Author: Cecilia

Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center
This Nature Center, located within Cape Girardeaus North County Park, “showcases the rich cultural history and diverse natural resources of southeastern Missouri.”  There are wildlife-viewing areas and two miles of nature trails that wind through rolling river hills with sinkholes, ravines, and deep hollows.  Here is their website.     Map   Phone 573-290-5218.
The Ridgetop Trail, a quarter mile part of the White Oak Trace trail system goes from the Visitor Center to a deck on Farckleberry Knob.

August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area
“This 6,987-acre area contains 3,000 acres of forest in addition to grassland, cropland, old fields, prairie and wetlands. Facilities/features: boat rentals, picnic areas and a pavilion, hiking trails, fishing jetties, fishing docks, staffed firearms range, archery range, viewing blinds, and a visitor center.”
This brochure is  mostly about hunting and fishing.
   Map      Here is their website.   Phone 636-441-4554
There are eight trails ranging from 0.7 to 2.0 miles, all designated “easy”.

Fallen Oak Nature trail is 0.7 miles and said to be “partially accessible”  Call for better information and to check their hours, which vary by season.
Wikipedia says, “There have been numerous improvements in the park to improve accessibility for wheelchair users. These include ramps, concrete fishing areas, and boardwalks around nature viewing areas.”
Reviews on Yelp

Anita B. Gorman  Discovery Center 
Anita B. Gorman  Discovery Center, Kansas City, has native-plant gardens, including small versions of upland and lowland forests, prairies, and ponds. Specialty planting areas include butterfly, wildflower, and water gardens.
Here is their website.   Phone  816-759-7300    Map
The 0.25 mile Wild Sidewalk winds through the Grow Native Gardens.

The 0.20 mile East-West sidewalk “connects with a number of Brush Creek Parkway sidewalks that meander up the Creek toward Kauffman Memorial Gardens and the Country Club Plaza.”

Burr Oak Woods Nature Center 
Burr Oak Woods Nature Center, Kansas City occupies 1071 acres.  There are interactive exhibits and natural features including “steep forested hillsides along Burr Oak Creek …, large limestone boulders and outcrops, restored prairies and woodlands, and a trail complex.”
Brochure  Here is their website.    Map   Phone 816-228-3766
Missouri Tree Trail  is a paved 3/4 mile trail which passes by “a forest, prairie planting, woodland, and glade.  There is a bridge near the pond, an overlook above the restored glade and several trees native to Missouri are labeled along the trail.”
? The 1/2 mile  J. Ernest Dunn Jr. Discovery Trail  is paved and winds through the woods behind the nature center. “Interpretive signage enables the hiker to discover the forest natural community by learning cool forest facts and by brushing up on tree identification skills. ”
Habitat Trail 1.5 miles with loop option.  Gravel base surface

Wildlife Habitat Trail  1.5 miles “natural surface trail which highlights a hidden pond, restored woodland and glades.  Reviewed in AllTrails.

Prairie State Park
Visitors to the Prairie State Park see panoramic vistas of swaying grass and ever-changing wildflowers in this remnant of the original tallgrass prairie. They also may spot the park’s resident bison herd.
Here is their website.    Map    Phone 417-843-6711
From the Accessibility Information page:
“If you want to experience the solitude and vastness of the prairie, the trail head for Drover’s Trail is located just outside the visitor center. The accessible portion of the sunny trail is quarter mile long using the connector trail. This trail is relatively level or has minimal slopes with mown prairie sod as a base. During wet weather, the sod may be too soft. Some users may need assistance. ”

Pershing State Park 
Pershing State Park is preserves the wetland landscape once common in northern Missouri.  Locust Creek “still shapes the landscape by forming oxbow lakes, sloughs, shrub swamps, marshes and wet prairie. Along the creek is a large bottomland forest of oak, hickory, cottonwood, sycamore and silver maple, which has been designated a Missouri natural area.”  Map
Phone 660-963-2299   Here is the Park website.      Accessibility Information
 The 1.5 mile interpretive Locust Creek Wetland Boardwalk crosses Locust Creek and is “constructed to be accessible with benches at intervals for resting.”

Katy Trail State Park
Katy Trail State Park, “…built on the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT or Katy), is 240 miles long and runs between Clinton and Machens with 26 trailheads and four fully restored railroad depots along the way. The section of trail between Cooper County and St. Charles County has been designated as an official segment of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Katy Trail is also part of the American Discovery Trail, has been designated as a Millennium Legacy Trail and was added to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame in 2008.”
Here is the Park website.  Phone 573-449-7402  
The Katy trail is a 237 mile rails-to-trails path more than half of which follows the Missouri River.   From visitmo.com: “The hard-packed, crushed limestone surface is fairly level and constant as it meanders through the countryside. With more than 30 trailheads along its length, the Katy is very easy to reach, offering trips of varying distance. The trail is handicap-accessible.”    For details on the trail and trailheads see the pdf on Accessibility Information .

Ha Ha  Tonka State Park
Geology and history combine to make this fascinating park with “sinkholes, caves, a huge natural bridge, sheer bluffs and Missouri’s 12^th largest spring. The ruins of a turn-of-the-century stone castle overlook these wonders and offer impressive views of the Lake of the Ozarks and Ha Ha Tonka Spring.”
Here is the Park website.   Phone 573-346-2986  Trail Map  Park Map
From the Accessibility Information page:
Oak Woodland Interpretive Trail is a 430 foot self-guiding interpretive trail, paved “….. in an effort to allow more users the opportunity to experience a typical Missouri woodland landscape. …. Some users may need assistance as some slopes may be excessive.”

Sam A. Baker State Park
Sam A. Baker State Park’s 5,323 acres are in the the ancient St. Francois Mountains where there are some of the oldest exposures of igneous rock in North America. The natural landscape and cool waters of the St. Francis River and Big Creek,  have something for everyone.
Here is the Park website.  Phone 573- 856-4411  Park Map    
From the Accessibility Information page:
“The asphalt paved hiking/bicycling trail is a 1.5-mile scenic route that runs from the park store to Campground 1. The route has little slope except for a short length near the store that measures 7 percent. If this is a problem, the trail can be accessed at the visitor center.”