Travel

The Bonne Terre Space Museum and Grissom Center opened 20 years ago as a tiny museum with great potential. Two decades later, museum president Earl Mullins and a group of enthusiastic volunteers have worked hard to grow the museum’s collections and inspire the next generation.

A visit to Lake Wappapello should be on your must-do list. The lake is clear, the forests are diverse, the fishing is excellent, and the cabins are a great place to spend a few days relaxing. Learn the history of the dam and how the lake was created.

You have got to see these trees. Big Oak Tree State Park is home to one national champion, a pumpkin ash, and three state champion trees, overcup oak, sweetgum, and persimmon. The ancient cypress are awe inspiring. The park is also a bird watchers dream with more than 150 known species chirping from the trees.

In Missouri, the devil seems to own everything, including the kitchen and the sink. His name is associated with natural features that include names like tollgate, well, den, tea table, pan, washboard, promenade, elbow, and many others. But why are so many geologic formations property of the devil?

Where there were cows, now there are fish. Farmhouses gave way to marinas. Fifty years ago, Missouri Life reported on the in-progress construction of the Harry S. Truman Dam & Reservoir. Despite early misgivings from locals in the region that stretches from Warsaw to Clinton to Osceola, Truman Lake has proven to be a boon for business and a magnet for outdoor enthusiasts.

The Lemp Mansion Restaurant & Inn, 21c Museum Hotel Kansas City, and The Elms Hotel & Spa have all found a successful formula by combining fine accommodations with a touch of spooky lore. Learn how you can do a haunted stay at these hotels, plus several more from around the state.

Spend a few days at Big lake State Park. There is so much to do from fishing to camping to boating. Big Lake is an oxbow lake and among the largest remaining natural oxbow lakes along the Missouri River. It is one of the largest natural lakes of any type in the State.

Pumpkins are good for so many things. Pie, curries, beer, decorations, and heck, you can even bowl with them. Learn all the wonderful things pumpkins have to offer and why this fruit is so versatile. Maybe you’ll bowl a strike too.

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.

For Missouri Life’s first-ever photo contest, we teamed up with Mpix and asked our readers to take their best shot. And wow, were we impressed. The tranquil scenes, majestic landscapes, and curious culture captured really showcased the best of the Show-Me State.