MO Missouri Porch

Topic · Outdoors

Outdoors & Places — page 3 of 7

Southwest Missouri

Crane Creek gives western Stone County a trout-rule landmark

Crane Creek is a Stone and Lawrence county trout water where MDC lists Blue Ribbon restrictions upstream from Quail Spur Crossing.

Southwest Missouri

Bull Shoals gives Taney County a quieter lake edge

MDC identifies Beaver Creek, River Run, and K-Dock as Bull Shoals Lake accesses in Taney County.

St. Louis Region

Little Lost Creek is Warren County's rugged creek country

Little Lost Creek Conservation Area brings glades, oak-hickory woods, sandstone outcrops, and a partially spring-fed stream into central Warren County.

St. Louis Region

Reifsnider State Forest sits just south of Warrenton

Reifsnider State Forest gives Warren County a wooded public-land stop close to Warrenton and I-70.

Southeast Missouri / Lead Belt / Mississippi Corridor

Hughes Mountain puts columned rhyolite south of Potosi

Hughes Mountain Natural Area gives Washington County a sourced geologic landmark of Precambrian rhyolite, columned rock, glades, and a short trail.

Southeast Missouri / Lead Belt / Mississippi Corridor

The Potosi ranger district is a federal land desk inside the county

The Mark Twain National Forest keeps a Potosi/Fredericktown Ranger District office in Potosi, which helps explain Washington County's federal-land layer.

North Missouri

Thousand Hills adds petroglyphs to Adair County's outdoor story

Thousand Hills State Park near Kirksville includes petroglyph interpretation as well as lake, trail, boating, and camping recreation.

Southwest Missouri

Flat Creek has official access points in Barry County

MDC access areas on Flat Creek give Barry County a local public-water layer beyond Roaring River and Table Rock Lake.

Ozarks (Rural)

Roaring River is Barry County's rugged valley park

Missouri State Parks describes Roaring River State Park as a deep, narrow valley in a rugged southwest Ozark landscape.

Central Missouri / Missouri River Corridor

Eagle Bluffs shows Boone County's Missouri River bottomland

Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area near McBaine turns Missouri River and Perche Creek bottomland into managed wetlands, wildlife habitat, and public access.

Central Missouri / Missouri River Corridor

Finger Lakes turns former coal ground into Boone County recreation

Finger Lakes State Park north of Columbia is a former coal-mining landscape now used for off-road riding, trails, camping, and water recreation.

Central Missouri / Missouri River Corridor

Three Creeks sits on Boone County's south edge of growth

Three Creeks Conservation Area between Columbia and Ashland protects a rugged creek-and-bluff landscape in an urbanizing part of Boone County.

Northern Missouri

The St. Joseph Parkway ties parks together through the city

St. Joseph's parkway system is a National Register-listed civic landscape that connects major parks and recreation areas across the city.

Lake of the Ozarks / Osage Region

Lake of the Ozarks State Park adds public shoreline to Camden's lake map

Missouri State Parks describes Lake of the Ozarks State Park as a public shoreline, trail, boating, beach, and cave layer around the lake area, including Ozark Caverns in Camden County.

Lake of the Ozarks / Osage Region

Ozark Caverns puts Camden County's karst under the lake map

Missouri State Parks places Ozark Caverns off Highway A in Camden County, making it a useful public example of the cave, spring, and hollow landscape around Lake of the Ozarks.

Southeast Missouri / Lead Belt / Mississippi Corridor

Apple Creek Conservation Area is north of Cape on Route CC

Apple Creek Conservation Area gives northern Cape Girardeau County a public-land layer of creek frontage, wooded hills, bottomland forest, and MDC rules.

Southeast Missouri / Lead Belt / Mississippi Corridor

The Cape nature center is the MDC front door

The Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center is an MDC source for southeast Missouri natural-resource exhibits, trails, programs, and visitor information.

Kansas City Region

Pleasant Hill anchors Cass County on the Rock Island Trail

Rock Island Trail State Park gives Cass County a developed rail-trail connection from Pleasant Hill toward Windsor and the wider Katy Trail system.

Southwest Missouri

Busiek is an MDC area in Christian County

Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area is a Missouri Department of Conservation site in Christian County, so rules and area details should start with MDC.

