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Oregon

Mt. Hood National Forest

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Mt. Hood National Forest

Oregon

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region

1,117,921 acres (1,071,446 federal/ 46,475 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/mthood

Overview

Mt. Hood National Forest is named for the 11,249-foot-tall stratovolcano that dominates the skyline east of Portland.  It has 12 glaciers that feed the amazing waterfalls of the region, several of which you can drive right up to in Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (see our blog post).  This area was first established as the Bull Run Forest Reserve in 1892 and was considered for National Park status beginning in 1940.  One famous destination is Bagby Hot Springs (fee), accessible by a 1.4-mile trail to hand-hewn tubs with cedar plumbing.  The lower bathhouse contains three individual log tubs and one six-foot round tub, while the upper bathhouse contains another six-foot round tub on an open deck.

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about all 155 National Forests.

Highlights

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Mt. Hood National Recreation Area, Multnomah Falls, Mt. Hood Loop Highway, Olallie Scenic Area, Bagby Hot Springs, Switchback Falls, Sahalie Falls, Trillium Lake, Lost Lake, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

The highest of the five ski resorts on Mt. Hood is located at the end of a steep, six-mile-long paved drive off Highway 26.  It is home to Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark you might recognize from the opening scenes of the 1980 film The Shining.  The ornate woodwork from the 1930s harkens back to a bygone era of craftsmanship, which is on display throughout the main lobby and the Rachael Griffin Historic Exhibition Center.  Downhill skiing is sometimes open throughout the summer, but even without skis you can take the sky ride to 7,000 feet in elevation for great views south of Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters in Deschutes National Forest.  Spring is the season for summitting Mt. Hood, and climbers must carry a free uphill travel pass and a WAG bag (human waste pack out bag).  Another popular spot, Olallie Scenic Area, is a high-elevation lake basin north of Mt. Jefferson. Mountain bikers are drawn to Mt. Hood National Recreation Area (see our blog post).

Best Trail

The hike behind Tamanawas Falls leaves from a trailhead near Sherwood Campground, where a rolling two-mile hike rises a cumulative 360 feet through a shady Douglas-fir forest as it follows the course of Cold Spring Creek.  At the base of the 100-foot-tall waterfall, a careful climb up slippery wet rocks takes hikers behind the curtain of water.  There are 1,200 miles of trails in the National Forest, including the 40.7-mile Timberline Trail built around Mt. Hood by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s.  Part of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail shares this route as it skirts the volcano’s western slope.

Watchable Wildlife

Mt. Hood National Forest has both Roosevelt and Rocky Mountain elk, as well as mule deer, red foxes, coyotes, mountain lions, and black bears.  Less commonly seen are badgers, American pika, and Pacific marten.  Large birds include golden eagles, pileated woodpeckers, and Steller’s jays.  Situated at 4,900 feet in elevation, 240-acre Olallie Lake is stocked with both rainbow and brook trout.  The Sandy River and its tributaries have runs of chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead.

Photographic Opportunity

One particularly great spot to photograph Mt. Hood is from Lost Lake, which has canoe rentals and a nice three-mile hiking trail that encircles it.  We have also heard that Trillium Lake offers a great view.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$10 day use fee (no America the Beautiful passes accepted, but some take a Northwest Forest Pass) at the most popular areas like Trillium Lake; $15 at Lost Lake with no passes accepted; $5 per person at the Bagby Hot Springs with no passes accepted; $5 (or America the Beautiful pass) at Frog Lake Sno-Park/Trailhead; State of Oregon Sno-Park permit required November 1 through April 30 at some trailheads; see website for details: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/mthood/passes

Road Conditions

The road is paved to Timberline Lodge, but there are many unpaved roads in this area, some of which are in bad shape due to the high amounts of precipitation.

Camping

There are more than 70 campgrounds in Mt. Hood National Forest, including seven in Olallie Scenic Area.  The popular Bagby Campground near the hot springs does not take reservations.  Dispersed camping is a great way to enjoy the area.

Wilderness Areas

Badger Creek Wilderness

Bull of the Woods Wilderness

Clackamas Wilderness

Lower White River Wilderness

Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness

Mt. Hood Wilderness

Roaring River Wilderness

Salmon–Huckleberry Wilderness

Related Sites

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Washington)

Gifford Pinchot National Forest (Washington)

Newberry National Volcanic Monument (Oregon)

Mt. Baker National Forest (Washington)

Nearest National Park

Mount Rainier

Mt. Hood from Timberline Lodge
Glaciers and fumaroles
Scott going up The Chute to summit Mt. Hood
View south from Mt. Hood’s summit
Mt. Jefferson
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
Lost Lake
Tamanawas Falls
Tamanawas Falls
Tamanawas Falls
Tamanawas Falls

Conifer Tree Species

Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western redcedar, noble fir, grand fir, subalpine fir, western yew, ponderosa pine, western larch

Flowering Tree Species

Oregon white oak, bigleaf maple, vine maple, rose-bay, salal, Pacific rhododendron

Explore More – Mt. Hood has been given a 3-7% chance of erupting in the next 30 years; when was the volcano’s last major eruption?

Learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests in our new guidebook Out in the Woods

Kentucky

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

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Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

Kentucky

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1916 National Park, 1939 National Historical Park, 1959 National Historic Site, 2009 National Historical Park

345 acres

Website: nps.gov/abli

Overview

In December 1808, Thomas and Nancy Lincoln moved with their infant daughter to a 300-acre farm near Sinking Spring, where soon their son Abraham would be born on February 12.  Two years later they moved to a more fertile farm ten miles northeast on Knob Creek.  The family left for Indiana five years after that, where today you can find Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.  The original birthplace cabin was dismantled before 1865, but a cabin built nearby using some of the Lincoln logs was purchased three decades later for the purpose of exhibiting a traveling replica.  When that replica cabin was placed inside the Memorial Building in 1911, it was too large for tourists to walk around it, so it was decreased in scale from 16-by-18 feet to 12-by-17 feet.  In 2001, the National Park Service acquired the privately-owned boyhood home reconstruction at Knob Creek Farm, leading to the redesignation back to a National Historical Park.

Highlights

Memorial Building, film, Knob Creek Farm, Overlook Trail

Must-Do Activity

The future U.S. President came from humble beginnings, and here in Kentucky is where his education began.  Even if you are familiar with his life story, it is a good idea to watch the film at the visitor center before climbing the stairs to the scale model of the birth cabin inside the Memorial Building.  A ten-mile drive takes you to the reconstructed Lincoln house at Knob Creek Farm, where you can hike the Overlook Trail if you have time.

Best Trail

Boundary Oak Trail is 0.3 miles and starts near the Memorial Building, while 0.7-mile Big Sink Trail starts from the picnic area on the other side of Highway 31E.  At Knob Creek Farm, Overlook Trail is 3.1 miles out-and-back with 348 feet of cumulative elevation gain. 

Photographic Opportunity

Exactly a century after Abraham’s birthday, President Theodore Roosevelt was on hand for the laying of the cornerstone for a Memorial Building where the Lincoln family cabin once stood. 

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/abli/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Outside Hodgenville, all roads are paved to the Birthplace Unit of the park and the Boyhood Home Unit at Knob Creek, which is ten miles northeast on U.S. Highway 31E.

Camping

Located 25 miles northeast on Highway 31E, My Old Kentucky Home State Park has a 39-site campground with RV hookups, plus an 18-hole golf course.

Related Sites

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (Indiana)

Lincoln Home National Historic Site (Illinois)

Lincoln Memorial (District of Columbia)

Nearest National Park

Mammoth Cave

Chestnut tree
Knob Creek Farm
Hodgenville, KY
Hodgenville, KY

Explore More – Why are their exactly 16 steps in each of the four sets of stairs that lead up to Lincoln’s birth cabin Memorial Building?

Ohio

William Howard Taft National Historic Site

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William Howard Taft National Historic Site

Ohio

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1969

3 acres

Website: nps.gov/wiho

Overview

William Howard Taft was the nation’s 27th President and 10th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the only person to hold both positions in U.S. history.  Taft was born on September 15, 1857, in this house in Cincinnati, the city where he attended law school after graduating from Yale (where he later served as a professor).  Taft was promised a Supreme Court nomination by President William McKinley when he sailed for the Philippines in April 1900 where he would stay as Civil Governor until December 1903.  After McKinley’s assassination, he would have to wait for his Supreme Court seat until 1921.  His mother sold the Cincinnati house in 1899 and it was structurally altered and turned into apartments, so the National Park Service completed extensive restorations.  Taft’s son Robert Alphonso Taft served as a U.S. Senator representing Ohio, and his father had been Secretary of War and U.S. Attorney General. 

Highlights

Guided tour of restored mansion, museum, film

Must-Do Activity

Visitors can park at the Taft Education Center next to the house where there are museum exhibits, a bookstore, and a film screening room.  Guided tours that last 30 minutes are the only way inside the house, a Greek Revival design that is decorated with Victorian-era furnishings. 

Best Trail

None

Photographic Opportunity

The museum has an audio-animatronic figure of Taft’s son Charles Phelps Taft II wearing fishing gear and telling stories about members of the Taft family. 

