About the Missouri State Park System

The Missouri state park fund was created on April 9, 1917. The fish and game department was responsible for the parks once they were acquired. In 1923, the state obtained the historic Arrow Rock Tavern, and 1924, the first state park tracts were secured. By the end of 1925, there were state park in eight areas with a total of 23,244 acres. That same year, the legislature increased revenue to support the growing state park system.

By 1932, Missouri had 18 state parks. As the system grew, Missourians showed even greater interest in state parks. This interest can be seen in the donated land tracts that became Roaring River, Annie and Able Van Meter and Washington state parks.

The CCC

The park system went through its most significant period of change and development in the 1930s. Beginning in 1933, under the direction of President Franklin Roosevelt, U.S. Congress authorized the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC.

By 1934, some 4,000 men were employed in Missouri. They built roads and bridges, dining lodges, picnic shelters, cabins and campgrounds. They also worked on other projects such as the of installation sewer lines. There were 22 CCC camps in Missouri and 15 of them were in state parks or historic sites.

Missouri State Parks boasts hundreds of structures built by the CCC. These structures are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

A new Missouri State Park Board took over supervision of the park system in 1937. The next year, a formal plan defined the role of the state park system to “…preserve Missouri’s scenic and recreational resources, to provide opportunities for the people of Missouri to enjoy them, [and] to encourage out-of-state visitors also to enjoy them.”

The state park system soon experienced a shortage of funds. To address this need, the 1945 state constitution established a tax, earmarking a portion for state parks. Voters approved this special provision when they approved the new constitution. In 1960, Missourians extended this constitutional provision by a two-to-one majority during a special vote on the tax, which expired in 1972.

In addition to state monies for park purposes, Missouri’s state park system drew from federal sources. Since 1965, federal revenue sharing and the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund have been used to help acquire and develop state park lands and facilities.

In 1974, a significant governmental reorganization created the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. This new department assumed the administration of the state park system. The state park system continued to grow but as Missouri entered the 1980s, the state’s economy declined. 

This recession led to reduced state revenues and mandatory cuts in the budget for the state park system. At the same time, federal revenue sharing and Land and Water Conservation Funds were greatly reduced. In 1982, Missouri voters approved a $600 million statewide bond issue that included $55 million for major renovation and construction projects in state parks.

In 1984, Missouri voters again showed their support by approving a sales tax to be used for state parks and soil and water conservation efforts. Funds from this one-tenth-of-one-percent sales tax are divided equally between the two programs, both of which are administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. In 1988, 1996, 2006 and 2016, more than two-thirds majority of Missouri voters renewed the tax. The sales tax is up for renewal again in 2026.

The Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax is the main source of funding for the Missouri state park system. It provides about three-fourths of the division's budget for operation and development of state parks. Revenue generated in the state park system and some federal funds provide the remaining funds.

This money allows for the maintenance, repair and renovation of the more than 2,000 structures in the state park system. It also enables new recreational opportunities to be added, and public services continued and improved. More information can be found on the Department webpage.