Missouri

Meramec Caverns

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

R.S. Mo. 2019.  R.S. Mo. §43.650.  R.S. Mo. §566.147 through 566.150.  R.S. Mo. §§589.400 through 589.426.  AWA Compliant .

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 days for initial registration and updates. 

"Residence" is defined as “any place where an offender sleeps for seven or more consecutive or nonconsecutive days or nights within a twelve-month period” §589.404(5). 

Visitors: “Any registered offender from another state who has a temporary residence in this state and resides more than seven days in a twelve-month period shall register for the duration of such person's temporary residency” §589.400.11. However, “temporary residence” is not defined. 

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction:  offenders may not reside w/in 1,000 ft. of school or child care center.  §566.147.

Presence restriction: offenders cannot be present w/in 500 ft. of school, day care center, park with playground equipment, childrens athletic facility, pool, or Missouri department of conservation nature or education center.  §§566.147-566.150. Updated Aug. 2022.

Missouri applies Halloween restrictions to all registrants, including sign posting mandate. §589.426.  However, as of Oct. 2023 this requirement is under a restraining order pending a lawsuit brought by ACSOL.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life. Updates: Tier III – 90 days. Tier I & II – every 6 mo. §589.400

 

View of Downtown Kansas City from the WWI Memorial

Most recent visit: May 2024

Missouri is a beautiful state, but you’ll have to be pretty darned careful if you travel there.  Visitors must register if in the state for more than 7 days in a 12-month period. §589.400.11.  That makes this state precisely twice as restrictive as Indiana, which allows visitors 7 days in any six month period.  However Missouri defines “residence” as a place where you sleep.  So presumably, like Illinois, if you can drive through without ever stopping to sleep that partial day won’t count against your annual total – but if you do stop to sleep the partial days on both sides of that restful night will count and you will have chewed up two of your annual 7 day total. 

Worse, Missouri imposes several onerous restrictions that you should assume will apply to you as a visitor: 

• Offenders may not reside w/in 1,000 ft. of a school or child care center.  §566.147.  Since I am from Florida, where similar restrictions apply, I can tell you 1000 feet can be a pretty hard standard to meet.  Be careful in selecting your motel room.
• Missouri applies Halloween restrictions to all registrants, including a sign posting mandate. §589.426.  So just don’t be there on Halloween.
• Offenders cannot be present w/in 500 ft. of school, day care center, park with playground equipment (which is most of them), or swimming pool.  §§566.147-150.  Recently they added childrens athletic facilities and Missouri department of conservation nature or education centers (whatever they are) to that list.  You may want to think twice, for example, about a motel with a pool.  You may say, oh please! It’s just one night and who’s going to check?  But my job here is to warn you about any potential problems you may face while traveling.

Missouri’s restriction against being present at or within 500 feet of a “park with playground equipment” is especially problematic for vacationers.  If you think about that wording – it could be a 1000 acre state park and yet if it had just one playground anywhere, you can’t go anywhere in that park.  It makes no sense, but it means most state or local parks are OUT.  For all these reasons I have to give Missouri a travel rating of 4 thumb screws.

However, when it comes to national parks you’re probably okay because quite frankly there are few if any national “parks.”  Yes, St. Louis’s Gateway Arch is definitely a park but has no playground.  What about Ozark National Scenic Riverway?  Is that a park, and if so who’s jurisdiction is it in?  Mark Twain National Forest, which is extensive and includes many Ozark attractions, is definitely not a park.  And speaking of Mark Twain, his Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal is a privately owned attraction, not a park.

I have passed through Missouri without sleeping twice this year, most recently in June 2023 on my way to the NARSOL Conference in Houston.  Traveling south on I-35 my first stop was at Jesse James’ family home, which like Twain’s home is not a park but a privately owned attraction. Then I visited downtown Kansas City, rode their trolley and saw the City Market, Union Station and the National WWI Historic Monument & Park.  There’s no playground there either so it was no problem.

Then I had Kansas City BBQ at Slap’s, but that’s in the other Kansas City in Kansas – so when I found a nearby motel I wasn’t “sleeping” in Missouri.  Therefore even though I came back and spent a second partial day it was still zero days as far as Missouri’s registry is concerned.  George Washington Carver’s boyhood home is fascinating, it’s a National Monument not a park, and it has no playground so you’re good to go.

Mark Twain House, Hannibal

In May 2023, Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home was my first stop after entering the state from Iowa on U.S. 61.  It’s an interesting attraction and includes many restored original buildings occupied and owned by the childhood friends and neighbors who inspired Twain’s most famous characters.

Continuing south, my second stop of the day was downtown St. Louis.  On a previous trip some years ago, before I was forced to register, I had been to the Arch and ridden the elevator to the top.  On this trip I decided to avoid any questions about where I am allowed to be by skipping the Arch and exploring other areas.

