While visiting relatives in Missouri, we came here with the kiddos…read more The kids loved cooling off on the splash pad. Remind kids NOT to run, one of our kids slipped and scraped their knee open. My husband and I looked at the fitness area. It looked like a pretty cool amenity. Wonder how many people actually use it though? There is also a pretty cool playground here. Loved the rubberized ground cover. (I personally dislike messy mulch or the ground up tires for playground ground cover). Lastly, the kids played on the huge theatrical stage. Not sure how/when this is utilized but it's a nice option for local bands or schools?? Numerous covered pavilions were here. A couple were being used for parties. One came in handy when a quick 5 minute downpour happened upon us. All in all, a nice park.

So glad we discovered this community park. Nice combination of playground, splash pad, picnic…read morearea, walking paths - and close to the commemorative Trail of Tears area. This is a 1/2 way point for meeting family that provides a fun break from the car ride for my grandchildren. Always clean and well tended.

Great playground for the kids. Clean and well kept. There is a skate park just behind the…read moreplayground and swimming pools nearby. They have bathroom facilities and shade trees. Open late.

I have been here several times over the past 5-6 years, absolutely the best group of folks you…read morecould hunt with. They go above and beyond to make your trip successful, work very hard for you. The food and accommodations are great, no complaints. I just introduced my Grandson to hunting this past year, he's 7, got his first Sika and we are going back this Spring to get him his next trophy. If your looking for a great, family experience, come check them out , you cant go wrong, non-hunters will enjoy just as much, very relaxing, no cooking or cleaning, just lots of animals, fishing and great views. But for me, it's the folks running the show that keeps me coming back, just good people, come hunt with them!!

Having lost a leg in 2015 my free range hunting has been limited. Two friends and I have just…read morereturned from a two day hunt at High Adventure having pursued Red Stag. I cannot recall a time where I received kinder treatment, or was as well fed, as this. The quantity and quality of game is mine blowing! They say Missourians are friendly but our guide , Monty, must be the poster boy. Meat processing is excellent. While hunting at HA is not cheap It is money well spent. I highly recommend High Adventure for an awesome experience. Tim Day New Hampshire

Wilderness Ridge is a hidden gem of a campground about 2.5 hours from St. Louis. They offer float…read moretrips, camping, and cabins. Stop in Rolla, MO or another town off the highway to get any last minute items - this place is off the beaten path. For a full experience, pick up some Piney River Brewing Company beers (brewed nearby - try the Float Trip Ale) before you hit the back roads. Not too far into your float trip you will see a huge rock face bluff. Don't be afraid to stop here for a good long while and post up to enjoy the view. I wish I would have spent an hour here. It's the best view along the entire float. There are a few RV hookups with electric and water but not a ton. Call ahead to make sure you can get one if this is necessary. Enjoy your time away from city life! https://www.wildernessridgeresort.com/

Gosh. I hate to knock a business's review down this much but this experience wasn't good at all…read more My brother-in-law said this place has changed owners and unfortunately, that may not be a good thing. We arrived around 2ish on a Tuesday and aside from a group of old timers, we were the only ones here. We had a party of 6 bowling ONE GAME and with shoe rentals and the bill was a whopping $46!!! That seems downright insane. $7.67 per person for one game and shoes during a strange time which would have been empty otherwise. So onto the next part... our lanes kept messing up. Like, one time I knocked down 8 on my first shot, then it set down all 10 pins again. I preceded to knock down the 2 which would have given me a spare and instead, the computer claimed I didn't get any down and marked me an 8. Then another time one of the kids hadn't even taken their turn and the computer gave them a 4. I couldn't even tell you how many mistakes happened (this was just 2 examples) and I am sure the guy at the counter was sick of me going up there because we couldn't change the score on our own. Then came the time when one of our two lanes stopped working completely. Our other group continued to play but then were told they had to stop playing until they fixed our lane, which was 10-15 minutes. No "sorry about that" or anything. We figured we should have been offered a free game since we had so many problems during our $46 game. NOPE. On our way out, both workers were near the door and again, did not say "thanks for stopping in" or "sorry about the issues." Nothing. One of our kids commented "they should have zero stars" and my brother in law said that if the old management was in charge we would have gotten 1-2 games free for the problems. Doubt we'll return.

No just no every time there was a someone's turn had to restart the pins also even broke at the end…read moreterrible equipment.

