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. 

Cactus Pete's Family Fun Center, Imperial

Location: 1045 Imperial Main St., Imperial, MO 63052    636-223-7206

Website: http://cactuspetesfamilyfuncenter.com/

Cactus Pete's opened in January of  2018. Their amenities include laser tag, a bounce house, maze, and video games. They also have a black light party room. They are closed on Monday and Tuesday, open evenings Wednesday through Friday, and open most of the day on Saturday and Sunday. Remember to bring socks for the bounce house!

This is a blurb from their website that explains their mission:
"Cactus Pete’s Family Fun Center was created by two guys from Jefferson County that were tired of driving their kids to South County, Fenton and St. Charles to play overpriced video and prize redemption games as well as laser tag. They decided to improve and expand on what a family fun center should be. Namely FUN, AFFORDABLE and MEMORABLE. Cactus Pete’s is the perfect place to bring your family or group – buy 4 or more game cards and receive 10% off your entire purchase. You can even bring your own food!!! Recommended ages 5 and up."

They do not serve food but they serve soda and BEER. They have more than 30 “top of the line” video, drivers, prize redemption, ticket & claw games. Featuring: Space Invaders, Despicable Me – Jelly Lab, Down The Clown, Jurassic Park, Aliens Armageddon, Big Bass Pro, Kung Fu Panda, Baseball Pro, Skee Ball, NBA Hoops, Sink It… All games are cleaned and disinfected after use and multiple times throughout the day. They also have a huge dodge-ball bounce house, and the Must See – “Area 51 – Alien Ooze Laser Tag”. Laser Tag is on the second floor and features the latest in technology. The “Cyber Blast Phaser” does not require a sweaty oversized vest and is light enough that kids of all ages can use it! Games are limited to 10 players per round so that participants can maneuver through the black light maze of effects and not spend all their time waiting for their phaser to activate after being shot! Over 50 computerized laser tag games to choose from.

All the games and attractions require credits to play. A credit equals roughly 25 cents and most of the games average between 4 – 6 credits. You purchase whatever number of credits you want. The credits are put on a card which you will simply swipe at the game or the attraction. The tickets you win are recorded on the game card. NO MORE LUGGING AROUND QUARTERS OR TOKENS! NO MORE STUFFING TICKETS INTO YOUR POCKETS AND UNLOADING THEM AT THE COUNTER. It’s all on our cloud based card reader system.

My impression is that this place is rather small but there's no other family fun center in the area so it's a nice addition for residents in the area.

Bounce house

Rewards area

Their claw machine has candy instead of stuffed animals