With its wild natural beauty, Missouri is a magnet for nature-loving travelers from all over the world. Rough, jagged rocks, deep, almost impenetrable forests, wild rivers. Those who like tame, lovely landscapes are probably a little out of place in Missouri.
In this comparatively sparsely populated state, scenes dominate as nature created them and then left as they were by humans. That doesn’t mean Missouri doesn’t have a well-functioning infrastructure, however. All the highlights of this country can be easily reached, explored and visited.
Location and landscapes
According to ask4beauty, Missouri has tons of neighbors. In the north it borders on Iowa, in the east with Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee on three states. It is the same in the west. Here the neighbors are Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. To the south, Missouri shares a border with Arkansas. Two world-famous rivers flow through the country – the Missouri River and, with the Mississippi, also the largest river in the USA. That of course shapes the face of the state. That can also be said of the legendary ” Route 66″. It once ran from Chicago and Los Angeles and also crossed Missouri. The historical route, which smells of adventure and freedom, only exists in fragments. It has been largely replaced by a new, more powerful Interstate Motorway. But where the route, now signposted as “Historic Route 66” still exists, it has lost little of its fascination from the old hippie times.
Nature and outdoor activities
Missouri is great for a vacation that is meant to include lots of outdoor activities. The partly volcanic low mountain ranges are great for trekking and hiking. Most of all, it’s the water sports that make Missouri so attractive. In addition to many large rivers and natural lakes, the country also has a number of reservoirs that have been transformed into holiday paradises. Bull Shoals Lake in the Ozark Mountains is an example that is representative of many. Here you can swim, fish, boating and do many other water sports – all on a grand scale. Regardless of the water, Missouri is also recommended for another sport – golf. Golfers will find the best opportunities for their sport all over the country. The area around the reservoir “Lake of the Ozarks” is particularly popular and known for both the quantity and the quality of the courses.
Cities and towns
The name is misleading. Because Kansas City is not in Kansas, but in Missouri. The largest city in the country is definitely worth a detour, because it has a lot to offer without being overcrowded. Kansas City is a must-see for anyone interested in fountains. The “City of Fountains”, as the city is often called, has quite a few of them. To be precise, it has the second most in the world. The city is surpassed only by Rome with the number of its fountains.
Compared to Kansas City, the town of Hermann, which is located in eastern Missouri, is vanishingly small. The town, which was named after Hermann the Cheruscan, has less than 3,000 residents. The place was founded by the German Settlement Society for Pennsylvania, which settled German emigrants here in the mid-19th century. German customs have been preserved here to this day. Twice a year (in May and October) an Oktoberfest is celebrated and you can get the best bratwurst in the country here. Hermann is extremely popular with tourists – including those who are not from Germany, by the way. It is possible that this is not least due to the good wines that are grown here.
St. Louis is not to be missed
St. Louis, Missouri’s second largest city, shouldn’t be missed by travelers. This city has so many attractions that it is difficult to single out individual ones. Not only are the shopping opportunities enormous, the cultural life is also tough. St. Louis is teeming with museums, theaters and concert halls. The scene is correspondingly lively when all the stages are closing time. Bars, night clubs and restaurants await locals and tourists who want to turn night into day. The landmark of the city is the so-called Gateway Arch, a huge metal arch. The arch is the largest monument in the United States made by human hands. The monument is impressively illuminated in the dark. Definitely worth a visit: the botanical garden.
The home of the writer Mark Twain still stands in the small town of Hannibal. He invented friends Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, among others. Today the house is a museum, which also houses valuable first editions of Twain’s works.
