Destinations

Nothing sounds better for a weekend getaway in July than a trip to the Missouri Ozarks. Plenty of crystal-clear, cold spring water in the Current and Jacks Fork rivers is reason enough to head south for a float trip — or one of dozens of…

Rock Bridge Memorial State Park has long been a mid-Missouri gem. For Columbia residents, and those who visit the city, the scenic park offers plenty of outdoor fun from hiking and mountain biking to cave exploring and wildflower spotting.…

Summer's here and the livin' is easy. It’s also hot and humid. Definitely time to get your feet — not to mention the rest of your body — nice and wet. To this end, we've scouted five bodies of water within easy driving distance of Columbia…

Something unusual happens at Table Rock Lake and Indian Point Marina in January: People show up in their swimsuits, eager to get in the lake’s frigid waters. Of course, they first put on wetsuits and don oxygen tanks and other scuba…

Whether you want to fish for trout, tour local wineries, explore Route 66 or enjoy the great outdoors, St. James has what you’re seeking. Originally a settlement called Big Prairie, the town was briefly known as Scioto, after the town of…

The word “unique” is too often misused and abused, but in the case of these three day trip destinations, the term truly applies. Only in Missouri can you find these world-class, one-of-a-kind experiences. So, pack a day bag and head for the…

This year marks the centennial of the armistice of World War I, and the place to be to recognize the importance of this event is the federally designated National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City. This museum complex,…

WOW! In a word, that’s a common reaction to the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium that opened in Springfield last September. It’s not often that the acronym for something is also the most fitting descriptor, but in this case,…

Whether this is your first trip to the Gateway Arch, or your 20th, you are in for a treat. At 630 feet, the Arch is the country’s tallest man-made monument, and that alone makes it awe-inspiring and mesmerizing. But there is more to marvel…

I was running late. Hannibal was still an hour away. So I took a short cut. My car was making good time on the back roads, slicing down straightaways that squeezed between flat soybean fields, where traffic is sparse. The phone lines…

photography by Pete Jackson The dying words of the 39-year-old veteran on my MRI table were, “I just wish I’d bought a boat.” I’d never been sailing before, but ignorance has never stopped me from jumping in head first. I knew myself well…

The floating season doesn’t end with the Labor Day weekend. Fall can be the most beautiful time of year to be out on Missouri’s rivers and streams. A case in point is PaddleMO, a 100-mile journey on the Missouri River held in late…

Chuck and JoAnn Wilson are sitting together at 10:30 a.m. in the living room of their villa at Old Hawthorne. Their dogs, Dotty and Coali, are lying down nearby. Outside, a brisk winter wind is blowing across part of the golf course that is…