Attractions Nearby Jefferson City, Day Trips and Excursions

(Jefferson City, Missouri - MO, USA)

Being fairly centrally located in Missouri means that Jefferson City is a good place to base yourself for potential day trips and short excursions, which are made all the easier if you have chosen to rent a car for the duration of your stay.

There are numerous outlying attractions in all directions, ranging from golf courses, towns and cities, to state parks and wildlife parks. Especially close and lying to the south are both the Painted Rock Conservation Area and the Osage Tavern State Wildlife Area, as well as Lake Ozark and the Rocky Mount Towersite State Wildlife Area to the far southwest.

Many of the attractions nearby Jefferson City follow the route of the meandering Missouri River, while others are best reached by taking Highway US-54. The highway runs in a northeasterly direction to the Earthquake Hollow Conservation Area, the Callaway Memorial Gardens and Fulton, and heads southwesterly to the Village of Four Seasons.

General Information

The small Missouri town of Fulton is a little more than a 30-minute drive from Jefferson City and is therefore suitable for a day trip. Fulton's principal attractions come in the form of the Kingdom Expo and Antique Car Museum, the Kingdom of Callaway Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, and the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library, which remembers when Churchill made his famous speech 'Sinews of Peace' right here, at Westminster College.

Slightly further away from Jefferson City and to the north / northwest is Columbia, Missouri. As the state's fifth-biggest city, there are many top attractions in Columbia awaiting tourists, meaning that excursions are always popular. The row of six stone columns on the University of Missouri's David R. Francis Quadrangle is a real must-see and is regularly photographed, as is the pretty Shelter Insurance Garden.

Also located within Columbia is the Katy Trail State Park, which is known for its lengthy Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Nature and Fitness Trail. A few miles to the south is the Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, where recreational attractions and activities are in abundance, particularly trails suitable for mountain biking and hiking.

If you are prepared to consider longer excursions from Jefferson City, then an early start makes day trips to St. Louis (east) and Kansas City (west) quite feasible. Direct trains will make this long journey all the quicker, although many tourists prefer not to rush the sightseeing and instead enjoy a more leisurely weekend break.

In St. Louis, it is the arch that dominates the skyline, and the zoo, the Science Center and the World Aquarium that serve as the main attractions for families. Those heading to Kansas City can also visit a very decent zoo, although one of the big draws here is the Worlds of Fun amusement park and its exciting roller coasters.