Things to Do in St. Louis with Kids: Our Family Trip
We spent a few days exploring St. Louis with the kids and grandkids, discovering some great family-friendly attractions along the way. From the City Museum and St. Louis Zoo to Grant's Farm and the Gateway Arch, here's what we enjoyed and what we'd recommend for your own family getaway.
Hawn State Park & Pickle Springs Natural Area
A long-awaited camping trip to Hawn State Park turned into one of our favorite Missouri weekends. We camped beside Pickle Creek, explored the park’s scenic trails, and discovered the rock formations, natural arches, and waterfalls at nearby Pickle Springs Natural Area.
Hiking at Parkville Nature Sanctuary - Parkville, MO
Just outside Kansas City, Parkville Nature Sanctuary offers wooded hiking trails, scenic waterfalls, and a chance to enjoy nature without traveling far from the city. We spent a spring afternoon exploring the sanctuary and discovered what makes this hidden gem worth visiting.
Camping at Stockton State Park on Stockton Lake
There are times when life’s everyday tasks can begin to wear on a person. I think that dealing with COVID just magnifies the issue. Tammy and I had both reached that point toward the end of August 2020, and decided to take this trip to Stockton State Park as an opportunity to recharge…
Camping at Hawker Point Campground on Stockton Lake
Over the weekend of July 24-26, 2020, we took our grandson camping at Hawker Point Campground, on Stockton Lake. This is a Corps of Engineers campground that we have stayed at before, but it had been a couple years since we had…
Camping at Finger Lakes State Park Near Columbia, Missouri
In early July, we spent a weekend at Finger Lakes State Park, near Columbia, MO. We had never visited this park, and all we knew about it is that is catered to off-road vehicles, and had several areas for activities revolving around those…
Camping at Crabtree Cove Campground on Stockton Lake
We took a weekend trip in late June and headed down to the Crabtree Cove campground on Stockton Lake. It had been over a year since we had last camped at Stockton, due to the flooding that the area experienced in 2019. This was also the first time that we had camped at this lake in a campground other than Hawker Point.
Finding Dispersed Campsites in Southeast Missouri
We have always enjoyed camping out in nature, far from any other people. That is what prompted us to start backpacking years ago. Fast-forward to today, and that becomes a bit more difficult when you add a trailer into the mix…
Backpacking the Ozark Trail: Peck Ranch to Powder Mill
Back in October, my friend John organized a backpacking trip for four of us to hike part of the Current River section of the Ozark Trail. We would start at the Peck Ranch trailhead on October 14th, and end up at the Powder Mill trailhead on the 16th. Although we did face a few difficulties along the way, I think that we would all agree that we had a good time in the end.
Camping and Hiking at Van Meter State Park
Van Meter State Park is a special place for me. As a child, we would take day trips down to the park to hike the trails and enjoy the outdoors. Trips such as these helped foster the love for hiking and the outdoors that I have today. Strangely enough, since Tammy and I met, we have never returned to Van Meter. There have been several times that we have considered it as a weekend camping location, but every time we chose another option. This past weekend we finally made it back to the park that I remember so fondly.
Our First Backpacking Trip: Thousand Hills State Park
Back in 2012, Tammy and I decided that we wanted to start backpacking. For years we had enjoyed hiking and camping and had been intrigued by the thought of combining the two activities. We talked about it for a while, and finally decided to take the leap.