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    Long Shoal Campground

    3.7 (3 reviews)

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    Stark Caverns - The darkest part of the cave lot up with a black light flash light

    Stark Caverns

    4.9(124 reviews)
    47.8 mi
    Locally owned & operated
    Established in 1950

    Stopped here during a weekend trip near Lake of the Ozarks. Missouri has so many caves and I'd been…read morewanting to do one, so glad we picked this one. You can grab tickets online or in person, and they have a really cute gift shop with fun little trinkets worth browsing before or after your tour. Our tour guide Lee was so amazing! He's been there for years and years and you can just tell. Great stories, super personable, the kind of guide that makes the whole experience way more memorable. We even spotted a bat hibernating which was such a cool unexpected moment! The cave itself is fascinating and I loved that it was great for all ages. Our group ranged from little kids to people in their 70s and everyone was into it with no problems. A few spots can get slightly slippery so just watch your step, but there are handrails throughout so nothing felt unsafe. Also found out they host events here too like a black light event and even concerts inside the cave which sounds incredibly cool. Definitely want to come back for one of those. Overall I was really impressed and would highly recommend adding this to your Missouri road trip list.

    What was nice about these caverns is that they are almost entirely wheelchair/stroller accessible…read moreand we were able to take our one-year old daughter on the tour in our stroller. That's pretty rare with cave tours. This was the only cave tour we did during our week-long family summer vacation in Missouri and we enjoyed it. Our guide, Maddie, was wonderful and very enthusiastic. The tour was an hour and we had a smaller group who were wonderful and I enjoyed learning about the cave, the history of the cave, and walking all around. It was fun and well done. If you are nearby, this is something I think you should do. They have plenty of parking, nice grounds, a penny press souvenir machine, a nice gift shop and are great with kids with some other interactive things to do before or after the tour.

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    Stark Caverns
    Stark Caverns - Entrance to cavern

    Entrance to cavern

    Stark Caverns - Minerals that glow under a blacklight that you can see while taking the black light tour.... Hands down WORTH IT!!!

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    Minerals that glow under a blacklight that you can see while taking the black light tour.... Hands down WORTH IT!!!

    Bennett Spring State Park

    Bennett Spring State Park

    3.4(22 reviews)
    50.1 mi

    Wow it has been a decade since I went back to Bennett spring state park. This place looks the same…read moreoverall, which is good. Who doesn't want fresh air and a break from the hustle and bustle of the major city. This place has great fishing. You can see plenty of people trout fishing and all the trouts swimming in the clear water. Nature at its finest. If you are ever near Lebanon Mo, I definitely recommend to visit this great place if you are a nature lover.

    Do not come here for tent camping. These campgrounds are not hospitable for tent stakes. We bent 5…read morestakes and spent two hours trying to find a spot that would work at our sight (310). The ground is full of rocks and gravel. We saw some people that were able to pitch their tents, but they were few and far between. I'd say it was 95% RVs, 5% tents. Additionally, come to find out that our sight was right under electrical lines, which is not safe to sleep under, and on a curve with no barrier protection. So your choices are sleep under the lines or worry that an irresponsible driver is going to run you over. We talked to the supervisor on duty who gave us the option to switch to a different sight that they keep open for these situations or get a refund on one of the two days we reserved (there were no other sights available here or any other local campgrounds). Checking out the alternative sight, we found that is was basically all gravel with a small patch covered in leaves. Who knows what was under them but it wouldn't have been big enough for our tent. We sat for a moment to decide what we wanted to do and a woman in an RV next to us came over and we find out her friend had reserved the sight but couldn't make it so she cancelled. So the sup fibbed in telling us they keep one sight open. In the end, we had to turn around and drive the 3.5 hours home. They need to update their site to advise if a sight is not pitch-able for tent camping. Oh also, there were way too many people fishing. Apparently this place is crazy popular and there's a fisherman every 5 ft or so. Does not make for a good time.

