Southeast Missouri
🧠Discover Southeast Missouri
Where the Ozarks meet the Mississippi — and every road leads to a story.
Southeast Missouri is where rivers carve memory into stone and heritage runs as deep as the soil. From the limestone bluffs of the Mississippi to the wild Ozark highlands and the fertile Bootheel plains, every bend of the road reveals a new layer of the Heartland.
Here, small towns still celebrate their festivals on courthouse squares. Trails wind through Civil War history and forested parks. Farmers’ markets and diners share recipes passed down for generations.
Discover the Heartland organizes Southeast Missouri into seven story-rich subregions — each offering its own rhythm, history, and sense of place.
🏞️ Mississippi River Hills
Counties: Ste. Genevieve · Perry · Cape Girardeau · Bollinger
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Where river bluffs rise from fertile bottoms, the Mississippi River Hills reveal a landscape shaped by wine, heritage, and the quiet rhythm of ridge-top towns. Ste. Genevieve’s French colonial district carries centuries of architecture and memory. Perryville and Altenburg overlook rolling orchards and vineyard slopes. Tower Rock stands guard over the river channel, a sentinel carved by time. Along Apple Creek and the hill roads, every curve opens to new layers of story and scenery.
Here, land and legacy rise together.
⚒️ Mineral Belt Highlands
Counties: Madison · St. Francois · Washington · Crawford
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Forged in Missouri’s mining era, the Mineral Belt Highlands blend rugged terrain with heritage towns where industry once shaped the hills. Park Hills and Irondale sit among reclaimed landscapes now turned to parks, trails, and quiet community life. Washington County’s old mining settlements echo with stories of perseverance and craft. Forest corridors wind through granite outcrops, connecting historic districts with the natural renewal of today’s Highlands.
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Here, resilience is the raw material — and reinvention is the art.
⛰️ St. Francois Mountains
Counties: Iron · Reynolds
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At the volcanic core of Missouri, the St. Francois Mountains lift the landscape into billion-year-old peaks and high-country valleys. Arcadia and Ironton rest in the cradle of ancient ridges, framed by Civil War history and Victorian-era architecture. Pilot Knob rises above the valley, a granite stronghold overlooking centuries of human and geologic story. Taum Sauk Mountain sends waterfalls down rhyolite cliffs, while Johnson’s Shut-Ins thunders through sculpted stone corridors.
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This is the mountain soul of Southeast Missouri — shaped by deep time and enduring spirit.
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đź’§ Ozark Riverways
Counties: Carter · Shannon · Oregon · Ripley · Dent
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In the heart of the Ozarks, turquoise rivers carve their way through bluffs, springs, and deep forest hollows. Van Buren emerges beside the Current River, alive with paddlers and riverside tradition. Eminence blends cowboy heritage with float culture, surrounded by cabins, hot springs, and backroad vistas. Alley Spring Mill stands in brilliant contrast — red walls mirrored in blue water. Big Spring surges from the earth with breathtaking clarity, feeding a wilderness shaped entirely by water.
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Here, the river is both the path and the story.
🌳 Crowley’s Ridge & Lakes
Counties: Wayne · Butler
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A rare geological ridge rising from the flatlands, Crowley’s Ridge creates a world of quiet contrast — upland forests above, wetlands and lakes below. Greenville rests at the gateway to Lake Wappapello, where coves, hardwood hills, and summer days define the season. Markham Springs glows with emerald water beneath shaded trees. Mingo National Wildlife Refuge shelters migratory birds across expansive marshes. Backroads trace the gentle rise of the ridge, revealing peaceful communities shaped by land and water.
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Here, contrast creates its own harmony.
🌾 Bootheel Delta
Counties: Pemiscot · Dunklin · New Madrid · Mississippi · Scott
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The Bootheel Delta stretches across wide horizons and some of the richest soils in the Midwest — a landscape shaped by agriculture, migration, and the river’s shifting power. Sikeston blends farm culture with regional cuisine and music roots. Charleston and East Prairie carry deep southern influence through festivals and community traditions. New Madrid rests beside the river bends that once rewrote American geography. Fields, levees, and distant tree lines create a quiet rhythm that defines daily life.
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Here, land and life follow the rhythm of the river.
Explore Southeast Missouri on the Map
A visual guide to the region’s subregions, landscapes, and geographic identity.
Explore More in Southeast Missouri
Browse the stories, guides, and events shaping Mississippi River Hills.
Journeys in Southeast Missouri
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Guides in Southeast Missouri
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Spotlights in Southeast Missouri
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