Get outside
Things to do
A national award-winning children’s museum, county history in Kennett, Crowley’s Ridge, and the lowest point in Missouri — plus places to eat, shop, and stay.
Museums & Natural Areas
Hands-on fun in Malden, county history in Kennett’s old city hall, and the swamp at the bottom of the state.
Bootheel Youth Museum
A hands-on, activity-based museum for kids that has welcomed more than 140,000 visitors and won a National Medal for Museum and Library Service in 2012. Open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday. Admission is $8 for children, $6 for adults, and free for ages 2 and under.
Dunklin County Museum
The county museum, founded in 1986, fills Kennett’s 1903 City Hall and Masonic Lodge, a building on the National Register of Historic Places. Its large collection includes Native American artifacts from the area. It has been open Wednesday afternoons, with school and private tours by arrangement; call ahead.
Hornersville Swamp Conservation Area
About 3,200 acres of bottomland forest with overcup oak, green ash, and cypress in the lowest spots, next to Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. Its south end holds Missouri’s lowest elevation, 230 feet above sea level. There’s a picnic area; when the Little River floodway is high, the area is open only for fishing and waterfowl hunting by boat. From Rives, take Highway 164 west 1 mile, Route TT south 4.3 miles, and County Road 726 west 2.5 miles. Open daily 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Morris State Park
A 161-acre park on Crowley’s Ridge, the long, narrow ridge that rises above the flat Bootheel and runs south into Arkansas. A two-mile hiking trail follows part of the ridge. The land was donated to the state in 1999 by businessman Jim D. Morris, and the park opened in 2000.
Food & Drink
Places to eat and drink
Shopping
Antiques, boutiques, and local shops
Camping & Lodging
Places to stay
Gas & Convenience
Gas and supplies
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Verify before relying on this. Compiled from Missouri State Parks, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Bootheel Youth Museum, and each venue’s own site. Hours, fees, and regulations change — check directly before a trip, especially for hunting and fishing seasons and limits.
