Free & Cheap Things to Do in Columbia

Arts & Culture

A free university museum housing over 16,000 objects from six continents spanning five millennia — from ancient Egyptian artifacts to medieval European paintings to contemporary American works. One of the most wide-ranging and impressive free art and archaeology collections at any American university, open to the public at no charge.

Address: Ellis Library (East Wing), University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211

Tip: Open Tuesday–Friday 10am–4pm, Saturday–Sunday noon–4pm, closed Mondays. Free parking on campus on weekends. The museum is inside Ellis Library — enter from Lowry Mall or the accessible Hitt Street entrance.

History & Culture

The historic heart of the University of Missouri campus features six iconic Greek Revival columns — all that remains of Academic Hall after it burned in 1892 — standing as one of Missouri's most recognizable landmarks. The surrounding Francis Quadrangle contains 12 historic buildings and, remarkably, the original tombstone of Thomas Jefferson on loan from Monticello.

Address: Francis Quadrangle, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211

Tip: Open and accessible year-round at no charge. The columns are especially dramatic at dawn or dusk. Pick up a free self-guided walking tour map at the MU Visitor Center to explore the full historic campus.

Outdoors

Columbia's premier free trail follows the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad bed for nearly 9 miles through the heart of the city, connecting downtown's Flat Branch Park to the edge of the Katy Trail State Park. The all-weather crushed limestone surface is perfect for walking, running, or cycling, and the route passes through natural areas, parks, and neighborhoods.

Address: Flat Branch Park, 4th & Cherry St, Columbia, MO 65201

Tip: Start at Flat Branch Park in downtown Columbia for easy parking and access. The trail connects to the famous Katy Trail at McBaine — bring a bike and you can ride all the way to the Missouri River bottomlands. Well-maintained restrooms and water stations along the route.

Parks & Nature

A five-acre public garden on the corporate campus of Shelter Insurance west of downtown Columbia, featuring over 300 varieties of trees and shrubs, 15,000 annuals and perennials each season, a waterfall and reflecting pool, rock garden, gazebo, replica one-room schoolhouse, sensory garden for the visually impaired, and a giant sundial — all open to the public every day except Christmas. Mid-America corporate philanthropy at its very best.

Address: 1817 W Broadway, Columbia, MO 65218

Tip: Open daily 8am to dusk year-round except Christmas Day; closes during inclement weather. Bring a picnic — visitors are explicitly encouraged to use the gardens as a relaxation spot. The 19th-century replica schoolhouse and Vietnam Veterans' memorial are highlights. Free parking on the Shelter corporate lot.

Parks & Nature

A 2,283-acre state park just south of Columbia best known for its dramatic karst geology — a natural rock bridge spanning a stream, the deep Devil's Icebox sinkhole and cave system (one of the longest cave passages in Missouri), and Connor's Cave, which visitors can self-tour in summer with a flashlight. Over 30 miles of hiking and biking trails wind through the rugged Gans Creek Wild Area.

Address: 5901 S Hwy 163, Columbia, MO 65203

Tip: All Missouri State Parks are free to enter year-round. The Devil's Icebox cave passage beyond the entrance was closed in 2010 to protect bats from white-nose syndrome, but the Connor's Cave entrance area is still open to self-explore — bring a flashlight. Park trails open sunrise to sunset.

Arts & Culture

The State Historical Society's flagship Columbia research center sits steps off the Mizzou campus and houses one of the country's most important regional art collections — including major works by George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton — plus rotating exhibitions on Missouri history. The 2019 Center for Missouri Studies building added world-class gallery space and a Civil War mural commissioned for the site.

Address: 605 Elm St, Columbia, MO 65201

Tip: Art galleries are open Tuesday–Friday 10am–4:30pm and Saturday 10am–2pm; closed Sundays and Mondays. Free admission and free on-site parking on weekends. The Bingham gallery is the heart of the collection — plan 60–90 minutes for the permanent galleries plus rotating Center for Missouri Studies exhibitions.

Parks & Nature

Columbia's signature 116-acre park east of downtown is also an ArbNet Level II arboretum, with a swimming beach and the city's largest sprayground (5,782 square feet of fountains and water jets), a 1.7-mile perimeter trail, a 0.6-mile lake loop, a sledding hill, the Darwin & Axie Hindman Discovery Garden, and an outdoor amphitheater that hosts summer concerts. Most of the year it's quiet and uncrowded.

Address: 2001 E Broadway, Columbia, MO 65201

Tip: The beach and sprayground are open Memorial Day through Labor Day at no charge (unguarded). Bring water shoes — the sprayground concrete heats up. Free parking at multiple entrances; the Broadway entrance is closest to the lake. Winter sledding and ice skating on the lake are also free.

Markets & Food

One of the largest producer-only farmers markets in mid-Missouri, with 60+ vendors selling Boone County produce, pasture-raised meats, fresh bread, flowers, and crafts at the open-air pavilion at Clary-Shy Agriculture Park. Operates Saturday mornings year-round plus a Tuesday evening summer market. Free kids' activities tent and live local music make it a real Saturday-morning hangout for Columbia families.

Address: 1769 W Ash St, Columbia, MO 65203

Tip: Saturdays 8am–noon year-round at 1769 W Ash St; Tuesday evening markets run April–October 4–7pm. Arrive early for the best baked goods — many vendors sell out by 10am. The pavilion is covered, so the market goes on rain or shine. Free on-site parking.

History & Museums

A free local-history museum in Nifong Park with two exhibit halls, the Montminy Art Gallery, a genealogy library, and the outdoor Village at Boone Junction — a cluster of relocated 19th-century buildings including the 1877 Maplewood farmhouse. Rotating exhibits keep it fresh year-round.

Address: 3801 Ponderosa St, Columbia, MO 65201

Tip: Free admission, Wednesday–Saturday 10am–5pm. The outdoor historic village is best in warm months, and surrounding Nifong Park is free too. Free parking on site.

Shopping & Strolling

Columbia's downtown core between the Mizzou campus and the courthouse, dense with indie shops, galleries, murals, cafes, and live-music venues. Walkable and free to explore, it's the heart of the college town — anchored by local institutions like Sparky's Homemade Ice Cream.

Address: Broadway & 9th St, Columbia, MO 65201

Tip: Free to wander; cheapest eats and people-watching are along 9th Street and Broadway. Hunt for the alley murals. An easy walk from the Mizzou Columns and Museum of Art and Archaeology.

Trails & Biking

America's longest rail-trail — 240 free miles across Missouri — is at its most scenic near Rocheport, about 13 miles west of Columbia, where it runs beneath towering Missouri River bluffs and through a restored 1893 railroad tunnel. Flat, crushed-limestone, and perfect for an easy bike or walk.

Address: Rocheport, MO 65279

Tip: Free; the Rocheport trailhead is the prettiest access, with bluff views and the MKT Tunnel. Columbia's own MKT Trail connects into it. Bring or rent a bike — the flat grade suits all ages.