Looking for a Lake Escape that isn’t a day’s drive away? 

We’ve found a dozen spots to help you enjoy the great outdoors without having to fill a tank of gas. 

Imagine the smell of hot dogs cooking on the grill, the anticipation of s’mores around the campfire, and kids capturing fireflies in a grassy meadow or getting their feet wet in a cooling stream. These are a few memories you can make this season when you pack up your swimsuit and flip-flops, fill a cooler with your favorite snacks, dust off your tackle box, grab your fishing pole and invest in some short-distance travel time. 

To simplify your decision about where to start, we’ve curated a list of popular recreation spots that are easy to get to (about an hour or less away) and will have you communing with nature in no time.

Lake Jacomo 

Location: Blue Springs, Missouri

Distance: 20 miles, 25 minutes

Within the Blue Springs community and adjacent to Blue Springs Lake is the breathtaking nine hundred and seventy-acre Lake Jacomo, one of Jackson County’s premier recreational areas. Its name is an acronym for Jackson County, Missouri. The lake was a gift from President Harry Truman, who wanted to create a resort for the county’s citizens.

Jacomo is known for its colorful sailboat regattas, slow-moving pontoons and paddle boats. This lake is tranquil due to the limited horsepower regulation for boaters, making for a more peaceful, laid-back visit. Lake Jacomo’s marina is the largest in the area and provides concessions, lakeside gasoline, tackle, bait and dock fishing. For boater convenience, Jacomo has three easily accessed boat ramps.

Anglers will find the lake stocked with crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass, carp, catfish, hybrid striped bass and walleye.

If you have energy to spare after a day of lake fun at Jacomo, check out Missouri Town’s Living History Museum, where you’ll experience old Missouri as it was on the eve of the civil war. Take a self-guided tour of more than twenty-five original buildings as old as the 1820s while living history interpreters in period attire tell you the story of what life was like then.

Blue Springs Lake

Location: Blue Springs, Missouri

Distance: 17 Miles, 20 minutes

Blue Springs Lake is one of a series of beautiful Missouri reservoirs. It is situated on the eastern edge of Jackson County and covers seven hundred…