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All United States Missouri

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Missouri

152 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Missouri

Updated April 18, 2023

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St. Louis
Kansas City
Devil's Icebox. (Creative Commons)
Columbia
Independence
Springfield
The Missouri State Penitentiary.
Jefferson City
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Unusual Attractions in Missouri

Ha Ha Tonka Castle Ruins

Camdenton, Missouri

Ha Ha Tonka Castle Ruins

European castle ruins in an American state park are actually the product of death and grief.

St. Louis, Missouri

City Museum

Less a museum than a bizarre fantasy world created by artists and engineers.
Exterior West side.

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Workhouse

This abandoned prison castle has become an imposing gallery of graffiti art.
Welch Springs Ruins

Jadwin, Missouri

Welch Spring Hospital Ruins

Once an ambitious nature spa, these forest ruins now provide a serene monument to failure.

Ridgedale, Missouri

Bat Bar in Lost Canyon Cave

If there's another drive-through golf-cart bar in a bat-filled cave on top of a mountain, we don't know about it.

St. Joseph, Missouri

Glore Psychiatric Museum

The history of the treatment of mental illness, illustrated in all its gory detail, and housed in an asylum.
Divers in the Billion Gallon Lake.

Bonne Terre, Missouri

Bonne Terre Mines

The world's largest man-made underground caverns offer unparalleled underwater wonders.
A typical SubTropolis building.

Kansas City, Missouri

SubTropolis

The "World's Largest Underground Business Complex," a 55,000,000-square-foot city underneath Missouri.
See All 152 Things To Do in Missouri

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Missouri

Ridgedale, Missouri

Bat Bar in Lost Canyon Cave

If there's another drive-through golf-cart bar in a bat-filled cave on top of a mountain, we don't know about it.
Bathrooms!

St. Louis, Missouri

Venice Cafe

This mosaic-covered bar is brimming with curated curios.
The entrance to Saltpeter Cave.

Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Cave Vineyard

A subterranean haunt where wine and homemade biscottis are always on the menu.

Weston, Missouri

O'Malley's Pub

The oldest bar in Missouri is hidden within a limestone brewery cellar more than 50 feet underground.
See all 9 Places to Eat in Missouri
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

6 Wondrous Places to Get Tipsy in Missouri

Celebration or desperation aside, these six spots in Missouri are proof that imbibing is only half the fun of bar culture. From a mountaintop drive-through golf-cart bar to the state's oldest waterhole hole—nestled more than 50 feet underground in a limestone cellar—the “Show-Me State” has no shortage of boozy fun to show you (as long as you're 21+, of course). As the pandemic continues, we hope this virtual trip helps you explore America’s wonders. If you do choose to venture out, please follow all guidelines, maintain social distance, and wear a mask.

View Itinerary
At Defiance Roadhouse, it's bottoms up.

Explore Missouri

Nature 14
Museums And Collections 13
Collections 12
Water 12
Aletrail 11
Ecosystems 11
Caves 10
History & Culture 9
Abandoned 9
Geology 9
Parks 8
Animals 8
Unique Restaurants & Bars 4

Missouri Leaderboard

Places Added

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Join the Ranks!
Add an unusual place to Missouri.

Places Edited

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Places Visited

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Recent Missouri Activity

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    Kelllls

    wants to go to Black Madonna Shrine

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    has been to Cape Girardeau Common Pleas Courthouse

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    has been to Devil's Honeycomb

Stories About Missouri

The Missouri State Penitentiary once housed infamous inmates like James Earl Ray.

The Bloody (and Haunted) History of the Missouri State Penitentiary

Time Magazine called the prison “the bloodiest 47 acres in America.”
Sponsored by Visit Missouri

Podcast: Endangered Wolf Center

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
October 3, 2022

Podcast: Floating Freedom School

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
June 30, 2022
A crowd of swimmers and sunbathers on Lincoln Beach in the 1920s.

The Hidden History of a Missouri State Park

Century-old traces of a bygone resort are starting to surface at Castlewood.
by Evan Nicole Brown
July 29, 2019
The mysterious, infamous Missouri highway pickle jar.

A Highway Pickle Mystery Is Preserved in Missouri

The jar of cukes has survived time, construction, and foul weather. But can it survive fame?
by Cara Giaimo
April 6, 2018
The Route 66 record holder was bested by a bigger rocking chair in Illinois.

How the U.S. Lost the Title for the World's Largest Chair

After a century of states battling it out for the honor, the current record holder is in... Austria.
by Kavya Ram Mohan
June 22, 2017

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