Spring Break
How to: enjoy (enhance) your summer break
Kelley Kates
Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: Culture
One of my personal favorites during break is chilling at area lakes.
You have a choice of Smithville Lake, Longview Lake and Blue Springs and Jacomo lakes.
It's a nice way to get outdoors and enjoy the sun.
There's so much to do at our local lakes.
You can go to one of the beaches to catch some rays and have a picnic or a barbecue at one of the many shelters or picnic areas by the lake.
You can do some fishing, boating, skiing, race wave runners or simply go hang out with some friends and toss the football around.
Most of the lakes also offer camping sites that are always cool places to spend a night away.
If you want to get away from the city and not spend a lot of money, going away to the Ozarks, state parks, or one of our many rivers can be a really inexpensive, yet fun, vacation.
Everyone knows about the Lake of the Ozarks.
It can be a wild party or a nice, relaxing trip. Water sports and trails for ATVs are abundant - so are clubs and thrill rides.
Ha Ha Tonka State Park, located in the Ozarks, is excellent for camping, fishing, hiking and catching amazing views atop the Ozark cliffs.
It also has a natural spring, caves and sinkholes. The park is a geological wonderland.
Also great for enjoying a beautiful natural environment is Johnson's Shut Ins State Park, which is scheduled for reopening this year.
One of the best things you can do for your summer is get together with 20 of your closest friends and plan a canoe trip. Believe me, you won't regret it.
Several of Missouri's rivers offer different options to help you enjoy your trip.
For example, you can choose from canoeing or rafting, cabin rentals or crazy camp grounds. One of the best places I can recommend to you is Huzzah Valley on the Meramec River near Rolla, Mo.
They have three rivers to choose from for canoeing, and a campground called the Zoo.
Nobody will be telling you to quiet down here. Of course, they also have a family campground.
All of these things are good ways to have a great time over your summer break, but after all that excitement, you should give back too.
Get out there and do something good for someone else.
Let's get outside more, run around like we did as kids.
Loosen up and have a good time this summer. There will be plenty of time for seriousness when the school year rolls back around in the fall.
kkates@unews.com
You have a choice of Smithville Lake, Longview Lake and Blue Springs and Jacomo lakes.
It's a nice way to get outdoors and enjoy the sun.
There's so much to do at our local lakes.
You can go to one of the beaches to catch some rays and have a picnic or a barbecue at one of the many shelters or picnic areas by the lake.
You can do some fishing, boating, skiing, race wave runners or simply go hang out with some friends and toss the football around.
Most of the lakes also offer camping sites that are always cool places to spend a night away.
If you want to get away from the city and not spend a lot of money, going away to the Ozarks, state parks, or one of our many rivers can be a really inexpensive, yet fun, vacation.
Everyone knows about the Lake of the Ozarks.
It can be a wild party or a nice, relaxing trip. Water sports and trails for ATVs are abundant - so are clubs and thrill rides.
Ha Ha Tonka State Park, located in the Ozarks, is excellent for camping, fishing, hiking and catching amazing views atop the Ozark cliffs.
It also has a natural spring, caves and sinkholes. The park is a geological wonderland.
Also great for enjoying a beautiful natural environment is Johnson's Shut Ins State Park, which is scheduled for reopening this year.
One of the best things you can do for your summer is get together with 20 of your closest friends and plan a canoe trip. Believe me, you won't regret it.
Several of Missouri's rivers offer different options to help you enjoy your trip.
For example, you can choose from canoeing or rafting, cabin rentals or crazy camp grounds. One of the best places I can recommend to you is Huzzah Valley on the Meramec River near Rolla, Mo.
They have three rivers to choose from for canoeing, and a campground called the Zoo.
Nobody will be telling you to quiet down here. Of course, they also have a family campground.
All of these things are good ways to have a great time over your summer break, but after all that excitement, you should give back too.
Get out there and do something good for someone else.
Let's get outside more, run around like we did as kids.
Loosen up and have a good time this summer. There will be plenty of time for seriousness when the school year rolls back around in the fall.
kkates@unews.com
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