Nature Centers & Gardens

Shelter Insurance Gardens
1817 W. Broadway
Columbia, MO 65216
Website

Description: Award-winning five-acre garden with more than 300 varieties of trees and shrubs, and more than 15,000 annuals and perennials. The gardens feature a replica one-room school house, a "sensory garden" designed for the visually impaired, a memorial to Vietnam Veterans, a waterfall and reflecting pool, stream, rose garden, gazebo, giant sundial and more. Free concerts on designated Sunday evenings in June & July.

Free, open daily dawn to dusk. Closed on Christmas day.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Garden
800 S. Stadium Boulevard
Columbia MO
573-874-7460

Description: These landscaped gardens with walkways & benches provide a quiet setting for individuals or a place to hold cultural events. The writings of Dr. King are displayed as part of a sculptured amphitheater with eight triangular upright columns. Located next to the MKT Trail, the Garden is free and open to the public and has ample parking.

Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area
6700 North Route K
McBaine, MO
573-445-3882

Description: This 4,269-acre wetland area provides 10 miles of stream frontage on Eagle Bluffs. These marshes provide year-round habitat for migrating and wintering birds as well as a permanent home for wildlife.

Pinnacles Youth Park
U.S. Hwy 63 N, 12 Miles north of Columbia
573-445-9792

Description: This 70-acre private park is open to the public during daylight hours. Silver Fork Creek and Kelly Creek formed the Pinnacles, a thin 75-foot high and 1,000 foot long Burlington limestone ridge. Several trails exist to explore the rock formations.

Rock Bridge Memorial State Park
5901 South Hwy. 163
Columbia, MO 65203
573-449-7402 website
E-mail: moparks@dnr.mo.gov

Description: Open year-round, dawn to dusk, this 2273-acre day-use park features a natural rock bridge formation, tours of Devil's Icebox Cave, hiking trails, shelter & picnic areas and the Gans Creek Wild Area.

Carnahan Memorial Gardens
100 Madison St.
Jefferson City, MO 65101
573-751-3330

Description: A striking complement to the Capital Complex, the Garden, located next to the Governor's Mansion, was constructed in the late 1930s. The site is filled with flowers, pools, and walkways. After the death of Gov. Mel Carnahan, the garden was renamed the Carnahan Memorial Gardens, as a memorial to his work.

Runge Conservation Nature Center
P.O. Box 180
Mo. Hwy. 179
Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-526-5544 website

Description: At the Runge Conservation Nature Center, come and enjoy the wonders of Missouri's habitats and the fish, forest and wildlife resources found in the Show-Me State. Get acquainted with beauty as we travel from the rugged prairies of the north to the swamplands of the Bootheel.