Again you may say, oh please! I’m only here for a few hours and who is ever going to notice if I stroll through a city park that happens to have a playground?  If you are a Missouri registrant you may say I’m being too paranoid – that the police in St. Louis have much more pressing priorities than to bust registrants for the crime of being 490 feet from a park.  But here again my job is to warn you about the restrictions you may face as a traveling registrant, and to act accordingly in my own travels so I can report it all to you.

Upon leaving St. Louis I crossed over into Illinois, so I did not sleep in Missouri on this trip either.  My previous overnight stay was in April 2022, more than 12 months before, so I assumed I still had a clean slate of seven days and six sleeping nights available to me any time I need them.

In May of 2024, traveling from Iowa, I began a four day tour of Missouri with the first night’s stay at a motel (with no pool) in St. Louis, but after that I was turned back by car troubles so severe that upon returning to Iowa I ended up junking my car and getting another (used) Toyota Sienna.  Now I have a car that’s registered and tagged in Iowa but my driver’s license is still from Florida.  Neither Iowa DMV nor my Iowa sheriff’s department seem to care about this, but what will Florida say when I return there next fall?  I’ll let you know …

But meanwhile there I was in St. Louis overnight at a really crappy Days Inn, so I made the most of it by going on the Anhueser-Busch brewery tour. Very enjoyable!  Then the next morning I decided to live a little dangerously by going to the St. Louis Art Museum, which is justly recommended by all the tour books as a St. Louis must see.  Unfortunately it’s located within Forest Park which is another recommended must see but problematic for a registered traveler.

St. Louis Art Museum. That's the actual saint himself riding his horse out front.

It’s a huge park and although I didn’t see any playgrounds either while entering from the west or later exiting to the south (after stopping at the Jewel Box), I assume there is probably one on the far side of the park at the Visitor & Education Center.  I just stayed as far away from that as possible.  Upon entering the museum I also checked the map thoroughly to make sure they didn’t have an on-site playground or children’s rec area.  I am happy to report there are none, so if you want to follow my lead and see great art while visiting St. Louis, do so.

Now that I have a summer home in Iowa and a winter home in Florida I travel back and forth several times per year, and one of the best routes for this long two day trip is south through Missouri.  However the half-way point for this route is not in Missouri but rather at either Memphis (if I continue south on I-55 from St. Louis) or Nashville (if I turn east from St. Louis).  Therefore I have been safely passing though without sleeping, hoarding my 7 days per 12 months for when I wanted to spend more time in this beautiful state.

April 2022 was the first time I purposefully slowed down to actually see some of Missouri as part of my Deep South Tour.  Entering from Arkansas late in the afternoon my first task was to find a campground.  And remember, it couldn’t be at any state or local park for fear there might be a playground lurking somewhere.  Fortunately Mark Twain National Forest was there with several options to choose from.  As I noted above, however, staying at a National Forest campground automatically logged in two days toward my seven per 12 months, even though I had only been in state for a few hours before settling in for the night.

South Central Missouri is cave and cavern territory, so once I started cruising along I-44 there were lots of billboards advertising them.  The most advertised is Meramec Cavern, which is privately owned and not to be confused with Meramec Springs State Park.  The cavern tour was worth the stop.  After that I roamed northeasterly through the state until I joined up with my usual route up US 61, crossing the state line in mid-afternoon on my way to a fabulous Iowa cheese creamery and reaching my Iowa home by supper time.

  Georgia

Savannah waterfront 

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

2019 O.C.G.A. §§42-1-12 through 42-1-19

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 140-2-18.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Registration required within 72 hours of establishing a residence or entering the state. §42-1-12(f).  Visitors: registration required if in the state for 14 consecutive days, or for more than 30 days in calendar year.  §42-1-12(e)(7). Per SOR office, residency & presence restrictions DO NOT apply during the 14 day grace period. Updated Aug 2024.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

All persons required to register may not reside, loiter, or be employed within 1,000 ft. of child care facility, church, school, or “area where minors congregate” defined to “include all public & private parks & recreation facilities, playgrounds, skating rinks, neighborhood centers, gymnasiums, school bus stops, public libraries, & public & community swimming pools” §42-1-12(3).  Certain employment restrictions apply.  §§42-1-15 through 42-1-17.  It is a misdemeanor to intentionally photograph a minor in Georgia without parental consent.  §42-1-18. Persons deemed to be a “sexually dangerous predator” (level 3) are required to wear (and pay for) a GPS monitor for lifetime. Added Aug. 2024  However, visitors are not “required to register.” Updated Aug. 2024.

Visiting Registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED. (per Rolfe Survey and confirmed by state registry office).

Duration & updates:

Life.  Sexually Dangerous Predator updates every 6 months.  All others update annually within 72 hours of birthday.

Most recent visit: April 2024

Georgia’s SOR statute states that registrants may not reside, loiter, or be employed within 1,000 ft. of a child care facility, church, school, or “area where minors congregate.”  The term “area where minors congregate” is defined to include “all public & private parks and recreation facilities, playgrounds, skating rinks, neighborhood centers, gymnasiums, school bus stops, public libraries, & public & community swimming pools” §42-1-12(3).  That’s a pretty tough set of rules.  

