Wallace State Park

Sunbathers enjoy Lake Allaman at Wallace State Park.

In contrast to the open farmlands around it, Wallace State Park is an oasis of wooded hillsides. On the ridges, oaks and sycamores share ground with blackberries and redbud. Along meandering Deer Creek grow trout lilies, touch-me-nots and Dutchman's breeches.

Only an hour from Kansas City, the 501-acre park offers tranquillity and rural recreation. Six-acre Lake Allaman, at the center of the park, provides swimming, fishing for bass and catfish, and boating, but no gas engines are allowed.

There are 81 campsites, 42 with electricity, a laundry and a dump station. A special use area is available for scout camping.

Hiking trails, totaling more than seven miles, explore the park's hilly, wooded interior along Lake Allaman and across Deer Creek.

Naturalists wanting deeper immersion in Missouri forests should visit Trice-Dedman Memorial Woods, a significant example of northern Missouri hardwood forest before European settlement.

Less than 20 miles southwest of Wallace State Park, Trice-Dedman is owned by the Nature Conservancy and administered by the state Department of Natural Resources.