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Van Meter State Park
660-886-7537

	At a glance... 32146 N. Hwy. 122 Miami, MO 65344	660-886-7537
	Acreage: 1,104.63 Year Acquired: 1932 Activities: camping, fishing, picnicking, hiking - interpretive trails

The state of Missouri and its principal river were both named after a tribe of Native Americans, known by the French explorers as the “Oumessourit” or Missouri Indians, that once lived in the area of Van Meter State Park. Today, the park provides outdoor recreational opportunities and interprets the area landscape and the Native Americans who found it to be bountiful.

For many centuries, Native American hunters traversed the nearby marshes and prairies and the deep ravines and narrow ridges, locally known as the Pinnacles. In 1673, French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet composed a map that located a Missouri Indian village at the Great Bend of the Missouri River.

Van Meter State Park features remnants of this early village site. A hand-dug earthwork, known as the Old Fort, and several burial mounds lie within park boundaries. The area’s Native American history is also interpreted inside the park’s cultural center through exhibits and a large mural depicting the life of the Missouri Indians.

For outdoor enthusiasts, the park features hiking trails, an 18-acre lake for fishing, a campground and the Oumessourit Natural Area, which consists of a fresh-water marsh, fens and bottomland and upland forests. Picnic sites and two picnic shelters are nestled under lofty trees.