Interesting Things to Do in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is a bustling university town located in central Missouri. The downtown area is filled with shops, restaurants, bars and businesses designed to appeal to students from Mizzou University. The University campus is the central part of the city, with residential areas and shopping centers located further out.
The countryside around Missouri is quite pretty, especially in the Autumn and Winter. The Missouri River flows nearby and numerous hiking trails wander through nearby forests. Many of the trails cross large fields and plains which the Midwest is famous for.
Columbia is within driving distance of both Saint Louis and Kansas City, both of which are roughly two hours away.
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Advice When Visiting Columbia, Missouri
When climbing within Devil’s Icebox near Columbia, Missouri, step carefully. Moisture makes the interior of the cavern very slick and touching the walls excessively may damage the moss layers built up here.
The interior part of Devil’s Icebox is in total darkness and somewhat chilly. Bring a jacket for exploration even in moderate weather.
Parking around the University Campus is hard to find during the school year. Many students prefer to park in legal residential areas when heading downtown. The public transportation bus system in Missouri is quite good.
Interesting Things to Do in Columbia, Missouri
Boathenge – An extremely odd, charming structure made from standing boats propped directly upward in the earth
Tropical Liqueurs – A alcoholic slushie shop in Columbia, Missouri
Katy Trail – A famous hiking and biking trail following the Missouri River. The trail is built upon an old railway route and is extremely flat and well-maintained. For Leftfade Trails guides on visiting Katy Trail, click here.
Rock Bridge Memorial State Park – An expansive series of hiking trails with small rivers, wooded forests and different types of wildlife. The famed Devil’s Icebox is found here.
The Devil’s Icebox – A local hiking feature, the Icebox is an underground river and cavern that extends into a small cavern. When lights are turned off, the cavern is pitch black. The Icebox is easy to reach on account of several trails and wooden platforms leading to it
44 Canteen – A local eatery used as a testing site for a main restaurant branch. The menu changes frequently
Mizzou Campus – The campus for the University of Missouri
Roche Percee Natural Arch – A beautiful natural arch found along the Katy Trail route near Columbia
Shelter Gardens – A small 5 acre patch of well-maintained gardens which hosts an enormous sundial and numerous flowering hedges.
Eagle Bluffs Overlook – Following a strenuous climb, this is considered the best lookout point around Columbia, Missouri
Boathenge
At first glance, this is just a very odd piece of public artwork sequestered in a patch of narrow woods near Katy Trail. But in reality, Boathenge is a profound artwork built by an anonymous artist directly following massive flooding in 1993. The work adheres to strict mathematical measurements: The height, width and depth into the ground average to an exact match of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.
Tropical Liqueurs
A popular slushie bar located north of the University of Missouri, this remains one of the most popular grab-and-go alcohol hubs in Columbia. The drinks come in many fruity flavors ensuring both tipsy students and the occasional brain-freeze.
Katy Trail
Katy Trail is an enormously popular hiking and biking route following the North Bank of the Missouri River. The long trail passes numerous small Missouri towns and many important Lewis and Clark landmarks. The trail was constructed where an old rail line once stood. It’s incredibly flat and easy to travel.
Rock Bridge Memorial State Park
Serving as a public recreation area and geological preserve, Rock Bridge has numerous woodland trails, tall cliffs, shallow streams and wooden boardwalks. The trail’s most iconic feature is the Devil’s Icebox. This moss-slick cavern goes underground, following a flat, trickling subterranean creek. Visitors can walk fairly far back into the cavern, listening to the trickling stream the entire way. It’s traditional to turn off lights when reaching the end of the tunnel and stand in the pitch darkness.
-Update: Devil’s Icebox is currently closed to protect the habitat of the endangered Indiana bat. Furthermore, the cave is the only known natural home of Kenkia glandulosa or pink planarian. The park area around Rock Bridge Memorial State Park is still open and available for visitors.
44 Canteen
This Columbia eatery describes itself as an “Outpost” restaurant. The restaurant tests out various culinary experiments. The restaurant’s chefs and owners switch up the menu frequently with both experiments and seasonal specialties, making visiting a bit of a wildcard.
University of Missouri (Mizzou Campus)
This large and beautiful campus is the flagship school for the University of Missouri System. The campus is beautiful to walk around, but most guests arrive during the various sport events, most especially American football games. The University supports several museum, small gardens and educational venues and the campus backs up to the college-town area nearby where many of the city’s best restaurants operate.
Roche Percee Natural Arch
This natural rock arch is found along Katy Trail. It was an important landmark for the Lewis and Clark expedition. It was formed by the Missouri River ages ago.
Shelter Gardens
This garden, located behind a large insurance building on West Broadway holds several awards. The green space hosts a sensory garden for the visually impaired, a Vietnam Veteran memorial, a reflecting pool, giant sundial and many plants. The beautiful garden is used for research purposes. It’s often decorated for winter holidays.
Eagle Bluffs Overlook
Eagle Bluffs Overlook is a somewhat challenging uphill climb to see the vast plains, forests and rivers of the Midwest. The view is popular amongst locals, especially when the Missouri River is low and natural islands appear in the water.