Hughes Mountain is a summit in Missouri’s St. Francois Mountains, rising a little over 1,200 feet above sea level and about 430 feet above the Big River. Named for early settler John Hughes, who came to the area around 1810, it passed into the Hughes family in 1861 and remained with them until the Missouri Conservation Commission acquired it in 1982 as Hughes Mountain State Natural Area. The mountain is especially known for its summit rhyolite glade and the Devil’s Honeycomb, where ancient Precambrian rhyolite cooled into vertical polygonal columns. Its forests and glades also support a notable variety of native plants and wildlife.

Irondale, Missouri · USA