Joplin is home to a number of aquatic centers that are open during the summer, including on holidays. These centers offer places for children and their families to go swimming and engage in other water activities. The Cunningham Family Aquatic Center features a playground area with spray stations, a children’s swimming pool, an adult swimming pool and a snack shop. The Ewert Family Aquatic Center has a waterslide, a playground with spray sections, lily pad water areas, a children’s pool, an adult pool, water basketball stations and a concession stand.
Tourists and locals in Joplin can spend their Labor Day weekend exploring the city’s long history as a Missouri mining town. At the Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum, people can learn more about the minerals that were mined in Joplin from the 1870s to the 1960s, including lead and zinc. The Dorothea B. Hoover Historical Museum features exhibits on the effects of mining on Joplin’s economy. It also has artifacts from Joplin’s mining era, including an assortment of dolls, a playhouse and an antique fire engine.
Although people will find more campgrounds in cities near Joplin, such as Carthage, Joplin is home to the Joplin KOA, a campground where people can stay in one-bedroom cabins, tents, recreational vehicles (RV) or big rigs. The camping resort features sites with water, electrical, sewer and cable TV connections. Other amenities at the campground include a fishing pond, an outdoor swimming pool, a pedal-cart and bicycle rental service, hiking trails, a children’s playground, a patio area with a swing, wireless Internet access and a store with souvenirs and food.
Throughout Joplin, families can find indoor and outdoor facilities where they can play sports and engage in a variety of activities, such as baseball, miniature golf, laser tag, go cart riding, disc golf and basketball. Many of Joplin’s parks feature nature trails, where people can go hiking, biking, roller skating or skate boarding. Some of these facilities also have entertainment venues or playgrounds. Joplin’s parks and sports complexes include Route 66 Carousel Park, an amusement park with a go-cart facility, rides, batting cages and an arcade; Landreth Park, a park that hosts live musical acts and events, such as festivals, during the summer and the Joplin Athletic Complex, a park with playgrounds, tennis and soccer courts and baseball diamonds.