Southwest Missouri

Finley River Park is an Ozark city park

Finley River Park is in Ozark, so park rules, facilities, and local event questions should start with the City of Ozark source.

Southwest Missouri

Shelvin Rock is Christian County's James River access

Shelvin Rock Access is an MDC day-use access to the James River near Nixa, so river-use details start with Missouri Department of Conservation.

Kansas City Metro

Clay County parks are big enough to shape the county map

Clay County says its parks, recreation, and historic-sites system manages more than 6,000 acres, with major Smithville Lake facilities and trails.

Kansas City Region

Smithville Lake trails are a Clay County parks system

Around Smithville Lake, Clay County Parks names separate trail systems at Camp Branch, Crows Creek, Little Platte, and Smoke and Davey.

Central Missouri / Missouri River Corridor

Runge Nature Center is a Cole County MDC anchor

Runge Conservation Nature Center in Jefferson City is a Missouri Department of Conservation site, so programs and trails start with MDC.

Central Missouri / Missouri River Corridor

Scrivner Road Conservation Area shows Cole County beyond the Capitol

MDC places Scrivner Road Conservation Area south of Russellville, with Winegar Lake, South Moreau Creek frontage, trails, wildlife management, and public recreation.

Central Missouri / Missouri River Corridor

Lamine River Conservation Area is shared with Morgan County

MDC places Lamine River Conservation Area in Cooper and Morgan counties, east of Otterville, with access from Highway 50 and Route A.

St. Louis Region

Meramec State Park ties Franklin County's river and cave country together

Meramec State Park near Sullivan puts the Meramec River, bluffs, trails, camping, and Fisher Cave into one public-land anchor.

St. Louis Region

Noser Mill keeps the Bourbeuse River visible

Noser Mill Conservation Area near Beaufort is a small Franklin County public area tied to the Bourbeuse River and an old mill name.

St. Louis Region

Franklin County's smaller river accesses fill in the map

MDC river accesses such as Colter's Landing, Mayers Landing, and Reiker Ford show how the Missouri, Bourbeuse, and Boeuf Creek edges work at a smaller scale.

St. Louis Region

Robertsville State Park is a Meramec River access point

Robertsville State Park gives eastern Franklin County public Meramec River access, camping, fishing, boating, and a quiet farm-to-forest landscape.

Northern Missouri

Grand Trace gives Harrison County a prairie trail story

Grand Trace Conservation Area preserves a northern Missouri prairie-and-trail story tied to wildlife, seasonal villages, and the old Grand Trace route.

Ozarks (Metro)

Springfield Botanical Gardens is a civic partnership place

Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park brings together the Park Board, MU Extension, Friends of the Garden, Sister Cities, and Master Gardeners.

Ozarks (Metro)

Fellows Lake is both water supply and recreation

Fellows Lake north of Springfield is a City Utilities water-supply lake that also anchors fishing, trails, and outdoor recreation.

Southwest Missouri

The Park Board is a city-county layer

The Springfield-Greene County Park Board operates parks, trails, and facilities in both Springfield and unincorporated Greene County.

Ozarks (Metro)

Valley Water Mill is a small Ozarks lesson inside Springfield

Valley Water Mill Park combines a lake, springs, caves, sinkholes, boardwalk, and outdoor classroom into a compact Greene County outdoors note.

Kansas City Region

County lakes and campgrounds have county park rules

Lake Jacomo, Blue Springs Lake, and Longview Lake sit in the county park system, so reservations and recreation rules start with Jackson County Parks and Rec.

Kansas City Region

Little Blue Trace is a county trail spine

Little Blue Trace Trail is a Jackson County Parks trail corridor, so trail details and amenities start with the county park system.

Kansas City Region

County park shelters cluster around three lake systems

Jackson County Parks + Rec routes shelter reservations through Blue Springs Lake, Lake Jacomo, and Longview Lake, making the lake system the practical planning map.

Kansas City Region

Some county park permits are still in-person

Jackson County Parks + Rec says certain passes and permits are only available at the registration office or one of the three marinas, so not every park task is online.

