Destination: Missouri (Any Opinions on Where for a Family Vacation?)

My vote is for Kirkwood Lodge. It is off of the Lake of the Ozarks. We went there when I was younger and my mom went there with her family when she was a little girl!

They have cabins (nice like a hotel though) to stay in and you eat dinner I a dining room with the other guests, sometimes even at the same table. They have square dancing at night, watersports, fishing, a pool, swiming in the lake... the list goes on. I had such a great time there. I want to bring my family there once my children are a little older.

There is so much to do on the Lake of the Ozarks- there is a marina near the kirkwood lodge where I went parasailling and jet skiing. We rented a speed boat and tubed/water skied. One year, my
moms whole family even rented two house boats and we sailed around the lakes for two weeks.

Have a fun trip!

Short drive north to Hannibal, Mark Twain's birthplace. You may see eagles along the way. St. Louis sites especially the zoo and forest park museum campus. There's a nice dog portrait museum in St. Louis, too.

J.

We go to Branson every year or every other year. As a kid, that was always our vacation. We love Silver Dollar City, and there is plenty to do on their little strip. Most of it is family friendly and we always have a great time.

The Magic House Children's Museum will keep your kids busy all day.

I would also say Silver Dollar City for the kids. Also when we went there I took my daughter to the Butterfly Palace (near Branson, I think) where you visited a room FULL of butterflies and could even (carefully) let then sit on your finger. It was tons of fun if you end up in that area, but I wouldn't make a special trip just for that.

I think it's a GREAT idea to see our country! We're trying to do the same with our kids.

Before my daughter was born, we took our then-5-yr old son to St. Louis and had an absolute blast. There was a lot of stuff that he was a bit young to fully appreciate, but it was all good:
The Arch (of course!)
The St. Louis Zoo
City Museum (a terrifying place for a parent, but an AWESOME place for a kid!! There is so much to see and do--it's not just a museum, it's a place where they've made a 3-story slide, climbing structures through the ceiling and floor (crazy!) and it's even where there's an acrobat school that puts on shows every day)

If you do stay in St. Louis, there are some very nice hotels right by the Arch. We stayed at the Hyatt in the train station. It's the historic original St. Louis train station (like Union Station in Chicago) that they made into a Hyatt connected to a little mall with restaurants (the actual train station was moved to a new facility behind it). It's about a 15-20 minute walk straight to the Arch from there.

My friends live in NW Arkansas near the MO border and they go up to Branson, MO often with their kids for some fun, plus they talk about Silver Dollar City (I think that was the name?) which is in the same general area as Branson. Branson has a good amusement park plus shows, water parks, etc. And Silver Dollar City is more of an old west-type place, from what they tell me. But their kids have a blast there and we plan on meeting up with them down there one of these years.

Have fun with your trip!!

Forest Park in St. Louis can keep them busy all day - the zoo is better than Brookfrield and prettier, IMO. The Arch is a good visit. Budweiser gives brewery tours - you get to see the Clysdales, if you're into that kind of thing. Can you take in a Cards' game? That's always fun. In Illinois, you have Cahokia Mounds nearby. It's an Indian burial site. If you want to drive farther, visit the capitol in Jefferson City and find caves along the way.

Six Flags is the same there as it is everywhere. I would rather do something unique, like Branson. Tons of live shows and stuff to do, it would be fun for the adults as well as the kids.

http://www.explorebranson.com/

You can easily spend several days in St Louis. The Science Center and Magic House have been mentioned by several people and are great and there's also the City Museum, which is fantastic for both kids and adults. It's a really unique place, created out of found materials. Cards games are fun and the Anheuser-Busch brewery tours are interesting too. For a treat, hit Ted Drewe's for some frozen custard.

Good plan, in theory, but we did that and didn't like it. St Louis is just ok, kinda dumpy, but the downtown area is kind of ok for one day. We drove into MO a ways, not impressed, a whole bunch of nothing. Haven't been to the lake of the ozarks region or Branson, but heard it's dissapointing. My recommendation would be St Louis, then southern Illinois. There are some wonderful state parks, little giant state park comes to mind, Cahokia mounds, wineries, etc. Way better in my opinion. Good luck.

Six Flags is Six Flags no matter what state it is found in. If you went as far as Kansas City there is the Nelson Atkins art museum, The Kansas City Zoo, there is a nice zoo in Springfield MO as well. Branson is a lot of fun. I grew up in KC and there is lots of fun things to be found to do no matter where you go in Missouri. Have a great summer vacation!

The Branson area is a lot of fun. The is Silver Dollar city and another theme park nearby that is only open in the evening. If you go south of Branson, there is a neat nature aera that does tours and actually takes you into Arkansas too

Lived in St Louis for four years. You've got plenty to do there, the Zoo, the Magic House, The Science center, Six Flags and if you are into hiking and such you can go to the Meramac for some awesome trails.

I was born and raised in Springfield, about 40 minutes outside Branson. There you have Silver Dollar City, White Water (a huge water park), you can stay at Big Cedar Lodge which is beautiful and has lots of nature activities. There are also tons of shows and things to see and do. You can also travel to Springfield to see Bass Pro, it's the largest sporting goods store in the country and has lots of tourist come through. You can also catch a minor league game there. Hope that helps.

We enjoyed Lake of the Ozarks state park. Great lake and beach for swimming. We also took a boat ride tour - kids loved it! There is also a cave on the south side of the park if you want to explore a cave.

