Release Date
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, OCT. 26, 2023 – Join park team members as they host several fun events at our state parks and historic sites.
- Saturday, Oct. 28: Nature Bingo at Prairie State Park
Join Prairie State Park team members at 2 p.m. for an interactive board game focusing on Missouri’s natural elements and showcasing the state’s plants and wildlife. Instead of “bingo,” guests will spell out “nature,” with categories including birds, plants and fungi, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, fish and invertebrate animals. Instead of numbers and letters called, a description of a fact about an animal, plant or fungus will be given and participants will have the opportunity to guess what is being described. When players get a column or row filled in, they win a prize. Prairie State Park is located at 128 NW 150th Lane in Mindenmines.
- Saturday, Oct. 28: Halloween Hike at Stockton State Park
Meet at the Nyblad Trail trailhead in the East Campground at 7 p.m. for a guided hike. Prowl down Nyblad Trail while learning how to call for owls. Once the hike ends in the West Campground, participants can continue with the park team to admire the decorated campsites or follow other park team members back down the trail to the East Campground. Lanterns will be available for those without flashlights. The event is free and open to the public. Parking is not available at the trailhead, but it is available at the showerhouse and near the duplexes. Stockton State Park is located at 19100 S. Highway 215 in Dadeville.
- Saturday, Oct. 28: Vulture Kettle at Bennett Spring State Park
Learn about Bennett Spring’s black vulture population, which consists of more than 200 individual birds. See a slideshow featuring information about these birds and how anglers and other visitors can better coexist with them. Meet at the nature center at 2 p.m. at 26250 Highway 64A in Lebanon.
- Sunday, Oct. 29: History of Bennett video at Bennett Spring State Park
Bennett Spring and its valley have attracted visitors for centuries. In 1924, the state purchased the spring and part of the surrounding area to create one of the first state parks. The following decade, the Civilian Conservation Corps contributed much of the park’s modern-day character by building many structures still used by visitors today, including cabins, a shelter house, roads, trails, the arched bridge across the spring branch and the rustic dining lodge. The video includes historical photographs and discusses topics such as traditional indigenous uses of the area, modern recreational activities at the park, the addition of trout to the spring-fed stream and the history and preservation of the park’s CCC structures. The video will be shown in the nature center every hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Check it out at 26250 Highway 64A in Lebanon.
For detailed information on any of these activities, please visit mostateparks.com/events. For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
