Lewis & Clark Trail – Missouri – Freedom's Frontier NHA

LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL
WESTERN MISSOURI

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A whole lot of history is wrapped up and ready to be discovered in the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area. Here, in western Missouri and eastern Kansas, the idea of freedom gained a new meaning and purpose.

You can see the impact here where early-day settlers dreamed of a new life in a new land. After the Lewis and Clark Expedition era, people settling in the northern states and in the southern states each wanted to adopt their own brand of expansion for this western frontier. This conflict led to the Civil War. Much of the turmoil began on the Missouri/Kansas border…now designated as the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area.

Visitor centers, museums, attractions and historic sites can help visitors better understand the historic events leading to these unique chapters in America’s diverse history. The visitor centers and museums can also recommend great places to see and enjoy around the area including the Flint Hills and Tuttle Creek Lake. The Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas, the Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock and Grand Falls in Missouri are also nearby.

This program is sponsored and funded in part by the National Park Service Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation; Illinois: the Greater Metropolis Convention and Visitors Bureau, Friends of Fort Massac, the City of Vandalia, and Illinois Ohio River Scenic Byway; Missouri: Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau, Washington Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the City of Boonville; Kansas: the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, the Kansas City Kansas Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Salina Chamber of Commerce, the Manhattan Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce, the Leavenworth Convention and Visitors Bureau, Visit Overland Park and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

This tour guides users to 14 locations across western Missouri.

Scroll down to begin the tour.

MAP

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Stop 1
Kansas City, MO

DIRECTIONS

The Missouri River takes in the eastward flowing Kansas River before it turns north.

Missouri’s largest city is filled with history, and served as the embarkation point for upriver and overland travelers. A monumental bronze statue of Lewis, Clark, York, Sacagawea and her son Baptiste overlook the Missouri River at Clark’s Point in Case Park. The Alexander Majors Historic House and Museum on State Line Road is the home of the bold visionary who organized the Pony Express and Overland Stage routes.

Kansas City’s Westport district was a primary trailhead for the Santa Fe, California and Oregon pioneer trails. Visitors today can enjoy a walking tour of the historic area that today houses unique restaurants, boutiques and hot nightspots. At the historic Westport district you’ll find Kelly’s Westport Inn, once owned by the grandson of Daniel Boone. Right beside Kelly’s is a building that was once owned by Jim Bridger. You can still get a cool one there.

As the song goes, “Everything is up to date in Kansas City.” Visitors can enjoy and take in an array of cultural events and activities, including the ambiance of the Country Club Plaza, whose fountains, fine dining and shopping destinations are known far and wide. You can see memorable performances by the Kansas City Symphony and the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. You can also experience and enjoy the American Royal Horse Show and Rodeo, the Kansas City Royals, and the legendary showroom at the Blue Room in the American Jazz Museum. Priceless paintings, sculptures and historic artifacts are displayed at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Families and children can have a grand time at the Kansas City Zoo and the LEGOLAND Discovery Center, or they can ride on the wild side at the Worlds of Fun theme park. For those who like to make their money count, there’s the Money Museum with fun and interactive exhibits, and the good times are rolling across town at classic Kansas City barbecue establishments.

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Stop 2
Lee’s Summit, MO

DIRECTIONS

Features the James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area, the Historic Longview Mansion, the Longview Lake Beach, County Park plus the re-created Missouri Town 1855 living history village which all provide great outdoor opportunities plus a chance to re-live Missouri’s early days.

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Stop 3
Lexington, MO

DIRECTIONS

Visitors can explore the remnants of a battlefield at the Battle of Lexington State Historic Site, where the Anderson House was used as a field hospital during the battle and still see a cannon ball in the wall of the county courthouse.

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Stop 4
Higginsville, MO

DIRECTIONS

The Confederate Memorial at Higginsville and the Burnt District Monument and the 1835 Sharps-Hopper log cabin at Harrisonville recall the turmoil that ruled the land.

The Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site in Butler preserves the site where African American troops engaged in a Civil War battle.

