Prairie State Park

Experience a walking tour through prairie grasses that tower above your head with a chance to view wildlife native to the prairie landscape. Over 13 million acres of tallgrass prairie once covered more than one-third of Missouri’s landscape. Today, less than 65,000 acres remain. Prairie State Park is Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie landscape at nearly 4,000 acres. More than 25 rare and endangered plant and animal species have been recorded in Prairie State Park, some of which are not found anywhere else in the state. A reintroduced bison herd freely grazes across the landscape, shaping the earth with grazed patches, trails and wallows.

During any season, visitors can experience prairie life by hiking one of the park’s trails. Visitors can take a short hike or reserve the park’s backpacking camp and sleep under the vast prairie sky. The trails also provide an excellent place for nature study, photography, and viewing wildfl owers and wildlife. The park also has a picnic area and limited camping. Potable water is available on the south side of the shop building before you enter the camping and picnicking area.

The park’s Regal Tallgrass Prairie Nature Center features exhibits that interpret the tallgrass prairie, such as a diorama display depicting the prairie from spring to fall, a bison exhibit, and interactive activities. Park naturalists conduct programs that interpret prairie life and stress the importance of preserving this rare and sweeping historic landscape. ~ Missouri State Parks