Mastodon State Historic Site, Imperial

Location: 1050 Charles J. Becker Drive, Imperial, MO 63052

Amenities: playground, hiking trails, picnic areas, museum

Website: https://mostateparks.com/park/mastodon-state-historic-site

Playground ground cover: wood chips

We headed to Mastodon State Historic Site because my daughter loves the Ice Age movies. Those movies feature mammoths, and this park has mastodon bones, but pretty similar to a 3.5-year-old. As luck would have it though, she fell asleep as we were pulling off the highway, about 2 minutes from the park entrance. When she woke up she wanted nothing to do with the museum, so it was a quick visit for us. The museum costs $4 for adults, under 12 free, and it's pretty small. They do offer a 30-minute video that describes the historic site which we did not get to watch because she wouldn't stop crying. The park rangers even tried to console her by bringing out puppets of the various animals from Ice Age. I wouldn't really recommend the museum for children younger than elementary school-aged, there just isn't enough to keep their attention.

Around the corner from the museum are the picnic area, trailheads, and playground. The playground doesn't have any equipment for toddlers, but they do have a climbing structure with several slides, tunnels, and ladders. There are also 2 sling swings in the playground area. There are a couple of benches beside the playground but it was busy the afternoon we visited and they could use a few more areas for the parents and caregivers to sit!

The museum is small and won't take much time at all to explore. 

The playground has 2 play structures, one big and one small. The large structure has slides, a tunnel, a steering wheel, and lots of bars and poles. 

The small one has some slides, a speaker, a drum, a steering wheel, and various bars and poles. 

 There is a modified merry-go-round and some bouncy insects to ride on.

There are 2 baby swings and 2 sling swings. 

There are restrooms and benches scattered around near the playground and parking lot. 

This is a covered pavilion and there are paths back here that lead to a small creek. 

They have a small creek and a larger creek. This is the small one. 

Large creek

Horse shoe pit

The park is split into two sections. The picnic area has the trail heads for two trails. The parking lot is just off Seckman Road. You will see the trailhead for the Spring Branch Trail near the front of the parking lot. As the trail starts to head back toward the parking lot, it runs along Rock Creek. There are several small trails that allow you to access the creek.