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/wiho/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Free paved parking is available at this site that is easily accessible from Interstate 71.

Camping

North of Cincinnati, Hueston Woods State Park offers 490 campsites, 59 cabins, and a lodge.  The scenic Hocking Hills State Park has 172 campsites (reservations recommended) and is one of the most popular places to camp in Ohio. 

Related Sites

James A. Garfield National Historic Site (Ohio)

Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (Ohio)

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (Ohio)

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (Ohio)

Nearest National Park

Mammoth Cave

Scott and Tiff with Taft
U.S. Senator Robert Alphonso Taft

Explore More – What was William Howard Taft’s position in Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidential Cabinet?

Washington

Mt. Baker National Forest

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Mt. Baker National Forest

Washington

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region

1,330,316 acres (1,302,215 federal/ 28,101 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/mbs

Overview

Mt. Baker National Forest’s namesake is the 10,781-foot glacier-covered stratovolcano that dominates the skyline of northwest Washington.  It is surrounded by the 119,989-acre Mt. Baker Wilderness and the specially designated 8,473-acre Mt. Baker National Recreation Area that allows snowmobiling on the southern slope.  About half of this National Forest is designated Wilderness, which also encompasses another active volcano within 566,057-acre Glacier Peak Wilderness.  In 1968, part of Mt. Baker National Forest turned into North Cascades National Park and five years later its remaining acres were administratively merged with Snoqualmie National Forest.

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about all 155 National Forests.

Highlights

Mt. Baker National Recreation Area, Heather Meadows, Glacier Public Service Center, Nooksack Falls, Mountain Loop Scenic Byway, Baker Hot Springs, Boulder River Trail, Bagley Lakes Trails, Fire and Ice Trail, Baker Lake Trail, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, Shadow of the Sentinels National Recreation Trail

Must-Do Activity

Mt. Baker Scenic Byway (Highway 542) passes Nooksack Falls as it heads east to Artist Point (open after snow melts).  Be sure to stop at photogenic Picture Lake and the Heather Meadows Visitor Center, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  A recreation pass is at most trailheads around nine-mile-long Baker Lake, a reservoir popular with campers and fishermen.  On the lake’s east side, boat-in or hike-in Maple Grove Campground provides amazing views of Mt. Baker on a clear day.

Best Trail

Mt. Baker Scenic Byway accesses several trailheads before dead ending in a huge parking lot at Artist Point, surrounded by snowy mountains.  Snow often covers the 4.2-mile one-way trail to Lake Ann well into July.  The first two miles share a path with the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, dropping 800 feet to a junction with Swift Creek Trail.  From there, a 700-foot climb begins to Lake Ann, a popular destination for backpackers within Mt. Baker Wilderness, which in addition to the normal restrictions prohibits campfires and requires all human waste to be packed out.  On clear days, the payoff is unsurpassed views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan, a 9,131-foot peak in North Cascades National Park reached by continuing up the trail.

Watchable Wildlife

Mountain goats can be seen at high elevations, alongside marmot, pika, and snowshoe hare.  Other large mammals include black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, Columbian black-tailed deer, and elk.  In 1978, the Skagit Wild and Scenic River System was established along 125 miles of rivers, providing habitat for one of the nation’s largest winter populations of bald eagles.  Two types of sea-run trout and five species of salmon are anadromous fish found in the lakes and streams.

Photographic Opportunity

Picture Lake near the Heather Meadows Visitor Center creates wonderful reflections of the surrounding snowy mountains.  Plus, it is a good spot for huckleberries in September. 

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$5 Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful pass) required at the end of Mt. Baker Highway and at trailheads around Baker Lake; Washington State Sno-Park permit is required November 1 through April 30 at some sites

Road Conditions

Mt. Baker Highway (542) received the National Forest Scenic Byway designation in 1988.  The 57-mile-long paved route from Interstate 5 is open most of the year between Bellingham and Mt. Baker Ski Area, but it is usually closed beyond that from October well into July because of heavy snowfall.

Camping

There are several campgrounds around Baker Lake, including the boat-in or hike-in Maple Grove Campground.  Marble Creek and Mineral Park are two free campgrounds on the Cascade River Road.  There are no campgrounds in the Heather Meadows area, but at lower elevations on the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway are Douglas-Fir and Silver Fir Campgrounds.

