Queen City of the Ozarks, Buckle of the Bible belt. The Battlefield City, Birthplace of Route 66. City of colleges Springfield, Missouri has many names. Whatever you chose to call it, you can’t call the place dull. Springfield has plenty to do and see, and a lot of it won’t cost you a cent. Here are 10 things you can do in Springfield, Mo for free or sorta free.
10 Stroll in a Japanese Garden
Located in the Nathan Greene Park, the Japanese Garden sits on 7.5 acres and includes a teahouse, waterfalls and native Japanese horticulture Admission is 3.00 Hours are 10AM-7PM
9 Get some culture at the Springfield Art Museum
The Springfield Art Museum is Free their hours are 10AM to PM Tuesday-Saturday and Sundays 1-5PM The Museum has over 10,000 items in their collection and often have traveling exhibits from other museums as well.
Numbers 8, 7 & 6 (three in one building) See the great outdoors indoors at THE Bass Pro Shop 7 The Archery Hall of Fame and 6 The NRA gun Museum.
At over a half a million square feet the Bass Pro Shop is the original store in the international sports retailers fleet of stores. With indoor aquariums, simulated natural terrain and lots of taxidermied wildlife. The store is visually stunning, and many people who aren’t even sports enthusiasts come just to get a look at the place,
Don’t you just love Archery? No? Well, what if I told you it is probably mankind’s oldest sport? Still No? Well alright. But if you take a gander at the Archery Hall of Fame and Museum, you might change your mind. It might even hit the bullseye for you. Admission Free
Almost no subject in the United States is more controversial than guns and probably no organization more polarizing than the National Rifle Association (NRA). But if guns are your thing you may really enjoy the gun museum sponsored by the NRA. At least give it a shot. (sorry for that)
Number 5 The Route 66 Visitor Center
Before the Interstate Highway System in the 1960’s, Route 66 was the only major road between Los Angeles and Chicago. While much of the route is lost, there are still patches open especially west of Springfield onward to California. The course is still a favored vacation road, and the visitor center has maps and roadside attraction info. They also have pictures and information about the great American byway. Admission Free
Number 4 Wilson’s Creek Battlefield Memorial Park
The Battle of Wilson’s Creek was the first major Civil War battle fought west of the Mississippi River and resulted in the state of Missouri not joining the Confederacy. The park has a very nice museum and a restored home that served as a field hospital. Hours are 8AM-5PM admission is 10.00
Number 3 Downtown Sculpture walk including the World’s largest fork
And you thought there was a fork in the road. No, it’s in downtown Springfield. Along with a lot of fun and quirky sculptures you can see for free.
2 Smallin Civil War Cave
Located just south of Springfield in Ozark, Missouri this cave is enormous and was used during the Civil War, and there have been artifacts found indicating that people inhabited the area as long as 10,000 years ago. Hours 930Am-530PM admission $17.00
Number 1 Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium
This recently opened attraction is a real game changer for Springfield tourism. The museum actually features two vastly different exhibits, an aquarium with over 1.5 million gallons of freshwater and saltwater tanks and a second natural history museum that features tableaus with taxidermied animals in natural settings. You can purchase tickets for both exhibits separately or in a combination ticket. The Natural History admission is $14.95 the aquarium is $29.95, and the combo ticket is $39.95.
This is just in the Springfield area. Within about an hours drive or so you have the Silver Dollar City, Table Rock Lake, the Precious Moments Chapel (as featured in an earlier post here at G.G.), and of course the Redneck Las Vegas known as Branson, Missouri. (Which I will definitely feature in a future post.) Thanks for suggesting the post, Janelle. I hope you liked it 🙂
Awesome Darryl, thank you so much!!!! Lots here for us to do, can’t wait to get started! Love it!!!
Have fun