Maryville: Trails, Nature and Museums

A trip to Maryville can include a range of interests: time outdoors, historical and natural history topics in museums, and events at the historic courthouse square in Downtown Maryville. Each of the destinations featured has its own focus. You can plan your trip around what matters most to you, whether that is a trail, a particular exhibit, or an event date.

Outdoors: Arboretum, Trails and Dog Park

The Missouri Arboretum is located on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University. In 1993, the university was designated the official Missouri Arboretum by the Missouri state legislature. One way to explore the arboretum is the “Arboretum Walking Tour.” The name refers to a walking route, so the focus here is on exploring the arboretum on foot.

The Bearcat Trail is another named destination for anyone looking to include a trail in their travel plans. It is 3.1 miles long and is located at 800 University Drive, Maryville, Missouri 64468. The stated length gives you a specific reference point for planning; no walking time is specified. This lets you include the trail among your options without confusing it with the Arboretum Walking Tour.

For those traveling with a dog, Sunrise Bark Park is a dedicated dog park. Leashes are not required there; the park is open from sunrise to sunset. This time frame is therefore part of planning your visit. If you want your dog to be able to run off-leash, this park is a clearly identified destination.

Museums with Different Areas of Focus

The NCHS Museum campus includes a one-room schoolhouse dating from 1883. The historic school building offers a different focus from the natural history exhibits: the Geoscience Museum displays a full-scale reproduction of the fossilized skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. If you are interested in a large, specific exhibit, you will find a different focus there than in a look at a 19th-century schoolhouse.

The Walter M. and Velma C. Troutman Collection features North American mammals. Together with the Geoscience Museum, it offers a natural history perspective on different topics: a collection of mammals on the one hand, and a reproduction of a fossilized dinosaur skull on the other. The NCHS Museum adds the one-room schoolhouse to these interests. When planning, you can consider whether you would rather focus on historic buildings or natural history exhibits.

Broadcasting History, Movies and Events

The Warren Stucki Museum of Broadcasting is devoted exclusively to radio and television. Interactive stations invite visitors to explore different aspects of the subject: visitors can send Morse code, listen to old radio dramas and commercials, and hear a recording of President Franklin Roosevelt’s first Fireside Chat address. An authentic 1930s living-room console is used for this. The stations combine hands-on activities and listening with specific examples from broadcasting history.

Hangar is a specially designed movie theater whose appearance is reminiscent of an aircraft hangar. The design thus reflects the theater’s name. Hangar also serves specialty sandwiches and wood-fired pizza. This offers a different focus from the museums: here, the theater’s design and food are front and center.

The historic courthouse square in Downtown Maryville is a venue for events. If an event is the deciding factor for your trip, check its date before setting your travel dates. This allows you to plan a visit around an event, while the other destinations—from the arboretum and trails to the museums—offer their own points of interest.

For the broader travel overview: Nodaway County.