We are taking a trip to St. Louis the weekend of June 26-28. We were thinking about making a week-long vacation out of it. We like to take a week-long camping trip each year anyway, and thought that perhaps we could camp in the Ozarks for a few days before or after the weekend in St. Louis since we will be in the general area anyway (we are from MN). Any recommendations for the best places to visit/camp in the Ozarks?
Camping in/visiting the Ozarks
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Missouri has very nice state parks for camping or staying in cabins or lodges. Our family camped out or stayed in park accommodations at Roaring River state park every summer for more than ten years. Check out www.mostateparks.com and click on the directory of state parks. My kids and their cousins enjoyed swimming, fishing, hiking, and the naturalist programs every summer!
One of the most beautiful areas of Missouri is the Meramec River valley, west of St. Louis. Just southwest of St. Louis is Pilot Knob, site of a Civil War battle and home to Elephant Rocks State Park, which is a really cool formation of huge pink granite rocks resembling elephants.
Just south of St. Louis is Mastodon State Park, where the remains of a mastodon were found. And just across the river from St. Louis, on the Illinois side, is Cahokia Mound, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, like Taos Pueblo and Mesa Verde.
You have a lot of options!
Southern Missouri is beautiful. There are many springs, and caves, and it is very popular to do float trips. Here is a trip report from several years back from a trip I took with my niece. There are links that may be of help to you:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/trip-report---one-week-in-missouri-kc-black-river-area-st-louis.cfm