Zipping and Picking

Colassal Zip-Line at the Caverns

Caveman Zipline at Meramec Caverns in Sullivan offers explorers the chance to glide above the treetops and over the beautiful Meramec River on an hour-long unforgettable experience. The canopy adventure includes three wooden, swinging sky bridges and four zip-lines, which vary in length from 200 to 1,250 feet and reach speeds up to 50 miles per hour.

This premiere zip-lining facility is west of St. Louis. Well-trained guides focus on safety by providing an orientation and instructions for all adventure seekers.

Assistant manager Maggie Jones says guests love their guides and what they bring to the course. “Our guides are very personable with our guests,” she says. “They take time to get to know them and make them comfortable. We like to have fun, but we always make it safe for our guests.” Participants will be given gloves and a helmet and will be attached to belay lines at all times, which is a backup safety precaution. Guests are required to wear close-toed shoes and take off all jewelry. Long hair will need to be tied back prior to scaling the course.

Admission is $64 for adults, $39 for kids ages 10–12, and $54 for active military. Group rates are available. Participants must be 10 years of age or older and weigh at least 80 pounds but no more than 250 pounds to participate in the course.

Caveman Zipline is part of Meramec Caverns, which includes daily tours of the caverns, scenic hiking trails, a campground, cabins, and a motel.

CavemanZipline.com • 1135 Highway W, Sullivan

PUMPKIN PATCH, PETTING ZOO, AND APPLE PICKING

By Danielle Bopp Breshears

Located at Kirksville in northeast Missouri, Urban Gardens provides a family-friendly fall festivity oasis. Activities include a two- acre corn maze, a petting zoo with bunnies, goats, cows, and horses, and a ghost town that includes a jailhouse, casket shop, and an old cemetery. There’s also a saloon set up for hot cocoa and homemade root beer, harvest games, miniature pony rides, a Noah’s Ark-themed playground, a trackless train ride, and a 60-foot slide. With so many great options, families have a tough choice about where to begin.

Co-owner John Bender loves to show off the impressive corn maze, the gourd-growing grounds, the pear and peach tree blossoms, and the gardens’ new addition: a high-density apple orchard holding a total of 820 apple trees spaced only three feet apart. This small-scale apple production is something the owners are especially excited about this year, allowing guests to connect with nature by picking their own apples.

“We’re not a big-city thing. This is a ma and pa operation. It’s small, but it’s a lot of fun,” John says. Urban Gardens also makes space for a local farmers’ market that has seasonal produce for sale. The Benders’ goal for the whole operation is not only to bring families together for affordable fun in Kirksville but also to provide them with another source of fresh produce throughout the fall.

Urban Gardens is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, September 7– October 31. Admission is $10 per person. Children under two get in free.

UrbanGardensKV.com • 701 West La Harpe Street, Kirksville

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This article was published in the September 2025 issue of Missouri Life.