Southeast Missouri

Once the site of a lead-processing mill, St. Joe State Park has become a popular place for recreation—and with good reason. Visitors can ride ATVs, go for a dip, ride horses, enjoy the hiking and biking trails, and camp overnight.

Lake Wappapello is named for a small Wayne County railroad town named Wappapello, reportedly after a friendly Shawnee chief who hunted the area during early pioneer times. Today, Lake Wappapello State Park offers a relaxing hideaway.

There's something almost magical about a hot air balloon. The Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival brings this magic to the Jaycee Rodeo Grounds for a fun-filled weekend of balloon glows, tethered balloon rides, a beer and wine garden, and live music.

We searched every corner of Missouri for hidden gems—fascinating but sometimes overlooked places that are worth the drive. Where will this southeast Missouri hidden gems road trip, with places suggested by Missouri Life ambassadors, take you?

Sikeston, Missouri, knows how to have fun, and the annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival and Home Brew Competition at American Legion Park on March 11 more than fits the expectation.

This date in Missouri history: Schools and businesses closed while families stocked up on supplies. This date was predicted to see a gigantic earthquake along the New Madrid Fault. Nothing happened.

It’s been a wild eighteen months. Many shifted work and home lives around during the pandemic in an effort to keep others safe. Now as more people are vaccinated, and as case numbers decline and establishments continue to open up, we should all feel relieved, right? Not exactly, says Dr. Arpit Aggarwal of MU Health Care.