Wilderness Areas

Alpine Lakes Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Boulder River Wilderness

Clearwater Wilderness

Glacier Peak Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Henry M. Jackson Wilderness (also in Wenatchee National Forest)

Mt. Baker Wilderness

Noisy-Diobsud Wilderness

Norse Peak Wilderness

Pasayten Wilderness (also in Okanogan National Forest)

Wild Sky Wilderness

Related Sites

Ross Lake National Recreation Area (Washington)

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (Washington)

Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve (Washington)

Gifford Pinchot National Forest (Washington)

Nearest National Park

North Cascades

Baker Lake
Heather Meadows Visitor Center
Mountain goats
Picture Lake
Banana slug
Baker Lake at Maple Grove Campground
Baker Hot Springs
Nooksack Falls
Ravens about the forest

Conifer Tree Species

Douglas-fir, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, Pacific silver fir, western redcedar, yellow-cedar, Pacific yew

Flowering Tree Species

bigleaf maple, vine maple, black cottonwood

Explore More – When was this area first protected within the 3,594,240-acre Washington Forest Reserve?

Learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests in our guidebook Out in the Woods

itinerary, Missouri

Missouri Road Trip Itinerary

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43,994,573 acres

Statehood 1821 (24th)

Capital: Jefferson City

Population: 6,154,913 (18th)

High Point: Taum Sauk Mountain (1,772 feet)

Best time of year: Spring and fall

After publishing the guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America, I have been creating blog posts with a travel itinerary for every state.  After starting with Kansas, Georgia, Idaho, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Hawai‘i, Arizona, Louisiana, South Dakota, Indiana, Montana, Mississippi, and Wyoming, I decided to do a central state that borders the most other states (eight).  I made an ambitious seven-day plan starting in St. Louis, with plenty of options to extend the trip.

Day 1

Gateway Arch National Park (click here for our blog post)

Formerly Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, in 2018, this 193-acre site was named the country’s 60th (and smallest) National Park.  It has a new museum and theater, and the claustrophobia-inducing tram cars still take visitors to the top of the arch for excellent views of St. Louis and across the Mississippi River into Illinois.  The city is also home to 1,371-acre Forest Park (site of the 1904 World’s Fair), with many attractions like a zoo, art museum, ice skating rink, outdoor musical theater, history museum, and science center.

Optional stop at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site (click here for our blog post)

The antebellum plantation of White Haven is where the future General and President raised a family in the 1850s following his initial resignation from the U.S. Army.  A thought-provoking museum is housed in the former horse stables, while access inside the house is only on a free ranger-guided tour.  It is located next to Grant’s Farm that offers free Budweiser brewery tours and a chance to see the famous Clydesdale horses.

Day 2

Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum

The celebrated author’s hometown of Hannibal on the Mississippi River is a pilgrimage site for a half-million visitors annually.  The museum has eight buildings, including the house his father built in 1843.  Across the street is the Becky Thatcher House, where Twain’s childhood sweetheart (Laura Hawkins) lived.  Held every July, National Tom Sawyer Days features frog-jumping and fence-painting contests. 

Optional stop at Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge

Named in honor of a U.S. Congressman, these 3,750 acres provide a variety of wetland habitats for migratory birds along the Mississippi River floodplain.

Day 3

Jefferson City

The capitol building is known for its stained glass, murals, carvings, and statuary, as well as being home to the Missouri State Museum.  Nearby, Jefferson Landing State Historic Site preserves the Lohman Building and Union Hotel that were restored along the Missouri River. 

Optional stop at Mark Twain National Forest (click here for our blog post)

Spread across nine separate units, this sprawling jurisdiction used to be two National Forests until 1976 when the more northerly Clark National Forest was administratively combined.  Between Jefferson City and Columbia, Pine Ridge Recreation Area accesses Cedar Creek Trail, which has multiple trailheads and four loops totaling 36 miles.

Day 4

Kansas City

The city that crosses the western state border has more than 200 fountains, the most of anywhere outside Rome, Italy.  Kansas City is best known for its barbecued meats slathered in thick, tangy sauce, a tradition dating back to 1908.  The two oldest contenders for best barbecue in K.C. are Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue and Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q, but it is hard to find a bad restaurant due to the stiff competition. 

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The most photographed spot in the city might be the giant shuttlecock sculptures on the lawn of the free art museum (where there’s also a free mini-golf course). Near Union Station, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial features a 217-foot-tall Art Deco tower with an Egyptian motif.

Harry S Truman National Historic Site (click here for our blog post)

The visitor center in downtown Independence offers a film and a few artifacts, as well as first-come, first-served tickets for ranger-guided tours of the Truman Home.  About a 30-minute drive from Independence, take a self-guided cell phone tour around the ten acres surrounding the 1894 Truman Farm Home, which once stood on a 600-acre farm that is now the suburb of Grandview.

Optional stop at National Frontier Trails Museum

If you make it to Independence, pay to visit this museum located where emigrants once departed to begin their long journeys on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California National Historic Trails. 

