Category: Missouri State

Twin Pines Conservation Education Center
Twin Pines’ 442.2 acres center just east of Winona  “…offers opportunities for hiking, birdwatching, nature photography and other nature-related activities.”  Trails through the area provides access to pine-oak woodland and several other forest types. Twin Pines CEC places a special emphasis on the history of the Ozarks’ timber industry.  There are four nature trails, one of them ADA compliant.
Informational card    Phone  573-325-1381  Center website

One of the four trails is wheelchair accessible.  Check with the Visitor Center for more information.

 

Springfield Conservation Nature Center
Springfield Conservation Nature Center is “80 acres of Ozark forest, glade and prairie habitat.”  There are creeks and frontage on Lake Springfield.  More than 170 species of wildlife inhabit the area.
Here is the Center’s Website   Phone 417-888-4237  Brochure  Map      
Boardwalk trail is about 1/3 mile, paved and goes downhill to the creek.  Like the Savannah Ridge trail, it does not strictly adhere to ADA guidelines, but is enjoyed by some local wheelchair users.
Savanna Ridge trail is about 0.1 mile and does have some gradient.  See the note above for wheelchairs.

Runge Nature Center 
Runge Nature Center, Jefferson City “…features a visitor center with exhibits and live-animal displays, special events, trails, demonstrations, and diverse natural habitats.”  There are 2.4 miles of trails.
Here is the Center’s website.   Phone 573-526-5544  Map    Brochure
Naturescape trail is 0.3 miles
There are 4 other short trails designated “easy”.

Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center
Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center is in 112 acres of oak-hickory forest. You can experience wildlife up close through a wildlife viewing window; living bee-hive; 3,000-gallon aquarium and exhibits.  There are three trails, one of which has interpretive signs and is disabled accessible.
Phone 314-301-1500  Here is their website.  Brochure   Map 
Tanglevine trail is a 0.3 mile interpretive loop.

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.”