Celebrate the beginning of 2024 by hitting the trail! Start a new tradition with your friends and family as you get some healthy exercise and enjoy the great outdoors during a guided hike in a Missouri state park or historic site on Jan. 1. First Day Hikes are promoted by America’s State Parks and are held throughout the country.
You have many First Day Hikes to choose from in Missouri State Parks. The hikes vary in length and intensity, and each hike offers different features along the way. Depending on which hike you choose, you may pass by idyllic streams or rivers, gaze up at rugged limestone bluffs, walk through impressive woodlands or forests, see historically significant buildings, or encounter charming wildlife. If you like spending time outdoors, there’s a hike that’s sure to meet your needs.
Preregistration is required for each hike. Click on a park or historic site name below to find out more the hike and register.
Note: The address provided is for Jefferson Landing State Historic Site – First Day Hikes take place in parks and sites all across the state.
Central
- Camdenton: Ha Ha Tonka State Park, 9-11 a.m.
- Columbia: Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
- Columbia: Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, noon to 3:30 p.m.
- Columbia: Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
- Columbia: Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
- Jefferson City: Jefferson Landing State Historic Site, 1-2:30 p.m.
- Lebanon: Bennett Spring State Park, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Kaiser: Lake of the Ozarks State Park, noon to 2 p.m.
- Warsaw: Harry S Truman State Park, noon
- Windsor: Katy Trail and Rock Island Trail state parks, 1 p.m.
Northeast
- Danville: Graham Cave State Park, 9-11:30 a.m.
- De Soto: Washington State Park, 1-3 p.m.
- Imperial: Mastodon State Historic Site, 2 p.m.
- Kirksville: Thousand Hills State Park, 10-11 a.m.
- La Grange: Wakonda State Park, 10-11:30 a.m.
- Sullivan: Meramec State Park, 2 p.m.
- Wildwood: Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park, 10 a.m. to noon
Northwest
Southeast
- Bonne Terre: St. Francois State Park, 1-4 p.m.
- Park Hills: Missouri Mines State Historic Site, 9-11 a.m.
- Park Hills: St. Joe State Park, 1-3 p.m.
- Ste. Genevieve: Hawn State Park, 2-4 p.m.
- Salem: Montauk State Park, 10 a.m. to noon
Southwest
- Ash Grove: Nathan and Olive Boone Homestead State Historic Site, 10 a.m. to noon
- Ava: Bryant Creek State Park, noon to 3:30 p.m.
- Branson: Table Rock State Park, noon to 2 p.m.
- Cassville: Roaring River State Park, 1-3 p.m.
- Pineville: Big Sugar Creek State Park, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.