20 Top Things to Do in Missouri

The iconic Gateway Arch recalls Missouri's historic role as jumping-off point to the West. Today, big-city attractions in Kansas City and St. Louis, natural beauty in the Ozarks and rollicking shows in Branson make the Show-Me State a destination in its own right.

Click ahead to read out about 20 of our favorite experiences in Missouri.

Missouri Division of Tourism

Missouri's largest lake has 1,150 miles of shoreline—and just about as many ways to get out and enjoy it. Lake of the Ozarks was formed in 1931, with the completion of Bagnell Dam. Since then, Bagnell Dam Boulevard, known as "the Strip," has evolved into a colorful kitsch-central, with fudge shops, old-time photo studios and souvenir shops.

But the lake is still the biggest draw, and fishing here is fabulous. Hire a guide to show you the best spots, or head out on your own for a little lake-style lounging on the water. Nearly 50 full-service marinas can hook you up with boat rentals. (800) 386-5253; funlake.com

The wine scene in Missouri long predates the current fad for vineyard tours. German winemakers arrived in the region around Hermann (about 80 miles west of St. Louis; population 2,700), on the banks of the Missouri River, in the 1800s.

Today, Missouri has 80-plus vineyards and wineries throughout the state. But because Hermann's wine tradition reaches back almost 175 years, its wine trail offers activities you won't find elsewhere, like being able to tour underground wine cellars that were dug by hand before the Civil War. hermannwinetrail.com

Some of our favorites of the six wineries are Hermannhof Winery, hermannhof.com; Stone Hill Winery (pictured),  stonehillwinery.com; and OakGlenn Vineyards and Winery, oakglenn.com

Missouri Wines

Larger than New York's Central Park and chock-full of activities, this sprawling 1,293 acres is full of free and inexpensive attractions. Tour the park by foot, bicycle, paddleboat or even Segway. Spend a day— or more—at the park's Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis Art Museum (pictured), Saint Louis Science Center, and Saint Louis Zoo. For general information on Forest Park as well as links to its attractions, visit the Forest Park website. (314) 289-5300; stlouis-mo.gov

Most visitors head straight for the stone ruins that overlook Lake of the Ozarks. And with good reason—no other state park has skeletal remains of a bluff-top mansion. But Ha Ha Tonka (80 miles northeast of Springfield) also has wonderfully varied nature trails, which snake along a hilltop, along a spring-fed river and under a natural bridge. (573) 346-2986; mostateparks.com

The nation's longest rails-to-trails bike path starts northwest of St. Louis in St. Charles and loosely follows the Missouri River west for 225 miles, through small towns, farmland, prairie and wine country. Ultimately, the 20-year-old Katy Trail will link to city and county bike paths to Kansas City, making it possible to pedal across all of Missouri. (573) 449-7402; mostateparks.com

The 630-foot Gateway Arch soars above downtown St. Louis, reflecting sunlight and glowing different colors depending on the time of day. Visitors can take a four-minute tram ride up the hollow arch legs to get a panoramic view from the top. Look for renovation of the arch area to be completed in 2017. gatewayarch.com

For slow-smoked bliss, no city tops the Missouri River metropolis of Kansas City, where every meat is on the menu and the world’s top pitmasters gather each year to prove who barbecues the best at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue (pictured; americanroyal.com/bbq/). 

Sample the city's signature 'cue (burnt ends) at dozens of joints. A few of our favorites to whet your appetite: Arthur Bryant's, BB's Lawnside BBQ, Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, Gates Bar-B-Q, Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Snead's Bar-B-Q, Q39 and Woodyard Bar-B-Que. 

While many visitors come to the Branson area to enjoy water adventures on Table Rock Lake—such as traveling on water jets with Flyboad Branson or gliding around on the Showboat Branson Belle—Branson has plenty to entertain on the land as well.

Neon marquees light the night sky of Branson, where more than 50 theaters stage 100 different splashy, family-friendly show; one of the biggest draws on the Strip is the Shoji Tabuchi Show. Familes also enjoy hourly fire-and-water shows at the Branson Landing outdoor shopping center as well as visits to The Titanic Museum Attraction, where a sober story unfolds about the ship's construction and sinking.

Within a 10- to 30-minute drive of the city, major area attractions include Silver Dollar City, with amusement park rides, traditional hill-country crafts and Ozarks foods as well as special events such as a bluegrass festival); Top of the Rock (pictured), where sunsets look glorious from a blufftop destination that showcases an Ozarks natural history museum, golf course, wine cellar and restaurants; and Branson Zipline and Canopy Tours at Wolfe Creek Preserve, with zips, suspension bridges and scenery. 

Branson Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau

Visitors can't resist this 129-acre preserve's billion-year-old, house-size humps of smooth granite. Youngsters crawl and scramble over the boulders. Trails penetrate surrounding woods, and a small lake, once a rock quarry, attracts anglers. A self-guiding Braille trail for the visually impaired winds through the state park, which also includes an easy paved trail with gentle slopes that attracts walkers of all ages. mostateparks.com

Art mixes with play at St. Louis' nw downtown sculpture garden, where kids and adults clamber on sculptures, jump through fountains or just chill. This massive urban playground has 235 trees and more than 4,000 perennials. Citygarden feels fresh, fun—and worth a couple of hours in a city that has plenty of cool places to play. citygardenstl.org

The tales of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn began in this riverfront town (population 17,500), where local son Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) grew up.

