Outdoors

If you marvel at majestic monarchs, with their beautiful, bright orange and black wings, then you won't want to miss a special event on Sept. 30, 2023. Fans of these fancy fliers can flock to see them as they begin their fall migration southward.

Bennett Spring State Park is lovely at any time of year, but visiting in the Fall is glorious. The lodge is a rustic yet very comfortable place to stay for a few days, so you have plenty of time to take in all this State Park has to offer.

The Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site is a place filled with history. Many battle reenactments have relived the events that took place on Sept., 27, 1864. Visit the fort, bring a picnic, and immerse yourself in Civil War history.

The 132-acre Dillard Mill State Historic Site offers a fully operational turbine-powered roller mill which can be toured and a mill store built around 1899. There is also a day-use picnic area with a shelter and a mile-and-a-half hiking trail through a glade and wooded uplands east of the mill.

If flying fascinates you and aviation amps you up, take off for an incredible free air show Sept. 16–17, 2023. You'll have a chance to marvel at military aircraft from decades past and catch captivating aeronautic performances and daredevil displays.

Lexington, Mo is brimming with annetebellum homes and amazing architecture, and is surrounded by beautiful landscapes. The Anderson House was used as a hospital during the Civil War. The site is most notable for the Battle of the Hemp Bales. Come find out why.

Visit Missouri’s “Little Grand Canyon” where you will find a true chasm, caves, a natural bridge, and picnic areas. Park managers have laid out trails and installed wheelchair-accessible boardwalks and overlooks at this 322-acre day-use park.

Most circuses — whether large and famous like Ringling Bros., and Barnum & Bailey, or small and regional — are traveling ones, and set up a big Big Top tent to perform in. But not this circus. It is traveling, but there is no Big Top tent involved!

Thomas Hart Benton is best known for the murals in our state capitol in Jefferson City. The home and studio that Benton and his wife Rita shared in Kansas City have been left perfectly preserved. The paints, furniture, sketches, and even his pipe sit right where he left them on the day he died.

Do you enjoy being a two-wheeled tourist? Whether you’re a peddling pro, a cycling sensation, or a little wobbly on wheels, if you’re any kind of a biking enthusiast—at any skill level!—you'll want to check out a marvelous moonlight bike ride.