The 10 Best Nature & Wildlife Areas in Missouri, United States

Nestled within Faust Park and a division of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Butterfly House was the first stand-alone insectarium to be accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. Open year-round, the 8,000 sq foot Tropical Conservatory is the heart of the Butterfly House. Its carefully controlled environment houses nearly 2,000 tropical butterflies in free flight. As many as 80 butterfly species and 150 tropical plant species are exhibited. The Exhibit Hall is where you'll find Small Wonders, a living exhibit focusing on various other invertebrates. The outdoor Native Butterfly Garden is a pollinator-friendly demonstration garden. Plants were carefully selected to provide a habitat for the pollinators and other animals in Faust Park as well as to serve as host plants for caterpillars and nectar sources for butterflies. The Native Butterfly Garden provides a favorite setting for education programs, wedding ceremonies, and other private event celebrations.

National Tiger Sanctuary is a non-profit, rescue facility that currently cares for a variety of big cats, including bengal tigers, lions, leopards, mountain lions. Visit our big cats from three feet away Wednesday through Sunday. We offer a variety of tours and educational programs. Photography and questions encouraged, National Tiger Sanctuary is an educational campus dedicated to bringing awareness to the environmental conditions and their effects on the earth's ecosystems. Our mission is much bigger than just caring for our furry friends; we believe that through education we can all have a positive impact on the environment!

This 21,676-acre nature reserve consists mostly of hardwood bottomland swamp and is the only large tract of bottomland that exists in the boot heel section of Missouri.

Your ticket is an all day pass to our park which includes the drive through, walk through, and our reptile house. You can go through each section of the park as many times as you would like. In the drive through, you can ride through in your vehicle or you can feed and interact with the drive through animals on the complimentary bus tour. It is an hour and fifteen minute tour on the bus and covers about 250 acres. The walk through section is a zoo/petting zoo area where guests can interact with primates with treats, see our lions, tiger, ligers and feed goats, pigs, sheep, zebus and giraffes. Giraffes can now be fed inside a warm barn during the colder winter months! The reptile house is a separate building that houses snakes, lizards, frogs, tortoises, and other reptiles species. We also have amusement rides that you can purchase tickets for. There are rides: a carousel, a swing ride, a kiddie roller coaster, and a set of airplanes that fly in a circle.

Explore over 1,000 live exotic butterflies surrounded by tropical plants, birds and more! Wristbands are good for 3 days, unlimited access and include; Live Butterfly Aviary, 3D Video "Flight of the Butterflies" about the Monarch Migration, Great Banyan Tree Adventure, Mirror Maze and Rainforest Science Center with Live Reptiles and Amphibians. Bonus Features: -Live Butterfly Releases: Scheduled 4 times per day, newly emerged butterflies are released for their first flight and guests get to assist! -Complimentary nectar flowers for guests to hand feed the butterflies -LIVE MUSIC is played daily in the butterfly aviary by two musicians playing the Hammered Dulcimer -Critter Encounters: Scheduled 4 times per day where guests can learn about and pet one of the reptiles

Dogwood Canyon Nature Park is a one-of-a-kind experience for nature lovers and adventure seekers of all ages. Covering 10,000 acres of pristine Ozark Mountain landscape, the park has miles of crystal-clear trout streams, dozens of cascading waterfalls, ancient burial caves, unique hand-built bridges and bottomless, blue-green pools.