Summer Trip Ideas

Summer is here and it is the perfect time to take a trip with those you love. This summer, create new memories by having fun and checking out these little wonders of the Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois region.

Hawn State Park
This park spreads over 1,400 acres in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri and offers a unique landscape with crystal clear sand-bottom streams, canyon-rimmed valleys, and oak-pine forest. During the summer, evening programs and nature walks are provided by a seasonal naturalist. This habitat is perfect for birdwatching and their website features lists of commonly found birds and wildflowers that you can look for on their many trails. They also offer year-round camping with basic, electric, and walk-in campsites. Other amenities include restrooms with hot showers, Wi-Fi, laundry facilities, playgrounds, and picnic areas. Admission to the Hawn State Park is free to the public and pets on leashes are allowed in the park.

World Bird Sanctuary
This rescue, educational, and rehabilitation center is in Valley Park Missouri next to Lone Elk County Park and Chubb Trail. They house many non-releasable birds including bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, owls, pelicans, parrots, cranes, vultures, and a laughing kookaburra. The Sanctuary also has other animals including snakes and a variety of mammals. Every day they have events going on at the sanctuary, but during the summer, they have several free family-friendly educational programs. Until Labor Day, they have Amazing Animals Encounters every Saturday and Sunday. This 25-minute presentation allows you to meet some of the resident animals and even see some of them fly! The first and third Thursday visitors can watch field studies crew catch, band, record, and release songbirds on site as part of the World Bird Sanctuary Songbird Population Study. This study will take place until September 1^st. The World Bird Sanctuary also offers an Eagle Adventure Camp for children ages 6-12 to explore the sanctuary, learn about birds of prey, and make new friends. They also have an educational Nature Center, library, gift shop, wildlife hospital, and picnic pavilions.

Route 66 Red Rocker
This quirky roadside attraction was built on April Fool’s day in 2008. At 42’1’’ tall, it was once awarded the title of World’s Largest Rocking Chair by the Guinness Book of World Records, but it now the second largest. It is open to the public, there are no fees, and pets are welcome. One day a year, on “Picture on the Rocker Day,” the first Saturday in August, guests can be lifted into the rocking chair for a photo opportunity. The site also has a US 66 Outpost and General Store. The Red Rocker is found on Historic Route 66, approximately 4 miles west of Cuba, Missouri.

Aerie’s Resort– Located in Grafton, Illinois overlooking the junction of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, Aerie’s Resort has a variety of activities for all ages. Aerie’s Winery is known for their award-winning wines, fine dining, and live entertainment. Enjoy your meal while al fresco on their expansive desk or head outside on the kid-friendly patio. Aerie’s also has a wide variety of overnight lodgings for couples, families, individuals, and groups. They are well-known for their Grafton Zipline. This is a nine-line 1.75-mile guided canopy tour through wooded hills and hollows, soaring over 200 feet above the ground. They offer discounts for groups of five or more Monday through Thursday, and ten or more Friday through Sunday. Regardless of what you do, “You’ll have the Best View in the Midwest.”