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Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is a college town in the middle of Missouri. We are 30 minutes from the Missouri River and right off I-70. Downtown has lots of interesting places to eat and is close to the University of Missouri campus. Our office and conference facility is located in a rural area in southeast Columbia.
Getting to Columbia and Hotel Accommodations
Transportation
Columbia is located in the middle of Missouri on I-70. We have an airport located around 20 minutes from town and it is very convenient. Unfortunately there are only a few flights a day connecting from Chicago and Dallas. If you’d like to fly into Columbia and want to arrange for carpooling or are planning on renting a car and would like to carpool with someone else please let celliott@usgs.gov know and we will help coordinate communication for ride sharing between participants.
Columbia Regional Airport (COU)
St Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) is approximately 2 hours from Columbia.
Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is approximately 2 hours from Columbia.
If you fly into St Louis or Kansas City it is recommended you rent a car, although there is an option to take the MO-X Shuttle from St Louis, although you’d want to arrange for carpooling or ride sharing in Columbia to get to CERC from your hotel.
Hotels
There are a lot of hotel options in Columbia. CERC is on the Southeast end of town, and if you’d prefer to be at hotels nearby there are two options, although there are few food options near these hotels:
Courtyard by Marriott Columbia on Lemone Boulevard
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Columbia, University Area
If you’d prefer to be downtown and closer to more places to eat and walk around (although a bit further from our office) we suggest:
The Broadway Columbia – A Doubletree by Hilton Hotel
For adventurous types, Cooper's Landing offers camping down by the river right on the Katy Trail and will be the site of one of our evening socials and our the home base for our Thursday Field Trip.
Weather
Columbia in September can still be quite warm, so bring sun protection and a hat. Of course always plan for potential rain or chilly weather on the river.
Coffee/Lunches/Etc.
Drip coffee and snacks of sorts to tie us over will be offered Monday and Tuesday. If you can, please bring a coffee mug.
There is no meeting fee and lunches are not provided but we arrange for catering and an easy payment system for the two lunches we will eat while at CERC. CERC is located in a rural area and several miles from food service options.
Things to do:
If you arrive early or have a free evening Columbia has some great parks and trails. We're particularly proud of the MKT Nature and Fitness Trail which links to the Katy Trail, a former railroad route that will take you across the state, mostly along the Missouri River. Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, only a few miles from town has nice hiking trails as well.
