Had a great time here!…read more Five friends and I went on an amazing hike and caught some great views! Took lots of pictures of the wonderful nature and wildlife! Would definitely recommend these trails!

We decided to venture out to a really cool state park while we are staying near Lebanon. There is…read moreno admission fee and you can park right next to the castle if you are mobility challenge, but we parked at a lower level and hiked up. I'll paved walkway, not a bad walk at all. I added the picture of the story of the Kansas City businessman that decided to purchase 5000 acres and build a castle here back in the early 1900s. You can read the story on that particular photo. The ruins seem well maintained, you are not allowed to walk in them, but you can get pretty close and take photographs. There are also several viewing platforms around the area, which gives you some pretty cool views of lake of the Ozarks. They do have pit toilet Bathrooms available. Beautiful place and can highly recommend for a historical visit as well as spending some time in nature.

We had such a great time at Stark Caverns! Brielly was a great tour guide and made the whole…read moreexperience fun and educational. The caves were beautiful and we got some really great pictures. We learned a lot throughout the tour and it was a great experience for the whole family. We especially loved the complete darkness experience and the black light portion of the tour. Those were definitely some of our favorite parts. Overall, it was a really fun tour and we are so glad we went. I would definitely recommend Stark Caverns for families!

Genuinely cool cave. There are algae fossils in there from when Missouri was underwater millions of…read moreyears ago, which is a wild thing to stand next to. Sadly our guide Macy was less "passionate cave enthusiast" and more "reciting a script she's said a thousand times and stopped listening to herself." I still don't know how this part of Missouri used to be an ocean based on the tour. She gave the exact same intro four separate times. Not because groups were bumping into each other, just straight up robot mode, probably from also trying to work in the photo package pitch every single time. Ask a follow up question and you'd get a shrug dressed up as an answer. A kid asked about a mineral and got a confident "nope, not that" immediately followed by "I'm not really a gem expert," which, ma'am, pick one. Nobody could tell us where all the clay that used to be in the cave went (there's a lot of water now after the excavation), how the bootleggers pulled off their operation, or whether the cave's ever taken earthquake damage. Also they sell alcohol at the gift shop right before you head into a dark cave, which feels like a liability seminar waiting to happen. What indigenous tribe did the skeleton remains belong to? How did you know it was an indigenous person(s)? What is the difference between an arrowhead and a spear, and when did those relics be given to be on display? She said the stairs were built by child labor because there are child sized handprints in the concrete, but provided no evidence of truth or why. Was it his 18 kids? No one knows. At least it was cool inside while the weather was hot outside. The cave has a story to tell. Macy just wasn't the one telling it. Would recommend the cave, would not recommend Macy. She already told us she's had a bad Yelp review, and I'm sad to say I understand why.

My boyfriend and I drove to the Lake of the Ozarks State Park to camp by tent for two nights. The…read morepark and campground was HUGE, with all sorts of trails and attractions around the area. We saw tons of deer! There were deer everywhere walking around and not scared of people. In fact, the deer were walking through and around campsites in groups/pairs. I loved the serenity of the campground also! What an amazing experience!! We both agreed that we will definitely return!!

Roaches outpost 3. Ruined family vacation. Bugs on our food in our beds and bites on my wife and…read moredaughter. Nasty.

I am visiting Lake of the Ozarks for two days, and my first order of business is to find a dog park…read morefor my dog. I found this spot immediately during my Google search. The Bark Park is far from most dog parks that I've been to in MO, and it is spacious and well-maintained. Just make sure to clean up after your dogs, please! I highly recommend this place if you are in town and need a dog park for your dogs!

Great park for dogs. Clean and lots of fresh water. The park has a downhill slope which was great…read morefor ball throwing and exercising dogs. Worth the stop. Extra balls, lots of doggie bags. Lots of shade and big!

Amazing, love this place so much we go here every summer. so fun, and I suggest going here.read more

My friend and I have gone to this pool several times this summer. The young men and women they have…read morehired to be their lifeguards truly take their job seriously. On one visit we witnessed a lifeguard during her break and on her own take a couple of bottles of water to an elderly gentleman waiting for his great grandchildren. It was very hot that day, it was not her job to do this but she did a try Hunan kindness. Today, we were in the pool and the group of lifeguards gave a little boy who is a regular at the pool a lifeguard t-shirt, and let him carry a lifeguard float around. The little guy just beamed with pride and happiness. Again they didn't have to do this, it wasn't in their job description, but they made a young boy very happy. He probably won't ever forget this day. You have an amazing group of young people working at your pool. You should be very proud!!

We had a great time and it was a great way to get out of the heat. We chose this last minute and…read moremade it for the 11am tour on a Friday and the two of us went along with 4 others. The group after us was about 20 people. Colton was our tour guide who told great stories and answered all our questions.

I'm a nerd for caves. Recently, I've been trying to take my kiddos to ones I've visited in the…read morepast. Bridal Caves doesn't disappoint for its size and beauty. Easy guided walk through with plenty to see. Always a welcome cool temperature for those muggy summer days. Stop in the store afterwards to purchase your photo souvenir and receive a bag of fish food to give to the giant carp off the dock below. Fun stop.

I love this Springfield park perhaps most of all. I love to trot down here for a good run, and…read moreevery time I do, I feel like I see something new. I see birthday parties; I see families, couples, people walking their dogs; I see LARPers (look it up); I see potlucks; I see high school science projects; I see track teams; I see lone runners. This is a great place to see the Springfield community at their happiest and most relaxed. Not to mention it offers an impressive amount of amenities: a few tennis courts, a full playground, BBQ pits, a sprinking of permament art installations, and a very nice, covered communal area. This is a very old park, and the practicality of it paired with all the old stone work and giant Oak trees makes for a unique place to stop and unwind alone or with your favorite people/pets. A few other reasons why Phelps rocks: it's in a gorgeous, well-established neighborhood full of interesting and well-maintaned forever homes and it's right next to the beloved art museum. It also has a righteously awesome butterfly garden (you'll see it if you look in the direction of the museum from the park itself), and walking through it in the summer is legitimately like walking in a dream. It's quite lovely. One word of advice I can provide is that this park is also historically a not-so-good place to visit after nightfall, as most Springfield parks are. Get your recreational fix in before sunset and call it a day, unless you're with a group.

Phelp's Grove Park is always a winning park to hang out at, and I was most recently there for Yoga…read morein the Park. How perfect is Phelp's for that kind of thing? There is a concrete pad that fits dozens of people for the event. It was really perfect and I absolutely enjoyed myself and the Yoga. As for the rest of the park, there's a lot of room to run around and have fun for both kids and dogs, there are tennis courts and picnic spots, and you just really can't go wrong with an art museum bordering one side.

An architectural relic and scenic walkway over the Osage River; the Joe Dice Swinging Bridge is a…read morecool little pit-stop when visiting the Truman Lake area. Originally a vehicle toll bridge, it has been converted into a pedestrian walkway connecting downtown Warsaw to a park on the opposite side. Adjacent to 7 hi-way, it is easy to find.

Big nest is a bonus! Nice bridge and walkways/paths. Warsaw MO - go hit the dam as well.read more

Good creek I dink the water there I boil it than drink it chuppi I like the fish in Fb v therwread more

Has a nice trail to walk or run that runs along the creek. If you are lucky, while enjoying the…read morespring you might get to see divers enter or exit the spring. Good fishing location, water is cold due to the natural spring. Great parking however it's on a gravel road so your vehicle will get dusty as other vehicles drive along the road.

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.