Day 5

George Washington Carver National Monument (click here for our blog post)

When Carver died in 1943, this site became the first National Park Service unit to honor an African-American.  The scientist was born into slavery on this farm but went on to earn a master’s degree in botany from Iowa State University in 1896 and to work at Tuskegee Institute for 47 years where he popularized peanut, sweet potato, and soy agriculture.  There is a museum with interactive exhibits and a self-guided one-mile loop trail with interpretive signs. 

Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium

The original Bass Pro Shops in Springfield has almost 500,000 square-feet dedicated to outdoor recreation, including the Archery Hall of Fame and this impressive aquarium (fee). 

Optional stop at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield (click here for our blog post)

Missouri stayed in the Union throughout the Civil War despite the $10-million in property damage caused by guerrilla fighters, making it the third most fought-over state.  Start your visit by watching a short film, then peruse the excellent museum before taking the five-mile driving route that provides an overview of the battle at eight interpretive stops.

Day 6

Branson

The entertainment capital of the central U.S. has a main strip lit up like Las Vegas without the casinos.  The main draw is the variety of live music and magic shows offered every day of the week in 37 theaters, but do not miss the historic downtown with the iconic Dick’s 5 & 10 Cent Store on Main Street.  There are also mini-golf courses, a wax museum (topped by King Kong), an amusement park, a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, and a building shaped like the bow of the Titanic hitting a giant iceberg. 

Mark Twain National Forest (click here for our blog post)

Spread throughout the Ozark Mountains, 1.5-million-acre Mark Twain National Forest is full of caves, sinkholes, springs, and streams.  Greer Spring is the second largest in Missouri, with a daily flow of 222-million gallons as it drains 1.2 miles into the Eleven Point National Scenic River.  Several long trails explore the National Forest’s seven designated Wilderness areas, including sections of the 350-mile Ozark Trail.  Mark Twain National Forest also has three designated Scenic Byways: Blue Buck Knob, Sugar Camp, and Glade Top Trail.

Optional stop at the “Tri-Lakes”

The reservoirs of Table Rock, Taneycomo, and Bull Shoals offer opportunities for boating, fishing, and water sports.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers runs a museum at 252-foot-tall Table Rock Dam on the White River.

Day 7

Ozark National Scenic Riverways (click here for our blog post)

The Jacks Fork and Current Rivers flow freely within Ozark National Scenic Riverways.  The best way to explore the serpentine park boundaries is on the water, but roads access several swimming holes and the bright red Alley Mill.  The dolomite and limestone karst underneath this park is riddled with caves and sinkholes, like Devils Well, Round Spring Cave (offering ranger-guided tours for a fee), and Jam Up Cave (only accessible from the Jacks Fork River). 

Optional stop at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park

After suffering catastrophic damage from a 2005 dam breach, this park has been redeveloped and still has the chutes and waterfalls that provided its name.  Its campground is considered one of the nation’s best for RVs on public land.

Day 8+

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park (click here for our blog post)

Established in 2020 to protect the French colonial-era houses of Missouri’s first permanent settlement where residents still go all out to celebrate Bastille Day.  The oldest standing structure is the Bolduc House that dates back to 1792, while the Old Brick House from 1804 is now a restaurant.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

This geologic wonderland features a natural bridge, caves, sinkholes, limestone bluffs, and a large natural spring, but may be best known for the burned-out ruins of a mansion.

Katy Trail

The M-K-T (Missouri-Kansas-Texas) Railroad has been converted into the 240-mile-long Katy Trail, running across the state from north of St. Louis to Clinton (75 miles southeast of Kansas City).  Camping along the trail is an option, but it passes through many towns with hotels. 

Taum Sauk Mountain State Park

Accessed from the same trailhead as the state’s high point, Mina Sauk Falls is a 132-foot cascade accessed via a three-mile out-and-back hike that gains 430 feet in elevation.  Missouri’s tallest waterfall typically flows best during the spring season; otherwise, it is reduced to a trickle. 

Elephant Rocks State Park

The park’s billion-year-old granite rocks are broken into vertical cracks and eroded into huge “elephants” like 680-ton Dumbo (27 feet tall and 35 feet long).  The park even has a one-mile paved path designed specifically for the visually impaired with signs in Braille. 

Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge

In northwest Missouri, winter is the time to visit to see nearly one-million snow geese, plus trumpeter swans, bald eagles, and a variety of shorebirds and waterfowl.

Learn more about Missouri’s Most Scenic Drive, Wonderful Waterfall, Top State Park, and other categories in our new travel guidebook  50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America.