Missouri State Parks

Granite “elephants” came to be due to uplift and erosion. Make plans to visit today. You can follow a Braille trail and have a snack on the picnic tables hidden among the rocks. There is so much to see and learn among these “elephants.”

Learn how the site of an early Civil War skirmish became a State Historic Site. Uncover prehistoric Indian sites and part of a Sauk Indian village. Take a hike to see rich flora that are relics of glacial times. Can you find the “cannonball house?”

You have to make this trip! Immerse yourself in native woodlands and forest, streams and springs, and uplands and pastures. Cool off in a crystal clear river. And how can you miss the house that the Beatles visited while in Missouri.

Spring is here. Who’s ready to ramble? Here are 20 trails to explore by hiking or biking in Missouri. One takes you past elk and bison. Another is the Katy Trails' little sister. Several guide you along babbling creeks or the big rivers.

National Public Lands Day is coming right up, this Saturday, September 24, and all entry fees will be waived at national parks and other federal public lands, including national monuments, forests, recreation areas, wildlife refuges, historical sites, battlefields, recreation areas, and grasslands. The Ozark National Scenic Riverways is also on federal land.

Veterans can fish for free all day Saturday, September 17, 2022, at Roaring River State Park.

Although the Ozark National Scenic Riverways is a national park, it sometimes seems like it is the best-kept secret in the state.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources acquired the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site site in 1977, two years after the death of the Neosho-born artist.

On this date in Missouri history, the State Park Fund is created to develop Missouri state parks.

Roaring River State Park is beloved for its trout fishing but named for its preternaturally turquoise spring, which flows from the base of a towering, U-shaped bluff. At the viewing platform, its shadowy mouth is hauntingly beautiful, dappled with light and the shadows from hanging ferns. On average, the spring produces an unfathomable 20.4 million gallons of water per day.