The Most ‘Under-appreciated’ Missouri Park is Full of Proud Bison

Missouri is fortunate to be a state with a lot of parks. Among them all is one that has been named the most under-appreciated in Missouri and it's full of lots of proud bison who don't seem to care how anyone feels about them.

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Have you ever visited Prairie State Park? It's located near Mindenmines, Missouri and it features some of the most beautiful wide-open prairies in the state. That's why it's perfect that its main residents aren't people, but a massive herd of bison.

Missouri State Parks shared what is to me a sad fact. The state used to be 33% covered with tallgrass prairie. Now, it's just 1%. Two centuries ago, these bison would have been a natural part of the Missouri ecosystem.

Only In Your State just named Prairie State Park the most underrated state park in Missouri and they're not wrong and it's not just about the bison that roam the land there. It also happens to have one of the biggest varieties of wildflowers you'll find anywhere in Missouri. There are at least a couple hundred listed on the Missouri State Parks website.

I understand that times change and civilization moves forward which means some things in the past will no longer remain. However, Prairie State Park is one of the places that reminds me of the Missouri I read about in books when I was in school and it makes me wish there was a time machine to travel back and see what the era of wide open plains (and bison roaming them) must have been like.