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    Bennett Spring State Park
    Bennett Spring State Park
    Bennett Spring State Park

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    Bridal Cave Development Co Inc & Thunder Mountain Park - Great  tour

    Bridal Cave Development Co Inc & Thunder Mountain Park

    4.3(76 reviews)
    40.7 mi

    (and then some!)…read more Bridal Cave is absolutely breathtaking and truly lives up to its name as one of the most amazing caves we've ever visited. One of the highlights was seeing the Guardian Angel stalagmite--it was awe-inspiring and felt incredibly special. Our tour guide, Tripsy, was phenomenal. Her knowledge, passion, and storytelling brought the cave to life in a way that made the experience unforgettable. The magical moment when she used her black light to create the fairy dust illusion on the cave walls was pure enchantment--it felt like stepping into a hidden, magical world. It was also wonderfully romantic to see all the wedding photos from the couples who have been married inside the cave. Knowing so many love stories began in such a sacred, beautiful place made the experience even more meaningful and special. And the Mystery Lake... wow. The water was absolutely pristine, glowing with stunning shades of teal, green, and blue--so clear and beautiful it almost didn't seem real. We give Tripsy 50 stars for making this tour so exceptional. Bridal Cave is a must-see, romantic, and magical experience we will never forget. Thanks Anina and James

    Great tour guide; just right amount of narrative and interaction with the group…read more Cave system was neat. This isn't my first cave visit - in fact have quite a few, but this may of been the best. Tour guide looked about 15 but did a great presentation of the bridal cave regarding all the marriages that have taken place there. Very interesting to see how many couples come back for a redo of vows. I definitely recommend this cave visit!

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    Bridal Cave Development Co Inc & Thunder Mountain Park - Underground Blacklight Cave Tour Stalagmites Stalactites

    Underground Blacklight Cave Tour Stalagmites Stalactites

    Bridal Cave Development Co Inc & Thunder Mountain Park - .46 mile hiking trail

    .46 mile hiking trail

    Bridal Cave Development Co Inc & Thunder Mountain Park - Black light tour

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    Black light tour

    Monkey Mountain Nature Preserve

    Monkey Mountain Nature Preserve

    3.9(8 reviews)
    63.0 mi

    This area was called "Monkey Mountains," because early settlers deemed the river bluffs too steep…read morefor even monkeys to climb. This place is as close to being out in the wild as you can get in the KC area. A little bit of a drive but worth it if you want a rugged terrain. It's perfect. Reaching the open meadow at the top is wonderful. Use bug spray and check for ticks.

    Monkey Mountain is an 855 acre nature preserve in Eastern Jackson County, halfway in-between Grain…read moreValley and Oak Grove. The address I listed is the approximate address of the south entrance to the park, there is another entrance a little over a mile north off Old US 40 Hwy next to a softball field. The park is mostly undeveloped, which is what I love about it. You get to experience nature instead of a sanitized version of nature. There are two primary loop trails, one measuring 3.5 miles and one measuring between 2-3 miles depending on the route taken. Numerous smaller trails criss-cross between these main trails and branch out forming various side loops. You can spend hours hiking here and not see everything. The park caters to hikers and equestrians. I usually encounter a few other people at the park but only between long stretches of complete isolation. The elevation ranges from about 780 feet on the banks of Sni-a-Bar Creek to about 950 feet at the summit. There is a wide variety of terrain in the park: marshy lowlands in the north and northwest, thick woods and steep terrain covering most of the western half, limestone outcroppings along the ridge and at the south end of the park, a huge roiling meadow in the center, and farmed land along the eastern edges. Several ponds dot the landscape, and numerous tiny streams feed into Sni-a-Bar Creek along the western edge. There is even a waterfall in the park, but I will not reveal the location since it is both a fragile and a dangerous feature (especially in winter). Finding it can be part of your adventure. In the spring and early summer the park's meadows are filled with a wide variety of wildflowers, and wildlife can be spotted year-round. I've seen deer, foxes, turkeys, tortoises and turtles, all sorts of birds, and even evidence of some sort of wildcat. In the first half of the 20th century, much of what is now Monkey Mountain Park was part of a show farm called Sni-a-Bar Farms, owned by William Rockhill Nelson. The hillside and meadow were used for grazing sheep. Evidence of that can still be seen today in the form of farm remnants such as an old boundary fence running east-west through the middle of the park. If you hike the park, don't do it alone until you are familiar. Even though there are trails they are not always easy to see, and some portions of the trails can be treacherous. If your hike takes you through the northwest portion of the park you can expect to encounter mud pretty much year round so wear appropriate shoes. You will also need to carry your own water, there are no facilities at the park except at the softball field and an outhouse at the south entrance.

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    Monkey Mountain Nature Preserve
    Monkey Mountain Nature Preserve
    Monkey Mountain Nature Preserve

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    Long Shoal Campground - parks - Updated May 2026

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