Cape Girardeau can be explored through two main themes: cultural history and time outdoors. Museums, historic buildings, and murals show different facets of the city, the Southeast Missouri region, and life along the Mississippi. Outdoors, options include trails through forest and floodplain landscapes, as well as fishing and birdwatching. You can shape your stay around whether you would rather focus on exhibitions and architecture or trails and nature.
Cultural History and Architecture
At the Crisp Museum, you can explore historical exhibits and galleries of fine art. At the Crossroads Theatre, the museum shows a video about the heritage of Southeast Missouri and the people and land of the region. Admission is free; check current visitor information before your visit.
The restored Glenn House is a historic museum in Cape Girardeau and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Main–Spanish Commercial Historic District is also on the register; it was added in 2008. Fort D is the only surviving one of the four Civil War forts that protected Cape Girardeau from a Confederate attack. The museum, historic district, and fort offer different insights into local history.
Old St. Vincent’s Church is a restored Gothic Revival Catholic church with 15th-century Italian Renaissance architecture. It is designated a “Chapel of Ease”; religious and cultural events are held there throughout the year.
The Mississippi, City History, and Murals
The Cape Girardeau Heritage Museum explores Cape Girardeau’s roots as a landing on the Mississippi and life along the river. The 1,100-foot-long Mississippi River Tales Mural is a visual history book about Cape Girardeau’s heritage and consists of 24 colorful panels.
The Mississippi Riverfront Mural welcomes people walking along the riverfront floodwall with the words “Welcome to Cape Girardeau, Missouri.” The Missouri Wall of Fame comprises 45 panels featuring 47 notable people from Missouri. The displays emphasize different themes: the Heritage Museum explores river life and the city’s origins, while the Wall of Fame focuses on notable people from Missouri.
Trails and Nature Compared
The paved Cape LaCroix Recreation Trail in Cape Girardeau can be used for walking, running, cycling, rollerblading, skating, and skateboarding. You can hike and cycle on the Cape La Croix Hiking/Biking Trail, which runs through the Cape Woods Conservation Area. This area is a small floodplain forest and a heavily visited urban nature area. The Recreation Trail accommodates more ways of getting around, while the Hiking/Biking Trail focuses on hiking, cycling, and its route through Cape Woods.
White Oak Trace offers two miles of trails through oak-hickory forests and floodplain forests, past sinkholes and a small man-made wetland. Here, the forest landscapes are joined by other landforms and a wetland. The area around the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center also has oak-hickory forests, in hilly terrain, as well as a restored wetland with wildflowers and sedges. Warblers, vireos, thrushes, and waterbirds and shorebirds can be observed in the area.
At the accessible Kids Fishing Pond, children under 16 can fish for various species. The outdoor options therefore range from several activities on a paved trail to hiking and cycling opportunities, birdwatching, and fishing.
Discover more destinations: Altenburg
View the main travel overview: Cape Girardeau County.
