Spire, The

The Spire is one of the most easily recognizable geological features that is near the Providence parking lot and can be seen, on your right, as you travel north west along the Katy Trail. The sedimentary limestone is quite layered and pocketed with chert. Weathering slowly eroded the surrounding rock to expose the vertical, tower formation that now has a saddle depression separating the structure from the bluff, by thirty feet, sitting nearly forty feet below the top of the cliff face and thirty feet below the summit of the Spire. Hiking up the drainage, from the approach trail to the saddle, can be quite taxing. The short climb up the back side of the Spire is no shall task either. While the climb to the cap stone is quite a bit easier than its brother climb, located on the opposite, Katy Trail side of the tower, the potential for injury from a fall is still high, due to the steep slope of the rock which drops abruptly in either direction. At the end of the day, the sunset is still amazing to witness from above the tops of the trees, as it will reflect off of the Missouri River and the surrounding Eagle Bluff waters, whether you are standing on top of the Spire, or not.