Outdoor Activities

Gemstone & Fossil Mining

One of our guests favorite activities is gemstone and fossil mining through our old-fashioned wooden sluice. Water runs from the Stark Caverns water tower through a series of descending troughs. You pour bags of mining "rough" into a screen tray and lower your tray into the trough of water. While you sift and shake the tray, flowing water reveals a range of beautiful minerals such as amethyst, ruby, emerald and quartz, or a selection of fossils. Purchase a bag of your “rough” and take home your treasures as a souvenir.

Identify your mined treasures afterward with one of our identification cards. 

*Gemstone and Fossil Mining may not be available during below-freezing temps

Bag of Stark Caverns Mother Lode rock or mineral sluice on a wooden surface outdoors.
Two children and an adult exploring a sluice station at Stark Caverns, with informational signs about fossils and rocks in the background.

Crack Your Own Geode

You can also crack open a geode, selecting from 4 sizes, to reveal a gorgeous crystalline center. Geodes are spherical rocks that contain hollow cavities lined with crystals. The name geode comes from the Greek word Geoides, which means "earthlike."

Stop by the Gift Shop before or after your tour to pick out your very own geode! When you are ready to crack it open, one of our friendly Tour Guides will help you set up the geode cracker, ask you to put on safety goggles and gloves, and then you crack it open to reveal the hidden beauty inside.

No two geodes are identical. Our Tour Guides can give you tips on how to find a good one! They occur naturally and as such, we can’t know what’s inside one until its open!!

Display of Geode Cracking rocks in a wooden basket at a store, with a sign indicating the small size costs $8.99.
Three large geodes with crystal formations resting on straw, with a red farm equipment in the background displaying the Stark Caverns logo and website.

Hiking Trails

We currently have 2 hiking trails at Stark Caverns - Deer Lick Trail is 1 mile long and Squirrel Run Trail is 0.5 Miles with a hill climb. The total property is about 300 acres with many types of wildlife, trees and birds - many scenic areas to enjoy nature before or after your tour.

Ask a Tour Guide for trail maps or more info about our trails

This is a self-guided, at-your-own-risk activity. Our trails are semi-maintained and semi-marked. Walking surfaces are dirt/grass and are uneven with the natural grades. Several hill climbs & rocky terrain will be encountered on each trail. They are great for Scouts & family adventures.

Tick spray & closed-toe shoes are highly recommended!

Download Trail Maps
A dirt trail through a dense forest with trees showing autumn foliage, some leaves turning yellow and orange, with sunlight filtering through the canopy.
Purple wildflowers growing among green plants in a garden.

Historic Covered Wagon

Before cars, trains and airplanes, Americans traveled more primitively - walking, horses, and then covered wagons typically drawn by oxen, horses or even mules. Covered wagons were like the trucks & RVs of their day. From 1820 to 1860, covered wagons, also called Prairie Schooners, were the primary mode of transportation for settlers moving from the east to the west.

The Charles Stark family, for which the cave is named, came to Missouri before it was a state, around 1815. Charles discovered the cave on a hunting trip and purchased the land in 1859 for his family farm. It's likely that members of the Stark family used a wagon like this for their trip west.

Visit our restored covered wagon, located across the pond from our cave entrance and imagine what it was like for these adventurous settlers to make their way to a new land for their families.

A vintage covered wagon with yellow wheels, green body, and a white canvas cover parked on a gravel path in a wooded area.
A peaceful pond surrounded by trees with autumn foliage and a fountain spraying water in the middle. Rocks and a small building are visible in the background under a partly cloudy blue sky.

Outdoor Seating

Group of children and teenagers sitting around a campfire at night near a building with lights on, surrounded by trees and parking lot.

Fire Pit & Seating Area

There is something about the sound of a crackling campfire that makes the great outdoors complete. Stark Caverns has our very own stone fire pit with rustic wood bench seating located across the pond from our Capital Visitor Center.

Looking for a private experience? Reserve the fire pit any time! Contact our reservations team for more information.

Firewood & roasting sticks available year-round.

Wooden pavilion with a dark green shingled roof, four picnic tables underneath, located outdoors on a concrete pad, surrounded by trees with autumn foliage.

Picnic Areas

We have several picnic areas with picnic tables and umbrellas, as well as a new covered pavilion with 3 more picnic tables. These are perfect for a family picnic, birthday party, scout or school groups and more. The pavilion area is available for rental as well. Please submit a request in the Event section of the website.

Sunny porch with wooden rocking chairs and a view of a yard with trees and a road.

Covered Porch & Rocking Chairs

Enjoy our relaxing wrap-around covered porch. Elevated above the parking area, the porch allows you to gaze over our well-maintained grounds, hear the water fountain splash in the pond, and even watch a hummingbird feed at one of our beautiful, stained glass hummingbird feeders hanging along the covered porch.

Sit back and relax while waiting for a tour in one of our many Amish rocking chairs. Catch up with friends & family or enjoy a cold beverage & snack from the gift shop while you sit and relax.