, here. We will continue to update that information as it becomes available.

All in-store clinics are cancelled through May 10, in accordance with the latest CDC guidelines. In the meantime, we will be posting on-line videos of our clinics and programs to make sure you can continue to get the information you need. Please visit our events site at: alpineshopevents.com for more information.

Stay Safe. Stay Healthy.

Please understand, we are not advocating for anyone to take a road trip across the country to visit national parks. Instead, we are urging people to discover – or rediscover – the parks, forests, and other wild places near your homes. Below, you can find a list of options for getting outside (near our shop locations) that we know are either open (or closed) to continue to explore during this pandemic crisis. We will update this list as we get more information.

We would like to point out that even through the state of Illinois is under a stay-at-home order (March 20), "outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, running and biking are all allowed, (as long as) social distancing requirements (are) followed." Evidently the Illinois government agrees with our take on things.

What to do:

• Top 20 Outdoor Family Destinations in St. Louis and Columbia, Mo. (We don't have verification on current access to all of the locations on this list. Please verify before leaving for any of these locations.)

Open:

• Select Missouri State Parks (programs & events are cancelled, parks remain open). Certain parks, including Castlewood State Park in St. Louis are closed as of Thursday, April 2.
• Kansas State Parks (some parks are closed. See below)
• Illinois Local Parks - During the stay-at-home order put in place on 3/20 by Illinois Governor Pritzker, while playgrounds are closed, the order does specifically allow for "outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, running and biking (while) social distancing requirements (are) followed."

Closed:

• Select Missouri State Parks - like Castlewood State Park in St. Louis County
• Shaw Nature Reserve (and all other Missouri Botanical Gardens-owned locations in and around St. Louis)
• All St. Louis County Parks (as of Friday, April 3)
• St. Louis Zoo
• Certain Kansas Department of Wildlife Facilities
• Illinois State Parks and Wildlife Areas -