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Stop 5
Osceola, MO

DIRECTIONS

The St. Clair County Historical Society Museum at Osceola shows the destruction of the 1861 raid and burning of the city.

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Stop 6
Nevada, MO

DIRECTIONS

The Bushwhacker Museum at Nevada features the stories of the Border War, Civil War and other regional history.

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Stop 7
Lamar, MO

DIRECTIONS

President Harry Truman was born in Lemar in 1884. Guided tours of his family home are available.

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Stop 8
Carthage, MO

DIRECTIONS

The Civil War Museum features exhibits on the Battle of Carthage while the Powers Museum of History has rotating exhibits and special programs on the area’s Post-Civil War and 20th Century history.

Carthage offers a wonderful variety of historical sites and attractions that include Victorian architecture and unique galleries and boutiques. Adding to the area’s must see uniqueness is an original Route 66 Outdoor Drive-In Theater, the last original drive-in on the historic highway. Visitors can also see a mural that features many of the key sites on the highway, including the St. Louis skyline and Webb City’s Praying Hands statue.

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Stop 9
Joplin, MO

DIRECTIONS

Five museums are featured in one museum complex that portrays the heritage of Southwest Missouri.

Visitors can also “Get their kicks on Route 66” at Joplin. Famous artist Thomas Hart Benton’s Joplin mural depicts the city in 1900. Great Falls, Missouri’s largest waterfall and the Wildlife Glades Conservation and Audubon Center are great outdoor getaway places

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Stop 10
Neosho, MO

DIRECTIONS

Neosho is home to the National Fish Hatchery which raises primarily rainbow trout and pallid sturgeon.

The Fort Crowder Conservation Area, the site of “Camp Swampy” in the Beetle Baily Comic Strip features hunting, hiking, bicycling and a nature center.

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Stop 11
Cassville, MO

DIRECTIONS

Roaring Rock State Park nestled in the Ozarks rugged and scenic terrain features trout fishing, swimming pool, hiking trails, camping, lodging, dining and a nature center.

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Stop 12
Branson, MO/Mark Twain National Forest

DIRECTIONS

Called the “Entertainment Capital of the Midwest,” Branson offers great shows like Presley’s Country Jubilee and Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede.

Or visitors can take a ride on the Branson Scenic Railway or experience first-hand what it is like to be aboard the Titanic on its fateful day. Visitors can ride the Branson Belle Steamboat on a two-hour cruise of Table Rock Lake. Brimming with parks, beaches and forests, Branson’s Ozark Mountain Country is a magnet for nature-loving enthusiasts.

Near Branson is Silver Dollar City with great amusement park rides plus 100 Ozark craftsmen. Shepherd of the Hills near Table Rock Lake is a nightly outdoor show under the stars where the audience joins the cast in a lively square dance.

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Stop 13
Springfield, MO

DIRECTIONS

On historic Route 66, Springfield features Fantastic Caverns which follow an ancient underground riverbed with large formations.

It is the largest drive-through underground cave in America. The Dickerson Park Zoo, the Discovery Center, the Conservation Nature Center and the History Museum on the Square showcase the city’s diversity.

Stockton State Park west of Bolivar is a favorite among boating enthusiasts. The park has a marina beach, lodging, picnic sites, campsites, hiking and mountain biking trails plus a water trail.

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Stop 14
Independence, MO

DIRECTIONS

The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum and the National Frontier Trails Museum are two of western Missouri’s most popular attractions.

The Lewis and Clark, Santa Fe, Oregon, Mormon, and California Trails, as well as the first Transcontinental Railroad are all showcased at the National Frontier Trails Museum. Wagon trail ruts can still be seen near the museum. A Thomas Hart Benton mural in the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum depicts Independence and the opening of the American West, honoring the city’s trailblazing heritage.

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For more information, go to:
FreedomsFrontier.org

For other Lewis and Clark Trail adventures in the area, go to: www.LCGreatRivers.org

LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL
WESTERN MISSOURI

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LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL WESTERN MISSOURI

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LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL
WESTERN MISSOURI