Directly off of highway 67 is St. Francois State Park. The park is a little less than an hour from downtown St. Louis and situated within the Ozark mountains. We recently visited the park, while doing a mini camping trip, where we also visited Washington State Park, Gov. Daniel Dunklin’s Grave State Historic Site, and Sandy Creek Covered Bridge State Historic Site. St. Francois State Park has an assortment of activities for visitors making it a great place to stop off along the highway or a place to stay overnight and enjoy nature. The park has hiking, horseback riding, camping, fishing, picnicking, swimming, boating, and rock climbing, as well as picnic areas and interpretive programs to learn more. When we visited we went for a nice scenic drive through the park and then went on a small hike. Since we visited during the middle of the week, we were only a few people in the park, allowing us to really get into nature. The topography was lovely and classic Missouri with the small mountains, muddy soil, and small creeks running throughout. We both love exploring each state park and found St. Francois to be another great park to see more of Missouri and enjoy nature.

Side note: Out of all of the state parks and national parks we have been to the bathrooms at St. Francois State Park were unlike any other – there were hundreds of flies in each bathroom. (We tried three different sets) It was just something so unique we will never forget it.