Missouri

Missouri offers float-trips on clear Ozark rivers, hiking and caving, paddling, and exploring spring-fed streams and rugged hills. The Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Johnson's Shut-Ins and Elephant Rocks state parks, and Gateway Arch National Park anchor it.

Spring (April–May) brings flowing rivers and wildflowers; fall delivers excellent Ozark color. Summer is hot and humid but prime for float-trips on the cool spring-fed rivers; winters are moderate.

White-tailed deer, wild turkeys, black bears (recovering in the south), and reintroduced elk inhabit Missouri, with the rivers and caves supporting unique aquatic and cave-adapted life.

Oak-hickory forest, glades, clear spring-fed Ozark streams, extensive karst caves, and remnant prairie make up the ecosystems of this transitional state, where Big Spring discharges over 280 million gallons a day.

The Ozark Plateau dominates the south with ancient dolomite and the largest concentration of springs and caves in the country (over 7,300 recorded caves), plus the billion-year-old granite of the St. Francois Mountains (1,772-ft Taum Sauk is the high point); glaciated plains lie to the north.

The Osage and Missouri peoples inhabited the region. Gateway to western expansion — the Lewis and Clark, Oregon, and Santa Fe trails began near here — Missouri became the 24th state in 1821.

Ozark float-trip culture, a strong tradition of caving and spring-swimming, and the conservation legacy of a dedicated, sales-tax-funded conservation department define the outdoors.

Protecting the free-flowing Ozark rivers and their springs, conserving cave ecosystems and endangered species, and prairie and glade restoration are key efforts.

St. Louis and Kansas City are the major gateways; the Ozark rivers are reached by car, with outfitters supplying canoes and rafts for the float streams.

Summer heat, flash floods on the rivers (levels can rise fast), and ticks and chiggers are the main concerns. Caving requires proper equipment and guidance; watch for venomous snakes.

State parks charge no general entrance fee, and the Missouri Department of Conservation administers licenses; the Ozark Riverways is a National Park Service unit.

Use outfitters for float trips, and watch river levels.

Float the Current or Jacks Fork rivers in late spring for the best water, explore the springs and caves of the Ozarks, and visit the St. Francois Mountains for ancient granite shut-ins.

Missouri borders eight states — Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska — linking the Ozarks, the great rivers, and the prairies.