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the USA🇺🇸 | regionsMissouriGateway Arch, Ozark river floats, Katy Trail, barbecue smoke | things to do and best time to go

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Backpacking in Missouri
👌 Worth visitingregion ranked #38
By Johan Kruseman 🇳🇱 | Updated October 20, 2026

Travelers to Missouri usually must pick between St. Louis and Kansas City for a base, and the Ozarks in between decide it: skip a car and you spend a lot of time waiting, so rent one. Missouri sits in the middle of the United States, and the Ozarks hold its best water. I floated the Current River with a rented tube and a cooler, and the Ozarks’ spring water ran so clear I could count the pebbles. Barbecue smoke follows you everywhere.

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✨ Why go?
Ranked #38 region in the USAReasons people choose to visit here

Missouri packs cave tours, river floats and two big-city music scenes into one state, so you can change gears without changing countries. Spend a morning under the Gateway Arch, then drive to the spring-fed rivers of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, where canoe outfitters run shuttles back to your car. Roads link everything, and slow travel works: Route 66 towns like Rolla and Springfield make easy overnight stops, and Katy Trail State Park, a 240-mile rail trail, suits anyone who prefers pedaling past bluffs and wineries to driving.

💡 HighlightsDon't-miss highlights and experiences

  1. Gateway Arch, St. Louis: the 630-foot stainless steel arch, with a tram ride to the top and a museum beneath it on the Mississippi riverfront.
  2. Ozark National Scenic Riverways: the Current and Jacks Fork rivers for floating, with big springs and sandbar camping.
  3. Katy Trail State Park: a flat crushed-limestone path along the Missouri River, with small towns and wineries in Hermann and Rocheport.
  4. Meramec Caverns, Stanton: guided tours through huge formations, once an outlaw hideout.
  5. National WWI Museum and Memorial, Kansas City: deep, well-curated galleries beneath a tall memorial tower.
  6. Arrow Rock State Historic Site: a tiny Santa Fe Trail town with a working theater and old taverns, rarely crowded.
  7. Elephant Rocks State Park: giant granite boulders lined up like train cars, great for scrambling.
  8. Johnson’s
… read more 👉
  1. Gateway Arch, St. Louis: the 630-foot stainless steel arch, with a tram ride to the top and a museum beneath it on the Mississippi riverfront.
  2. Ozark National Scenic Riverways: the Current and Jacks Fork rivers for floating, with big springs and sandbar camping.
  3. Katy Trail State Park: a flat crushed-limestone path along the Missouri River, with small towns and wineries in Hermann and Rocheport.
  4. Meramec Caverns, Stanton: guided tours through huge formations, once an outlaw hideout.
  5. National WWI Museum and Memorial, Kansas City: deep, well-curated galleries beneath a tall memorial tower.
  6. Arrow Rock State Historic Site: a tiny Santa Fe Trail town with a working theater and old taverns, rarely crowded.
  7. Elephant Rocks State Park: giant granite boulders lined up like train cars, great for scrambling.
  8. Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park: smooth volcanic rock chutes that become natural water slides in summer.
  9. Big Spring: one of the largest springs in the country, glowing blue-green in a forested hollow.
  10. Ha Ha Tonka State Park: castle ruins above the Lake of the Ozarks, with a natural bridge and sinkholes.
Missouri’s best first stop is the Gateway Arch, because the ride up gives you the whole river-and-city picture in under an hour.
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Things to do near Missouri

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⌛️ 5 daysWhat you can realistically do in a week

Day 1: St. Louis
A museum and riverfront day: ride the Arch tram, then eat toasted ravioli on the Hill. Rely on the city’s MetroLink for the airport and downtown, then pick up a rental car, because the rest of the state barely has transit.

Day 2: Katy Trail and Hermann
Drive west to ride the trail between river bluffs and wineries. Hermann gives you a bed and German food without backtracking.

Day 3: Kansas City
Head across the state for barbecue and jazz, and the WWI Museum.

Day 4: Ozarks
Drive south to float the Current River, with outfitters handling shuttles. Detour to Big Spring, which adds a huge blue pool to the route.

Day 5: Johnson’s Shut-Ins
Slide through the rock chutes on your way back north. I would keep this swim day, since it justifies the trip.

🌤️ When to go?Weather, crowds, and seasonal trade-offs

Missouri is most comfortable from April to June and September to October, when highs run 15 to 27°C (59 to 81°F) and the Ozark rivers and forests are at their best.
  • Spring: Redbud and dogwood bloom, rivers run full for floating, and storms can roll in fast.
  • Summer: Highs of 30 to 36°C (86 to 97°F) with heavy humidity, long daylight, and the most crowded float streams and lake beaches.
  • Fall: Dry, mild days and strong foliage in the Ozarks, plus lower lodging prices after Labor Day.
  • Winter: Highs of -1 to 8°C (30 to 46°F), short days, quiet trails, and cheap rooms.
Book Ozark cabins and float outfitters at least a few weeks ahead for summer weekends.

source: climatestotravel.comJANJanuary: fair for travelingFEBFebruary: fair for travelingMARMarch: good for travelingAPRApril: highly recommended for travelingMAYMay: highly recommended for travelingJUNJune: good for travelingJULJuly: fair for travelingAUGAugust: fair for travelingSEPSeptember: good for travelingOCTOctober: excellent for travelingNOVNovember: highly recommended for travelingDECDecember: fair for traveling
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🛏️ Where to stay?Best areas and accommodation options