At the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, explore the Hannibal of Clemens' childhood. (573) 221-9010; marktwainmuseum.org

The Mark Twain Cave Complex lets visitors climb through the underground passages where Clemens played as a boy (and which were later immortalized in his books). (573) 221-1656; marktwaincave.com

On the Mark Twain Riverboat, cruise the Mississippi River on an old-fashioned paddle wheeler. (573) 221-3222; marktwainriverboat.com

Actor Richard Garey (left) performs his show, Mark Twain Himself, throughout the summer at Hannibal's Planters Barn Theater. (573) 231-0021; heritagestage.com

Hannibal Convention and Visitors Bureau

Kansas City's rich museum offerings include top-notch art centers, the nation's only World War I museum and a museum dedicated to cargo from a sunken steamboat.

The free Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art packs a lot into a relatively small space, while at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (pictured), a 22-acre sculpture park acts as prelude to the global collection. Exhibits at the National World War I Museum and Memorial reveal the high cost of a war often overshadowed by World War II. Visitors to the Arabia Steamboat Museum can see well-preserved cargo recovered from a steamboat that sank in 1856. At the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, peer at tiny masterpieces and vintage toys among the 72,000 objects collected by the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum gives insight into racial segregation's effect on America's pastime and also celebrates the talented players. kemperart.org, nelson-atkins.org, theworldwar.org, 1856.com, toyandminiaturemuseum.org, nlbm.com

Every summer, thousands of people canoe near Mark Twain National Forest on the Meramec River (left), but most never realize they've entered one of the Midwest's most diverse river ecosystems. (There are 45 varieties of freshwater mussels alone!) In addition to canoe rentals, Meramec State Park (70 miles southwest of St. Louis) has a good nature center, nicely spaced cabins and guided cave tours. (573) 468-6072; mostateparks.com

As the first university established west of the Mississippi, "Mizzou" in Columbia (population 100,000) has a distinctly historic feel, with 18 of its buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. The University of Missouri's grounds are also a designated botanic garden, with more than 6,500 trees. The gardens and buildings (including The Residence) around the David R. Francis Quadrangle should not be missed. Free, guided tours last an hour (800/856-2181; missouri.edu).

University of Missouri

Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau

Independence (population 112,000) celebrates hometown hero Harry Truman with a variety of sites and tours. At the Truman Presidential Museum and Library (pictured), permanent displays examine Truman's life and presidency, while temporary exhibits highlight political and historical themes; (800) 833-1225, trumanlibrary.org. Visitors can also tour the Truman Home where Truman lived before and after his presidency; (816) 254-9929, nps.gov. Independence's website details other Truman-related buildings and offers a Truman walking trail brochure.

Truman in Independence

Just an hour north of Branson, Springfield—home to Missouri State University—is being reinvigorated with businesses such as the Hotel Vandivort (pictured), which brings upscale accomodations to a former Masonic temple downtown; Scotch and Soda, where you can sip craft cocktails while eating gourmet bar fare in a Prohibition-style setting; Askinosie Chocolate, which makes its treats with pure sugar and cocoa beans direct from the farmers; and Golden Girl Rum Club, a chic newcomer than promises the finest in mixology craftsmanship. 

Area attractions include the Springfield Art Museum's 10,000-piece collection; Fantastic Caverns, where trams carry guests past lit caverns, curtains of stone and ponds; and Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden, created in cooperation with Springfield's sister city, Isesaki, Japan.

springfieldmo.org

More than 75 acres of formal gardens, greenhouses and woodlands flourish in the heart of the St. Louis, surrounded by the Tower Grove neighborhood. Do visit the Japanese strolling garden, one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Come early in the morning and you'll have the Missouri Botanical Garden nearly to yourself, save for a few photographers. (314) 577-5100; mobot.org

St. Joseph (population 76,000) has great history: Jesse James, Pony Express and, more recently, birthplace of Walter Cronkite.

At the Pony Express Stables, much of the building where the horses were stabled is original. The little museum has an interactive map of the route and saddles you can sit on; (816) 279-5059, ponyexpress.org. The Jesse James Home Museum is the house where the outlaw was shot and killed; (816) 232-8206. At the Patee House Museum, you can climb on an 1860 train and see what the streets of St. Joseph looked like from the 1860s to 1880s; ponyexpressjessejames.com.

St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau

This addition to Kingsville, Missouri's, Powell Gardens celebrates Midwest agriculture with some 2,000 varieties of fruits and vegetables planted on 12 scenic acres outside Kansas City. It's considered the largest edible garden in the country. Visitors can sample seasonal produce at tasting stations in the garden or in salads, wraps and soups at the cafe. (816) 697-2600; powellgardens.org

Perhaps it's the Mississippi River that gives such an aura of permanence to Louisiana, Missouri (population 3,800; 83 miles northwest of St. Louis). Its thoroughfares have been called some of the most intact Victorian streetscapes in the state, and its antebellum-style Georgia Street Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Spending time in Louisiana might mean fishing or boating on the river, strolling the streets to see the 20 murals around town, cruising the 50 Miles of Art corridor; 50milesofart.com, or visiting the ASL Pewter Foundry (left), which gained acclaim for the 500-plus authentic pewter articles it produced for the HBO biopic John Adams. (573) 754-3435; aslpewter.com 

The Great River Road Scenic Byway links Louisiana to Clarksville (population 500) and other Mississippi River communities. fhwa.dot.gov

Louisiana Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau