Missouri State Parks are an excellent resource for youth groups and youth groups can be an excellent resource for Missouri State Parks! Below is a list of the numerous resources available to Scouts, 4-H groups or any organized youth group.
What can you do for Missouri State Parks?
A new Youth Volunteer Patch Program is now available.
Click here to learn how you can earn a Missouri State Parks Youth Volunteer patch.
What can Missouri State Parks do for you?
In addition to offering great places to learn about and explore Missouri’s natural and cultural resources, Missouri State Parks offer the resources below:
Free Programs
Interpreters at state parks and historic sites can cater programs to your specific needs. The offer programs on various nature and history topics.
For example, if you are working on a patch related to geology, you can request a group tour of one of the tour caves (fees apply), followed by a free program on geology. Or if you are working on a patch related to history or culture, programs at historic sites can be catered to your specific needs.
How to schedule programs: Contact the park or historic site directly
Special-Use Camping Areas
Many state parks have special-use areas that are designated for group camping, with nonprofit organizations and youth groups having priority. The parks and historic sites listed below offer special-use areas.
How to reserve special-use areas: Contact the park or historic site directly
- Arrow Rock State Historic Site, Arrow Rock
Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park, Wildwood
Sam A. Baker State Park, Patterson
Bennett Spring State Park, Lebanon
Crowder State Park, Trenton
Cuivre River State Park, Troy
Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Camdenton
Hawn State Park, Ste. Genevieve
Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park, Middle Brook
Knob Noster State Park, Knob Noster
Long Branch State Park, Macon
Mastodon State Historic Site, Imperial
Onondaga Cave State Park, Leasburg
Pershing State Park, Laclede
Roaring River State Park, Cassville
Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, Columbia
St. Francois State Park, Bonne Terre
Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, Ironton
Thousand Hills State Park, Kirksville
Trail of Tears State Park, Jackson
Mark Twain State Park, Florida
Wallace State Park, Cameron
Washington State Park, De Soto
Watkins Mill State Park, Lawson
Organized Group Camps
There are 13 organized group camps in the seven Missouri state parks listed below. At Babler State Park, the Jacob L. Babler Outdoor Education Center has facilities especially designed for campers with disabilities. For more information about group camps, go to the Organized Group Camps page or click on the parks below for details about their camps.
How to reserve a group camp: Contact the park directly
- Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park, Wildwood
Crowder State Park, Trenton
Cuivre River State Park, Troy
Knob Noster State Park, Knob Noster
Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Kaiser
Roaring River State Park, Cassville
Mark Twain State Park, Florida
Group Discounts
Historic Site Tour Discounts
Groups get discounts on tours at state historic sites. Click here for group rates.
Cave Tour Discounts
Click on the caves below to find information about cave tour times and rates for groups.
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- Onondaga and Cathedral caves, Onondaga Cave State Park
- Fisher Cave, Meramec State Park
- Ozark Caverns, Lake of the Ozarks State Park
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Explorer Program
Giving you a new appreciation and respect for the natural world and the historic setting around you along with an interest in preserving them is the main goal of the Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites Explorer Program. Patches and stars are earned for completing the program. Click here for more information about the program.