Arrow Rock SHS covers the whole village plus campgrounds south of there. If you're wanting to…read moreexplore, start with the Visitors Center, just off MO 41. Located at the Visitors Center is a museum, gift shop and theater where you can watch a 20-minute film about the history of one of Missouri's oldest settlements. The parking lot is huge so that parking should be a no-worry. Be sure to get a map of the village as there lots of historic sites noted. Many of the buildings are still standing after a century and a half, including the legendary J. Huston Tavern. Speaking of which: at this time, the tavern is temporarily closed until the State (which partly owns it) finds new ownership. I was very bummed that I did not get to eat there recently, but here's to hoping. But be sure to check out some of the old buildings like the printing press museum and the old jail. Plan on spending at least a day here.

Beautiful Place to visit and enjoy a peaceful weekend at the Upside Down Cabin and explore this…read morehistoric town. I could not of had a nicer time! And it felt like Paradise!

Uh yes! If you happen to be in Arrow Rock for any amount of time, definitely stop by the…read moreinformation center which is also a pretty incredible little museum of artifacts from the town's rich native american roots and beginnings as a salt manufacturing site. I loved it. We plan on returning to this town for some festivals and in-season tours soon.

This is one of the best parks in Missouri! The lodge is interesting but not particularly…read moreoutstanding. But the park itself is very nice with very many trees and really nice places to have picnics. There is also a basic gym area for the children and those who have decided not to grow up completely. We are losing our places to just be out in the trees and fresh air and just relax! This is one of the best places left.

Unfortunately I did not get to tour the Lodge, since reservations must be made 24 hours in advance…read moreand I didn't do my proper research until the night before driving to Sedalia. The Lodge is quite striking from Highway 65 and the view of central Missouri is beautiful from the patio. I'm pretty sure that the experience would be so much enjoyable if I had been able to enter the mansion instead of just reading about it's interesting history. Even if you don't have a reservation go check out the view and what little you can see; it's only about a 3 minute drive off of US65. A cool and unique addition to the Missouri state parks system.

This a beautiful home with a fantastic courtyard and path next to a small stream with live fish…read more The home is the located directly across from the Chance Rose Garden. The Chance Gardens are located directly behind The historical society. This place is a must stop anytime you are in Centralia. It is located roughly 4 blocks from downtown Centralia. We were on our way to the local fair. This is a stop my wife and I always make so I can get some great pictures of the roses in bloom. Weddings and other parties can be scheduled at the Gardens upon request: the wall mount stated. It is a beautiful and lovely placed to spend an afternoon just relaxing and checking out the local town scenery. The only downfall that I have found is parking is very tough during certain times. But, it is a wonderful place to visit when you are in town.

I had found these two ancient bridges, a throwback to a simpler time, years ago on a historic…read morebridge website. Realizing that they were the same ones I had seen pictures that a friend had posed his Shelby Mustangs on I had to go. The first visit was probably a decade ago and I brought brought my kids. We drive over the fiirst, but walked out onto the second as my truck exceeded the 3 ton weight limit. We threw rocks at the ice below and had a great time. Today was a warmer day and my wife and I finally got to go. Same thing as before walked onto the second as the weight limit is still the same. Being near 70° it was a great day to go for a walk.

When you have an extra hour or so in the Lake of the Ozarks, check out the Swinging Bridges. This…read moreis a completely free activity for all ages. Make sure to take pictures as well as a video. Your friends and family will not believe you traveled over these unusual bridges. The larger of the two bridges is known at the Grand Auglaize Swinging Bridge. It is a metal wire suspension bridge built in 1922 by Joseph A. Dice. The length of the structure is 500 feet. The main length span (wooden plank section) is 414 feet long. One of the scary factors is the Bridge is only 12 feet wide. The second smaller bridge is known at the Mill Creek Bridge. It was built in 1925 and is 135 feet in length. This Bridge is 11.1 feet wide. Take time out and explore these truly "hidden" treasures.

A free gallery of local history and Missouri fine art from the past is inside the historical…read moresociety on campus, and there is also art displayed on the walls in the halls. I learned that Brad Pitt went to Mizzou! It is a small collection, but it works well together, with multiple pieces by the same artists. Stop by if you are on campus. It is in the same building as the library, but with a different entrance.

I have enjoyed having this art gallery/library/archive in my backyard, but I never really used it…read more I mean, it was only for folks researching their geneology or something, right? Well, when it came time that I needed to do some digging around for local Missouri lore related to square dancing, I did a little checking on their website and as Emeril says, BAM!, they cooked up exactly what I needed. The best part was, it was free. I mean, I guess my taxes are paying for it, but the folks who work there are really helpful, they actually seem like they want to assist me, and they had all this equipment for me to use when I needed to listen to some cassette tapes and even some reel-to-reel audio. Of course, there were some weird things I had to get used to. No pens. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zed. But I could carry around electromagnets, no problem? Anyhow, that being said, I had to get used to other archivist rules (keep everything that was in a folder, actually keep it in the folder). But since they deal with one-of-a-kind stuff, and they don't want to lose anything, this makes sense. I wish I had a reason to delve into their archives earlier, now this place is on my list whenever I have any inkling to learn something about Missouri history.

The flowers were beautiful. The location was perfect being close to train station. One of the…read moreprettier sights seen after tornado.

I will admit, I've never been IN the mansion. But the garden is one of my favorite places in…read moreJefferson City. On warm days, it's nice to take a walk around the Capitol, watch the trains, look at the fountains and picnic at the Governor's garden. The caretakers plant seasonal items and my personal favorite is the lily pond. There is a stone walk way that is lined with benches. Quite a romanitc scene.

Get off the road a couple extra mikes and park and enjoy the 1/4 mile walk back to bridge and enjoy…read morethe outside beauty on your long drive. Well done park.

Always so nice going for a hike and enjoy the outdoors. My kids and dog have always enjoyed it…read morethere also. The natural arch is there if you go the right direction. Haha

This was a fun outing. We spent two or three hours here on this hike with kids 3-6, parents, and…read moregrandparents and we all were able to walk the trail. However, it is steep and narrow in places and you do go down quite a distance to the creek and you have to ascend back to the parking lot. It might be too much if you're not sure-footed. There no bathroom facilities, (at least in April) so stop at the gas station a few miles before. The bridge itself is large and we were able to walk under it to the other side. The creek was very low while we were there. The water was very clear, you could easily see the bottom of the river bed. Since the creek was low, there was a lot of exposed river rock that the kids thoroughly enjoyed picking up and throwing into the water. They had a fantastic time and slept all the way back home in the car.