The 10 Best Things to do Adventurous in Missouri, United States

Descend into the depths of Onondaga Cave State Park and drop into a world of wonder: towering stalagmites, dripping stalactites, and active flowstones help make the cave a National Natural Landmark and illustrate why Missouri is often called “The Cave State.” Visitors can take guided tours into the underground wonderland. Open for tours seasonally.

The elephant-shaped boulders at Elephant Rocks State Park may not be the stars of a circus, but these giant granite boulders are the stars of this unusual park in southeast Missouri. An easy way to see the rocks is from the Braille Trail, which was especially designed for people with visual and physical disabilities. The trail winds through the main area of rocks. An extension off the trail leads back to the ruins of an old railroad engine house, a remnant of the area’s quarrying and railroad history. Picnic tables are scattered among the trees and provide inviting spots to have a picnic lunch or rest and enjoy the interesting geologic formations found throughout the park.

Adventure Valley is a 10-zipline canopy tour and a paintball park in St. Louis. The ziplines stretch over 1.5 miles, and include a 1,100 foot long “super-zip” reaching speeds of 50 mph! The tour includes a ride to the top of the ridge in 6-seater dune buggies. The paintball park has 7 fields, and includes 2 more ziplines, where players can shoot at each other from the air and the ground!

Runaway mountain coaster at Branson Mountain Adventure Park uses nature and scenery to provide a thrill 4900' coaster ride throughout the Ozark woods & hills. Ride single or double and control your own speed for the maximum thrill. Flyaway Ziplines is the fastest & most thrilling zipline soaring at over 70 feet above the ground at speeds over 30 mph over Fall Creek & The Runaway Mountain Coaster.

Stark Caverns is located near Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. Just 6 1/2 miles east of Bagnell Dam off Hwy 54. The cave contains an underground lake, ancient bear beds, Moonshiner's Dam, Native American artifacts, a wishing well and a wide variety of cave formations including Helectites, Helegmites, Stromatolites, Stalactites, Stalagmites, unsurpassed Spongework and Cave Coral. We offer our standard cave tour as well as a black light tour which takes place several days a week at the end of the day. Check the web site for details. We have a great gift shop, education/event space and mining sluice. From May - August, tours are hourly or more frequent. From September - April, tours are at 10, 12, 2 and 4.

A highlight of the Silver Dollar City theme park, this constantly evolving wet limestone cave under the Ozark Mountains, dating back to the 1500s, provides a one-hour tour of fascinating rooms and passageways. The cave's entryway is the largest in the U.S.

Don't take the name so literally. We're about fun. Not your white walls, walk around, and be quiet museum. If you want to climb around, get active with your kids or are a big kid at heart, we're the place. If you get freaked out easily, you might not want to come. We're four floors filled with miles of tunnels, a full cave system, over 30 slides, a circus, an arts area, a large outdoor climbing space, Architectural Museum, a Cabin that serves adult beverages, a Museum of Mayhem, Mirth and Mystery, and a ton more. Also, there's the roof with a Ferris Wheel and a bus hanging off its edge.

Talking Rocks Cavern is open year round, and features hour-long guided, walking tours through a beautiful cavern with a constant temperature of 63 degree. Cave Country Mini-Golf, gemstone panning, and large Rock and Gift Shop. Two SpeleoBox Crawl Mazes, picnic areas, hiking trails, lookout tower, giant checkerboard, kid's play area and NEW Big Fun & Games park are free to our guests!

Housed in the medical, surgical, and admitting unit of the former St. Joseph State Hospital, the museum is one of only a few of its kind. The original displays created in 1968 by the museum’s namesake, George Glore, are still a part of the collection. These exhibits give visitors a life-size visual of what mental health treatment devices looked like in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Exhibits also share the history of what was once known as “State Lunatic Asylum No. 2” when it opened in 1874. The exhibits include surgical tools, treatment equipment, and doctor’s personal notes. Patient artwork, such as pottery, paintings and needlework, is also on display to give visitors an idea of how patients faced their daily challenges and expressed themselves through their art. Exhibits include the contents removed from a patient’s stomach (such as nails, thimbles, and eating utensils) as well as a television set packed full of handwritten notes written by another patient. Tours include

Discover the timeless beauty of Fantastic Caverns, one of the earth's rarest treasures. There are only four of its' kind in the entire world, and only one in North America. Here, you'll discover one of the world's most beautiful natural wonders; giant columns stretching from floor to ceiling, delicate soda straws glistening with minerals, tiny cave pearls hidden in crystal-clear water. And best of all, you'll see it close-up from the comfort of a Jeep-drawn tram!