In St. Louis we did do 6 Flags - it is one of the older 6 flags - quite hilly throughout the park.
We enjoyed Grant's farm too and the Budweiser tour - got to see the Clydedales (sp?). We also went up in the arch.

Branson, MO has a Dixie Stampede (among many other things). I've not been to that one but to the one in Pigeon Forge, TN. It's an AMAZING show! Kids love love love it and the parents do too. It's a whole evening event. A tad pricey but I feel it's totally worth it. Have a great trip!

I grew up in southern Missiouri and spent most of my adult life in St. Louis. I would say St. Louis and some outdoor fun are the highlights of the state. As someone else mentioned, expect HOT and Humid. In St. Louis, I would say 2-3 days is good. One day could be the Arch, The Landing Area for the riverfront strolling, lunch and shopping and The City Museum (interactive play experience). One day could be Grant's Farm (where you can also get the Anheuser Busch experience and see some animals) and The Magic House (interactive play experience). A third day could be Forest Park, which is where you can do a lot of FREE things, like the zoo (which I agree, is better than the Brookfield Zoo, but still a zoo, so nothing you cannot experience in the Chicago area). The Museums (Art, History and Science) in Forest Park are all also good and most Free if I remember correctly.
From STL, I would head south and see Meremac Cave and for a very unique, natural outdoor waterpark experience, Johnsons Shut-Ins State Park. Johnsons Shut-ins is one of those amazing kids experiences I will never forget. You could spend a couple days here and go canoeing or Floating on the Black River (check river levels before going) and one day at the Shut-Ins, where a the river runs into a bunch of rocks that you can climb all around and swim in the shallows that pool between the rocks. Just a disclaimer on Johnsons Shut-ins: it is super fun, but you do have to be careful there. Just warn the kids to explore slowly and to check water levels before they just jump in, as some of the pools can be deep and have swift currents. From there you could either go on to Branson/Sliver Dollar City OR to Lake of the Ozarks. Silver Dollar City will get you that theme park experience and Branson there are tons of things to do. If going the Lake of the Ozarks route, you pretty much have to spend the day ON the lake to enjoy it. The beaches are not that great in the area, but it is a lot of fun to rent a pontoon boat for the day and swim off the side of the boat and hang out. Enjoy, whatever you decide to do!

We did a long weekend in St. Louis last Sept and had a blast with our 9 year old and her grandmother. Don't miss City Museum!!! (we were there pretty much the entire day). We stayed at the Drury Plaza about 2 blocks from the Arch which was fabulous with free breakfast, free drinks, free popcorn, and free appetizers (could make it dinner). Did the Arch, the zoo, City Museum, and Grant's Farm, and ate Italian on "the Hill". It was all very fun. Perfect weather helped of course!

August in MO is going to be hot and humid...just a heads up.

In St. Louis you have The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (The Arch) and Courthouse, Busch Gardens, Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, Grant's Farm, The Magic House, baseball games, shopping in St. Charles....

Depending on the age of your kids they may enjoy Branson but it's really busy in the summer and traffic is horrible. Near Branson is Silver Dollar City and that's a lot of fun for the whole family. There are a lot of resorts out that way too. Table Rock is at flood stage so I imagine visiting the fishery at the Dam may be out, but if you can make it, it's free and fun for the kids. There is also a Corps of Engineers Visitor Center at the Dam that is really intetesting and free and if you plan ahead you can het a tour of the inside of the dam. In Branson you can ride the Ducks too. Outside of Branson is a huge zipline.

If you're driving to Branson, you can stop in Ozark and eat at Lambert's Cafe (Home of the Throwed Roll-there's also one in Sikeston) but bring cash and be ready to wait. Ozark is also home to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. For all of the National Park Service sites look at nps.gov you can search by state and see not only those in MO but those along the way if you're doing a road trip. Look into the America the Beautiful pass ti save money at fee-collecting parks.

MO is also littered with privately owned caves...lots of tour options there. Oh and the Precious Moments Chapel.
enjoy!

When we went, we loved Six Flags and the Arch. I remember it is really easy to take a wrong turn and end up in very bad parts of town, so be sure you know your directions, lol! Also, at that time of year it will be very hot and humid, sometimes even so much that some people will get faint or ill, which happened when my cousins went in July - they said people were having a tough time as Six Flags. Be sure to pace yourself and have indoor and outdoor plans. I think you will have a great time and have received some great ideas!

St. Louis! We did that a few years ago and my kids loved it! We stayed in St.Charles, just outside the city, they have a beautiful riverwalk in that area with cobblestone streets and a bunch of places to eat, and carriage rides in the evening. As for things to do:
- St. Louis Zoo
- Science Center
- The Arch (you can go up to the top) and a Riverboat ride on the Mississippi River – you can get on right by the Arch
- Meramec Caverns – I think this was about a 45-60 minute drive from the city, but it was great to see
- Missouri Botanical Gardens
- Anheuser/ Bush tour – tour is free, you get to see the beautiful Clydesdales horses and free drinks after the tour =)
- Grants Farm
- The Magic House Children’s Museum
- City Museum
You can use this link to request a visitor’s guide.

http://www.explorestlouis.com/myStl/visitorsGuide.asp

Have fun!

We went to the Ozarks once. It was beautiful there, and we had a lot of fun. If you like outdoor things it's cool.