Ride to the top of the Gateway Arch, taste Hermann's wine country, climb among the granite boulders of Elephant Rocks, follow Kansas City's barbecue and jazz, or spend a weekend on the Lake of the Ozarks. We’ve put the stops, routes and practical details together so your day out of St. Louis or Kansas City is easier to plan.
Find your next day outFrom the Arch to the Ozarks.
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A loop through Missouri's German wine country from St. Louis: a house tour at Deutschheim in Hermann, the stone cellars of Hermannhof and Stone Hill, lunch above town, then back east along the river on Highway 94 to Augusta's hilltop wineries and an evening walk on the Katy Trail near Defiance.
A long day in Missouri's oldest mountains from St. Louis: the French colonial streets of Ste. Genevieve on the way down, the giant granite boulders of Elephant Rocks, the rock-walled pools of Johnson's Shut-Ins, and the state's highest point on Taum Sauk Mountain, with the parking, river-flag and no-food rules that catch first-timers.
A classic St. Louis day: the tram to the top of the Gateway Arch and its free museum, a walk down to the Mississippi levee, the free Saint Louis Zoo and Art Museum in Forest Park, and an Italian dinner on The Hill, with the parking, ticket and closing-time details that shape the day.
A full Kansas City day: the Spanish-style Country Club Plaza, the free Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, ribs and the Z-Man at Joe's original gas-station barbecue, the Negro Leagues Baseball and American Jazz museums at 18th & Vine, Union Station's Grand Hall, then Arthur Bryant's and a live jazz set in the Blue Room.
A two-night summer weekend at Lake of the Ozarks from Kansas City. Drive down Friday afternoon, settle into Osage Beach and stroll the Bagnell Dam Strip after dinner. Saturday is for land: the castle ruins, spring and natural bridge at Ha Ha Tonka State Park, a Bridal Cave tour and a late-afternoon swim at a state park beach. Sunday morning you take the wheel of a rented pontoon, then head home after lunch.
Every guide lists the date and time it was last updated and when the trip is best experienced, from a single week to all year. Each includes official links to verify roads, tides, hours, fees and closures for your travel date. Buy once and the guide is yours forever: read it online any time from your account, always in its latest version, or keep it offline in the Greg’s Guides app for iPhone and iPad, which updates it for you.
No juggling a dozen tabs or guessing how much you can squeeze into a day. Get a realistic starting plan, then make the day your own.
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A relaxed beach day, a mountain outing, or a bigger coastal adventure. Choose what fits your time.
Pay once and read it online right away, or open it in the Greg’s Guides app to keep it on your phone.
Check current conditions, open your route, and head out. Linger where you like. Skip what you don’t.
A digital guide with a timed itinerary, stop-by-stop details, a schematic route map, navigation links and a plain-text plan. This is a self-guided plan; attraction admission, parking, food, and transport are separate. We update trips regularly, and you’ll always have access to the latest information: you own your guide forever, so you can read the latest version online any time or keep it up to date in the app.
No, but it’s worth having. Tell us your home city and we’ll unlock a free guide to a day trip, event or activity near you. Your account also keeps every guide you buy, so you can read it online any time and use it in the Greg’s Guides app.
Yes. Read it online in your phone’s browser: sign in to My account and open your guide. Or, as we recommend on iPhone and iPad, use the Greg’s Guides app: sign in with the same account and your guides are saved on your phone, so they work without cell service. Navigation links open in the relevant app or browser when supported.
In the Greg’s Guides app, yes: your guides and route maps are saved on your phone. Reading online needs a connection. Guides don’t include offline road maps or turn-by-turn navigation, so save the area in your navigation app and prepare your route while connected.
Route links open in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze, which calculate directions using their latest available road, traffic, closure and detour information. This information depends on your app, coverage and connection and may not include every restriction. Check official road alerts, review the route before leaving and obey posted closures. The guide’s route map is a saved overview.
Each preview tells you the time commitment and activities. Beach sand, stairs, steep paths, weather, and road access can affect suitability. Choose shorter options and check accessibility at the stops you want to visit.
Each guide shows the date and time it was last updated and the time of year it is best experienced; some stops also note their own best season. Roads, services, prices, tides and rules can change, so every guide includes official sources to check before departure. Online, you always see the latest version, and the app updates the guides on your phone. You own your guide forever.
Stripe returns you to an order page with links to read each guide online as soon as payment is verified. Bookmark that page and reopen it any time for fresh links. Sign in or create a free account to keep your guides together and use them in the Greg’s Guides app. No subscription is required. Please keep the order link private.
I’m Greg Pasquariello, a software engineer living in the Pacific Northwest and the owner of Tecnicl LLC. I love a good day trip, and I host a lot of out-of-town visitors who want to know what they can do while they’re here. Greg’s Guides began as the plans I kept putting together for them. Now anyone can use them.
Tell us about a day trip you love. If we turn it into a guide, you get every guide we make free for a year, and your name on the guide. If we don’t, pick any guide free as thanks.
Missouri hero photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0. March 2023 photograph; resized and displayed with crop.