Very nice golf course. Well maintained and a friendly staff. The back 9 is more wide open than the…read morefront. However, the course overall is pretty open. There are a few bunkers that need maintenance after the flooding from the storm. The course was not super crowded and pace of play was very reasonable.

On my first trip back home to St. Louis from Los Angeles in more than a decade, I went on a hunt…read morefor the summer home/hunting cabin that belonged to my grandparents. I had not been there since I was 13, one week after my mother died in 1989. The area was in a flood plain on the bank of the Big Piney River near the tiny town of Devil's Elbow, MO. I knew it was off Highway Z near I-44. I remembered along the way I used to look for a very high wooden railroad truss bridge, a Hillbilly General Store, the Bobber Cafe, some old, dilapidated buildings, a very old steel truss bridges, a tiny cemetery, a restaurant I used to call The Purple Cow (actually called Sirloin Stockade in Rolla) and the cabins and outbuildings where childhood friends of mine and old cronies of my grandfather lived. I had only the memories of a child guiding me. GPS was useless, both because I did not know the name of the road, nor could I get a GPS signal. This was one cool, melancholic adventure back in time. I found the steel truss bridge. It was closed. I was lost. I found Sheldon's Market and Post Office. The nice young woman inside skeptically listened to my story. I dropped some names of my grandparent's friends who had died more than 20 years ago. She did not recognize the names. She called her cousin. He did not recognize the names. As I was beginning to lose hope and started to think my grandparents' home had washed away in the floods so long ago that no one even remembered, a very nice woman drove up in her car. She asked us what we were looking for and we shared my story with her. She remembered my grandparents! She led us to the house (the long way because the bridge was closed.) She told us that her nephew (or cousin?) had started up a canoe rental business next door. We saw that the "neighborhood" (6 houses on concrete stilts) had been pretty beaten by time and harsh weather. We rented a canoe for $40. The proprietor drove us up the river 6 miles and we dropped in. The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed a lazy float down the Big Piney River. There are sandbars in the middle where you can fish, look for crawdads, sunbathe, and enjoy the peace and tranquility. I remember my grandfather used to lose his mind when speedboats would fly down the river in the summertime because they chewed up the bottom, eroded the shores, and disrupted his silence. There was none of that on our Monday on the river. Just hawks soaring overhead, a cool breeze, the sound of our paddles, and calmness. We only saw one other couple in kayaks. So refreshing for a couple of Angelenos to spend an afternoon in rural Missouri just BREATHING clean air. There are some rope swings overhanging the water right before you dock again back at Route 66 Canoe Rental. Use them. So much fun. We pulled the canoes back onto the concrete boat launch and no one was there to receive us. We walked on a little bit, only slightly scared that we might get shot for trespassing (as this became a recent court battle on the Meramec or Missouri River, I guess.) A giant Saint Bernard mix ran toward us. We were not sure if that might be our demise instead, but it quickly became apparent that she was very friendly. (I flashed back to the pack of stray dogs, left by hunters or lost, that my grandparents and I used to feed on our deck when I was a kid. Papa and I used to pick the ticks off of them by the light of the bug zapper.) I looked up to see two men standing on a deck. I waved hello and explained what we were doing, tromping around on private property. The younger man told me he bought my grandparents' house and was rehabbing it. He invited us in. Although the deck had fallen off the front of the building during the most recent flood, the exterior of the house looked pretty much as I remembered it. The inside looked smaller, but I am bigger now. I remembered seeing the water marks around the walls as a child, preferring to think of it as wainscoting or crown molding, depending how high it the water rose each flood season. I remembered putting the baby bluegill, sunfish, frogs, and crawdads that I caught in the bathtub filled with our fresh well water, rocks and plants; my lovely terrarium prevented my family from bathing but they were so happy that I was happy. I remembered listening to Michael Jackson, Cindy Lauper, Eurythmics, and INXS on our porch swing under the house with my friends. I remembered long walks up the dirt road after supper, begging my grandfather to take the bass boat out the next day. I remembered the local trading post AM radio show each morning. So many memories. I understand that my experience with Route 66 Canoe Rental is very different than that of someone without history in the area. But please go make your own memories on the Big Piney. This is an area preserved in time, pushed aside by I-44. Go enjoy it.

My friend and I rented one canoe for a multiday trip in November 2014. Andy, the proprietor, was…read moreexceptionally friendly and accommodating. When the weather turned cold, he made several unscheduled pickups. He was also very personable and we chatted about local history to and from the river. Andy even brought us fresh venison burgers one day and shared his beer with us! Our experience was enhanced by his generosity.