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Van Meter State Park

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Park Information

Van Meter State Park features remnants of the Missouria Indian village that sat at the Great Bend of the Missouri River, marked on a map by Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet in 1673. A hand-dug earthwork -- Old Fort -- and several burial mounds lie within the park’s boundaries. The state’s Indian history is interpreted in displays and exhibits at the park’s Missouri’s American Indian Cultural Center. For outdoor enthusiasts, the park features hiking trails and an 18-acre fishing lake. The boardwalk that leads visitors through the Oumessourit Natural Area takes them over a freshwater marsh and fens, and through bottomland and upland forests. The park’s lofty trees shade picnic sites, picnic shelters and a campground.

Park Hours

Park Grounds

8 a.m. to sunset, daily
November through March
The road to Lake Wooldridge is closed.

Park Office hours

8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday
1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday

Missouri's American Indian Cultural Center hours

  • Summer Hours (On-Season)
    May through September
    10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday
    1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday)
  • Winter Hours (Off-Season)
    October through March
    10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday
    1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday
    Closed Monday through Friday
    April
    10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday
    1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday
    Closed Monday through Wednesday
Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites
May 23, 2013
Fifty years ago, if you had arrived at the natural tunnel in Bennett Spring State Park, you would have seen a lake. Around 1964, a dam created from gravel and silt and reinforced with rebar and concrete blocked the upstream entrance of the natural tunnel. There is no record of how long the resulting lake lasted, but historical accounts state the dam failed after heavy rains, leaving only the portion of the structure seen today at the end of the trail. Walk the Natural Tunnel Trail today and imagine what it would have been like 50 years ago. For more information about this trail, other trails at the park, and all the other things you can do at Bennett Spring State Park, visit mostateparks.com.