Columbia is the easiest base for backpackers in central Missouri, with a student crowd, cheap pizza, music venues and rooms from about US$40 to 80. Jefferson City is quieter and handy for the Capitol and the Katy Trail, which is great for cyclists. St. Louis offers the most social hostel scene, especially around Soulard, the Central West End and the Grove, where you can reach the Arch and Forest Park by MetroLink. Kansas City brings jazz and barbecue in the Crossroads and Westport. For the outdoors, Rolla and Eminence suit river and cave trips, with campsites at US$15 to 30.
Best hostels in the USA


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🚌 Getting aroundTransportation options and practical tips

Missouri is easiest to cover by renting a car, because buses and trains skip most of the Ozarks and the capital region around Jefferson City, and a car turns a three-day shuffle into a relaxed loop. Public transit here is sparse and mildly comedic in its ambition, so treat it as a way between big cities, not around the countryside.
  • Rental car: US$40 to 70 a day plus fuel, and the best value if you split it with two or three people. You get total freedom and a trunk for your gear.
  • Intercity bus: Greyhound and FlixBus link St. Louis, Columbia, Jefferson City and Kansas City for roughly US$15 to 40. Trips take 2 to 4 hours, with the comfort of a bus and the schedule of a rumor.
  • Amtrak Missouri River Runner: Two daily trains connect St. Louis and Kansas City via Jefferson City, about 5.5 hours for
… read more 👉
Missouri is easiest to cover by renting a car, because buses and trains skip most of the Ozarks and the capital region around Jefferson City, and a car turns a three-day shuffle into a relaxed loop. Public transit here is sparse and mildly comedic in its ambition, so treat it as a way between big cities, not around the countryside.
  • Rental car: US$40 to 70 a day plus fuel, and the best value if you split it with two or three people. You get total freedom and a trunk for your gear.
  • Intercity bus: Greyhound and FlixBus link St. Louis, Columbia, Jefferson City and Kansas City for roughly US$15 to 40. Trips take 2 to 4 hours, with the comfort of a bus and the schedule of a rumor.
  • Amtrak Missouri River Runner: Two daily trains connect St. Louis and Kansas City via Jefferson City, about 5.5 hours for US$25 to 50. It is slow but scenic, and the seats are roomy.
  • Rideshare: Uber and Lyft work in cities, with US$10 to 25 for most rides, and fade fast outside them.
Fill the tank before leaving highways, since Ozark gas stations thin out and phone signal drops in the hollows.

🍲 FoodWhat to Eat & Drink

Missouri eats barbecue with conviction. In St. Louis, try pork steaks, toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake, while Kansas City is famous for smoky burnt ends with sweet, sticky sauce. Expect to pay US$12 to 20 for a heaping plate at a casual joint, often ordered at a counter and eaten off paper. Columbia’s cafés and food trucks fit tight budgets, and farmers markets sell pawpaws, sorghum and country ham in season. Missouri also makes real wine around Hermann and Augusta, plus lots of craft beer. Tip 15 to 20 percent when someone serves you.

FAQCommon questions from travelers

Four to five days gives you a solid taste of Missouri. Spend two days in St. Louis for the Gateway Arch and City Museum, one in Kansas City for barbecue and jazz, and one or two in the Ozarks for floating the Current River or exploring caves. Add a day if you want to bike a stretch of the 240-mile Katy Trail.
Without a car in Missouri, you can ride Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner between St. Louis, Jefferson City and Kansas City, about 5.5 hours for US$25 to 50. Greyhound and FlixBus cover Columbia and other cities for US$15 to 40. St. Louis has MetroLink light rail at about US$2 to 4 a ride, and the Ozarks are poorly served, so book a shuttle with a float outfitter there.
Missouri is known for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Kansas City barbecue and jazz, and Mark Twain’s boyhood town of Hannibal. The Ozarks add clear spring-fed rivers like the Current and Jacks Fork, plus more than 6,000 caves. Missouri is also known for the Katy Trail, the longest rail-trail in the country, and for Anheuser-Busch beer in St. Louis.
⚠️ Things can change over time, so always validate details locally before you go.

Other American regions near Missouri

Explore more nearby:

  • Illinois—Chicago skyline, Lincoln sites, Cahokia mounds, Starved Rock canyons| 331 km away
  • Iowa—Field of Dreams, Amana villages, Mississippi bluffs, paved trails| 367 km away
  • Arkansas—Thermal bathhouses, diamond digging, Buffalo River floats, Ozark bluffs| 412 km away

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We 💚 feedbackIs it worth it?

Missouri’s mistake is trying to see St. Louis, Kansas City and the Ozarks in a weekend, then spending it behind the wheel. Pick one side of the state, rent a car, and give the rivers a full day.

✈️ When did I visit the USA?
In January 2023 I visited New York. Many years before, before digital cameras existed, I discovered most of the national parks in the West.

✍️ Help improve this page!
The information on this page is based on my own backpacking experience in the USA, supplemented with up-to-date research and feedback from other travelers. Travel details can change, so if you notice anything outdated or incomplete, feel free to let me know.



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