Kansas City Region

The Rock Island corridor is a county mobility project

Jackson County's Rock Island Rail Corridor is a former rail line being used as a multi-modal county corridor through the metro.

Southwest Missouri

Grand Falls ties Joplin to Shoal Creek

Grand Falls on Shoal Creek gives Joplin a distinctive outdoor landmark close to Wildcat Park and the city's creek corridor.

Southwest Missouri

Wildcat Park keeps Shoal Creek close to town

Joplin's Wildcat Park gives Jasper County a creekside public place with fishing, trails, picnic space, and nature-center access.

St. Louis Region

Don Robinson State Park protects LaBarque sandstone country

Don Robinson State Park near Cedar Hill gives Jefferson County a close-to-St. Louis landscape of sandstone canyons, glades, forests, and LaBarque Creek watershed protection.

St. Louis Metro

Don Robinson preserved Jefferson County canyon country

Don Robinson State Park preserves rugged Jefferson County countryside that its namesake described as wild and wooded canyon country.

St. Louis Region

LaBarque Creek is a small watershed with a big local role

LaBarque Creek Conservation Area anchors a rugged Jefferson County watershed of forested hills, sandstone valleys, and public hiking close to the St. Louis edge.

St. Louis Metro

Jefferson County's park identity runs through cliffs, trails, and river towns

Jefferson County tourism highlights parks and trails, adding an outdoors identity to a county often read through commute, property, and tax questions.

St. Louis Region

Victoria Glades shows Jefferson County's dry hilltop ecology

Victoria Glades Conservation Area near Hillsboro gives Jefferson County a public example of dolomite glades, prairie grasses, and managed open woodland.

Kansas City Region

Powell Gardens gives Johnson County a botanical landmark

Powell Gardens in Kingsville is a distinctive Johnson County destination on U.S. 50, with public gardens, trails, collections, and changing seasonal programs.

Northern Missouri

Riverview Park shows Hannibal's bluff-and-river geography

Riverview Park in Hannibal gives Marion County a public blufftop view of the Mississippi River and a National Register-listed landscape.

Ozarks (Lake)

Carpenter Memorial is quiet conservation land north of Laurie

Carpenter Memorial Conservation Area gives Morgan County a forested MDC layer away from the most visible Lake of the Ozarks corridors.

Ozarks (Lake)

Hite Prairie puts prairie remnant color beside Versailles

Hite Prairie Conservation Area is a small MDC prairie area just off the Versailles edge, giving Morgan County more than lake-and-hill identity.

Lake of the Ozarks / Osage Region

The Lamine River starts in northern Morgan County

MDC says the Lamine River begins where Richland and Flat creeks meet in northern Morgan County, giving the county a headwaters story beyond the lake.

Bootheel

New Madrid's river view is a civic landmark

The City of New Madrid points visitors to the Mississippi River Walk and Observation Deck, making the riverfront a first-read feature of the city.

Bootheel

Donaldson Point sits inside the New Madrid Bend story

Donaldson Point Conservation Area southeast of New Madrid shows how the Mississippi River bends, borders, and bottomland shape the county.

Kansas City Region

Dr. Frederick Marshall Conservation Area ties medicine and land

Dr. Frederick Marshall Conservation Area in southwestern Platte County carries a local name tied to an early Platte City physician.

Kansas City Metro

Parkville Nature Sanctuary is a city-managed wildlife preserve

Parkville Nature Sanctuary is a 115-acre wildlife preserve and educational site with nearly three miles of hiking trails.

Kansas City Region

Platte Falls Conservation Area follows the river bottom

Platte Falls Conservation Area gives Platte County a bottomland, timber, grassland, and wetland public-land note near the Platte River.

Kansas City Metro

Weston Bend gives Platte County a Missouri River overlook

Weston Bend State Park offers trails, camping, picnic sites, and sweeping Missouri River views near Weston.

Central Missouri

Marshall Junction carries a Blackwater River local-history note

Marshall Junction Conservation Area is named for historic crossroads and carries local history around the Blackwater River, an old rock dam, and Abell Spring.

Central Missouri

Van Meter State Park interprets the Missouria homeland

Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park combines Missouri's American Indian Cultural Center, Oumessourit Natural Area, trails, marsh, forest, and an 18-acre lake.

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