Springfield actually has a lot going on as far as things to do go, and if you are willing to travel an hour or two, there are a TON of things to do around here. There is a huge contingency of our subreddit that thinks "things to do" consist entirely of eating at restaurants and going to shows, and if that's your bag, then you're going to be disappointed in the number and quality of our live shows.

However, if you like to actually DO things, here's a few I can think of right off the top of my head:

1. We have three really strong mountain biking areas right outside of town. Sac River (old school trails, not much flow, and lots of rocks and roots), Two Rivers (newer flow-style trails as well as some classic xc and tech downhill), and Fellows Lake (even newer, mostly flow/xc, but really nice) and I guess you could say Howler is nearby as well, in Forsyth, and it's very techy and has some unusually large jumps. There is a strong gravel bike scene around here too. On weekends I often drive the 1 hour and 50 minutes to Bentonville, and their insane mountain bike trail network.

2. Stockton Lake has some of the best inland sailing in the United States. You can get a cheap sailboat and have a blast there. I sailed for years on Stockton, and it's a lot of cheap fun. The water is clean (it's where we get our drinking water) and clear, and there's no development on the lake, and there's very few billboards on the way there. Very nice.

3. We live within a few hours of some of the very best class I and II canoeing rivers in the whole country. I've canoed all over, and I will put our rivers up against any of them.

4. We have a public indoor skatepark with an outdoor section as well. It's a nice facility, but it does cost $7 to go, but that helps keep the scooter kids away. Not many cities in America have indoor skateparks where you can skate when it's freezing outside. It's a very inviting scene as well, when some skateparks can have a locals-only vibe.

5. We have a pretty cool stock-car race track out by the airport, and it's a lot of fun. In fact, you can get into stock car racing for way less than you would expect, and for not much more than getting into mountain bike racing.

6. We've got a bunch of places to play pinball, and there's quite a few people locally who restore pinball machines. It's a fun hobby, and there are tournaments.

7. There's a big steam and vintage tractor show every year called Steam-O-Rama, and honestly it's the greatest thing. They have grade-school children driving 20 ton steam tractors through crowds, and corn dogs and home-made ice cream. Maybe the best weekend of the year?

That's just what I could think of at the moment, there's a ton more. My schedule is usually so full of fun stuff to do that it's hard to fit it all in. I know a lot of people who are into woodworking, and welding, and vintage car restoration. There's a lot going on, but you kind of have to get out there and go for it. Nobody is going to spoon-feed you entertainment around here like they might in a larger town.