On October 5, 2023, our last day in Jefferson City, we explored the Runge Conservation Nature Center, one of several centers throughout the state. The Missouri Department of Conservation, which was founded in 1937, operates the center. The department’s purpose was to restore, conserve, and regulate Missouri’s fisheries, forests, and wildlife. Once funded through hunting, fishing, and trapping permits, a 1976 program dubbed Design for Conservation, also provides funding of 1/8 of 1% of all sales tax dollars.

Inside the rustic wood building, we found displays of live fish, turtles, and snakes. Also included were taxidermy displays of animals in their natural habitat. These displays rivaled similar scenes at Johnny Morris’s Wonders of Wildlife Museum, although much smaller in scale.

Other exhibits featured a more educational focus by explaining the importance of marshes, wetlands, and timber in the state.

Alcoves were set aside for children to play and learn through hands-on activities and an indoor wildlife-viewing area overlooked several bird feeders.

And art gallery of display boards featured paintings by local artists.

We wandered around inside the building for an hour or more and then headed outside where five loop trails crisscross each other. Some trails are paved and accessible for all while woodchips mark the way on other trails.

Note: The center does not allow pets on any of the trails.

Along the way we crossed bridges, climbed steps, stopped at ponds, wetlands, a savanna, a tallgrass prairie, and forested environments.

We caught glimpses of the 70-foot fire tower. Built in 1949 to replace two previous towers, the structure provides historic interpretation. It stood at the Rocky Mount Tower site southwest of Eldon until 2000, when Runge Conservation Center took possession. PA Hess was the towerman from 1956 to 1987. For thirty-one years, he climbed up and down those stairs to keep his neighbors safe from fire.

During much of the 1900s, lookout towers were the primary way to detect fires in the state and communicate their location to authorities. Out of 260 fire towers in Missouri during the 1900s, there remain about sixty, thirty of which are still sometimes used for spotting fires.

The landscape at Runge was once overgrown and thick with invasive plants. A dedicated team of employees and volunteers turned the messy area into a vibrant and diverse environment. An environment that supports animals and plants of different habitats. It’s clear the employees and volunteers continue to maintain the area for future guests.

Having a stressful day at work or at home? Take a nature bath at the Runge Conservation Center, or your local outdoor space, by walking the trails. The center’s compact size will tame the stress and soothe the soul in an hour, or more, if you like. Listen to the birds calling each other, watch lizards and squirrels dart in and out of underbrush, and feel the breeze on skin. We did and still had time to wash a few loads of clothes when we returned to our home away from home.

One of the best parts of the nature center is that it doesn’t empty your bank account. Free makes Runge the right price and right size for young families.

Up Next: Hannibal, Missouri

Safe Travels