Last updated: April 15, 2022
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FAQ NPS Wellness Challenge
Who can participate in the NPS Wellness Challenge?
Everyone is welcome to visit the seven national parks in Missouri to participate in the Wellness Challenge —including residents and non-residents of Missouri. We welcome all people to experience National Parks as a health resource to improve their health and well-being.
How many stamps and digital badges can you earn?
Participants can earn three, unique stamps and digital badges at every Missouri National Park. If you visit all seven of the Missouri National Parks, you will receive twenty-one stamps and digital badges.
How do you earn/claim digital badges and stamps?
When an activity in each category is completed, participants can get their guide stamped at a park visitor center by an NPS ranger or download a digital badge to mark their achievement.
Learn more at https://go.nps.gov/NPSWellnessChallenge.
Where do I pick up my NPS Wellness Challenge Guide?
Participants can pick up an NPS Wellness Challenge Guide at any Missouri National Park visitor center. They can also access them online as a PDF (COMING SOON).
How many challenges are there in total?
There are sixty-three challenges throughout Missouri that you can find and complete. Each Missouri National Park has nine unique challenges.
How long will this challenge be open?
The NPS Wellness Challenge, part of NPS’s “Healthy Parks Healthy People” initiative, will kick off during National Park Week, beginning Saturday, April 16 and will run indefinitely.
Is the NPS Wellness Challenge in any National Parks outside of Missouri?
Missouri is the pilot state for Wellness Challenge. The NPS Healthy Parks Healthy People program is exploring opportunities for national expansion in the future.
NPS Wellness Challenge Activities in Each Park
- Physical Wellness
- Walk up the Arch Grand Staircase or move up the accessible ramps
- Walk, run, bike or roll around over five miles of the park’s paved trails
- Stroll along the historic St. Louis Riverfront Trail
- Learning Wellness
- Earn a Junior Ranger badge
- Watch the award-winning documentary “Monument to the Dream,” chronicling the construction of the Gateway Arch
- Explore the Museum at the Gateway Arch
- Mental Wellness
- Take in the views from the top of the Arch via the Tram Ride to the Top
- Visit the reflection ponds to the north and south of the Arch and relax and soak in the environment
- Stroll through the paved paths of the Explorer’s Garden located in the North Gateway area of the park
- Physical Wellness
- Pack a picnic, choose a table on the park grounds and enjoy a healthy meal
- Take a self-guided tour and search for wildlife in the woodlands
- Take your furry friend for a walk along the 1-mile Carver Trail
- Learning Wellness
- Explore the impactful life of Carver at the museum and watch the park film
- Join a park ranger on a guided tour along the Carver Trail and learn about Carver, his childhood and his legacy
- Earn a Junior Ranger badge
- Mental Wellness
- With a camera or cell phone, capture a moment in nature on the park grounds
- Read the quote stones along the quarter-mile Contemplative Loop Trail
- Journal, sketch or write poetry on the park grounds
- Physical Wellness
- Walk or roll along the 2.7-mile Truman Historic Walking Trail
- Walk, roll or bike the 1-mile distance from the Truman Home to the Harry S Truman Presidential Library and Museum
- Explore Truman’s neighborhood with the park’s cell phone audio tour
- Learning Wellness
- View interpretive exhibits inside the Noland Home
- Venture to the Truman Family Farm and learn about Truman’s life on the farm
- Read a book on the grounds of the Truman Farm
- Mental Wellness
- Compose a letter to a loved one or friend, just as Truman and his wife did during their courtship
- Record or draw native trees, shrubs, flowers and vines at the Truman Home or Truman Farm
- Pause and reflect at the historic Gingko Tree and admire its beauty
- Physical Wellness
- Paddle or float on the waters within the river routes of the Ozark region
- Hike or roll along the Slough Trail, Round Spring Loop or Alley Overlook Trail, among many others
- Go on a walk with your four-legged friend at your side
- Learning Wellness
- Identify and document native plant and animal life findings on the Pulltite Nature Trail or Slough Trail
- Discover geologic wonders at Rocky Falls, Devils Wells or Big Spring
- Ask a NPS ranger about the significance of the Current and Jack Fork Rivers
- Mental Wellness
- Practice deep breathing while observing the scenery at Alley Spring
- Embrace soothing water sounds at Big Spring
- Bring your camera or cell phone to capture wildflowers, waters and wildlife
- Physical Wellness
- Craft your own tour by visiting local businesses and landmarks within the Historic District
- Bike, walk, run or roll on the 3.5-mile-long Levee Trail
- Stretch out on one of Ste. Geneviève’s greenspaces, such as the lawn at Jean Baptiste Vallé House
- Learning Wellness
- Take a ranger-guided tour of historical sites such as the Jean Baptiste Vallé House, Bauvais-Amoureux House and Green Tree Tavern
- At the park’s Welcome Center, ask an NPS ranger your questions, watch the introductory film and examine the diorama depicting Ste. Geneviève in 1832
- Visit the Bauvais-Amoureux House to learn the unique story of Pèlagie Amoureux and her family’s lives
- Mental Wellness
- View the artwork hanging in the Jean Baptiste Vallé House
- Find peace and tranquilty among the roses in the historic garden at Jean Baptiste Vallé House
- Physical Wellness
- Join Park Guide Ashton Farrell on a 3-mile walk or run from White Haven to St. Paul’s Cemetery and back, or join a family-friendly 4-mile bike tour on Grant’s Trail to the historic Sappington House and back
- Stroll the quarter-mile loop around the White Haven Estate’s historic structures and 10 acres of greenspace
- Take a ranger-led tour inside White Haven House
- Learning Wellness
- Examine the park’s museum, explore the park’s 1871 stables and check out the Vision of Justice exhibit
- Watch the 22-minute film “A Legacy of Freedom” to learn about Grant’s life
- Celebrate the park’s bicentennial by experiencing living history weekends, going on special themed tours and earning a commemorative Junior Ranger badge
- Mental Wellness
- Take a moment to pause in White Haven’s summer kitchen and reflect on the lives of the enslaved people who lived and worked on the estate
- Find a comfortable place to sit in the park and journal your observations
- Enjoy a self-guided tour of historic trees that reside all around White Haven
- Physical Wellness
- Walk, run, roll, bike or drive along the five miles of the park’s tour road
- Explore the site with your animal companion and choose from over 10 miles of trails
- Hike in the footsteps of Federal and Southern soldiers on one of the site’s five walking trails, such as the Bloody Hill Trail or Manley Uplands Trail
- Learning Wellness
- At the Battlefield Museum, watch the park film, peruse interactive exhibits and view displays including medical artifacts, diary entries, artillery and thousands of images of soldiers
- Observe plant and animal species on the park grounds
- Earn a Junior Ranger badge
- Mental Wellness
- Relax and reflect by the waters of Wilson’s Creek, which flows through the entire park
- Journal about the nature you find at Wilson’s Creek
- Visit the Ray House and imagine how their family home was transformed by battle into a field hospital