Downtown Savannah

Furthermore, according to the person I spoke to at the Georgia SOR Office in 2020, these rules apply to visiting registrants even during the 14 consecutive days or 30 aggregate days per year before you have to register in that state. According to that set of rules, you can go to any of the state’s tens of thousands of churches – even historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta – to pray during your visit to Georgia, but you can’t “loiter” within 1000 feet of one!  Suppose you check into a hotel for the night in Georgia, only to discover that it’s within 1000 feet of a child care facility, church, school, or “area where minors congregate?”  Suppose the hotel has a game room?  What then?

The good news is you would also be prohibited from visiting Stone Mountain State Park, Georgia’s now-infamous monument to the Confederacy.

However! When I called back to update my state-by-state research in August 2022 I got a completely different story.  This time the nice lady at the Georgia SOR office said  residency & presence restrictions applying to visitors are those applying to you in your state of registry. By that rule, in my situation I would follow the rules for either Iowa or Florida, depending on which state I had reported my travel from.  

Also, according to the state SOR office, national parks and forests are “out of our jurisdiction,” and there are quite a few of those, especially in northern and central Georgia.  Since most of my cross-country travel plans involve camping overnight at national park or national forest campgrounds, that’s good news for me.

NOTE:  Georgia is one of about 15 states where there is no procedure for removal from the registry upon returning to your home state.  So be extra careful.

In April 2024 my ex-wife but still Best Friend Forever and I were traveling on our way back to Florida from attending a wedding in New Jersey when we decided to stop overnight and spend a little time in Savannah.  We entered Georgia from South Carolina on I-95 and checked into a hotel near Savannah Airport.  Given its location in a primarily airport-industrial area I didn’t worry about either Georgia’s residency or presence rules, or Florida’s.  We just checked in and got some sleep that night.

The next morning I continued to not worry about Georgia’s presence or loitering rules. Instead my BFF and I toured downtown Savannah, checked out the waterfront and tourist commercial district, had lunch at a local restaurant and were on our way, arriving home in Florida in time to have dinner with family.

That’s two partial days in Georgia, far fewer than the 14 consecutive days the state allows.  That’s also a nice morning touring Savannah with my best friend without being excessively paranoid about state rules.

Previous visits: April & Nov. 2022

In November 2022 I visited the North Georgia mountains together with family, coming from Florida.  I did none of the driving on this trip. Instead I was a passenger with my ex-wife while my daughter and grandchildren rode in a separate car.  We stayed for five days at a timeshare.  It was very nice.

Historic Dahlonega, GA

Following the guidance of the Georgia SOR office, I was governed on this trip by the rules that apply to me in Florida. That meant I was able to take my ex to Amicalola State Park and show her Amicalola Falls, which she really liked. She wanted to take the family to supposedly historic Helen which in my opinion is completely ruined by tourism, so I went along with it and pretended I really liked it.  I will say we had lunch at a pretty good German restaurant.  The next day we went to Dahlonega, which I like a lot better. 

On a previous visit in April 2022 I entered Georgia from Tennessee in the morning, enjoying a beautiful mountain drive through Chattahoochee National Forest.  I stopped to see De Soto Falls – very nice. Then I continued to Historic Dahlonega, which at that time I hadn’t been to for long time.

The World of Coca Cola. My advice is skip it.

After a nice lunch in Dahlonega I continued on to Atlanta, where I visited the World of Coca Cola.  That was a mistake.  I was expecting an interesting factory tour like one finds at Pabst in Milwaukee, Jim Beam in Tennessee or Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, but no such luck. The World of Coca Cola sucks.  It’s all advertising and no education. And it’s right next door to the Georgia Aquarium which I’m sure would’ve been a better bet.  Oh well.  

Afterward I had an early supper at the Varsity, Atlanta’s culinary must stop.  Then it was southeast bound to the Lake Sinclair, the southernmost campground in Oconee National Forest, the southernmost national forest in Georgia. Very nice, secluded and has hot showers.  The next morning I made my way southward toward Macon, I-75 and back to Florida.

 West Virginia

Kanawha Falls, West Virginia

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

W. Va. Code 2019  §§15-12-1 through 15-12-10.  W. Va. Code §62-12-26.  W. Va. C.S.R. 81-14-20.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Statute does not disclose initial registration deadline.  Updates to registration info required within 10 business days. §15-12-3.  Incarcerated persons must register within 3 business days of release. §15-12-2.

Any out of state registrant who “is a visitor in this state for more than fifteen continuous days,” or is employed, attends school, or habitually visits property owned or leased in W.Va., “shall register in this state.” §15-12-9.

Procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Certain registrants on supervised release for 10 yrs. or longer may not reside within or loiter within 1,000 ft. of school, child care facility, victim, or victim’s family, with exceptions. §62-12-26.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life. §15-12-4.  Updates: SVPs quarterly; others annually. §15-12-10.

Grandview Point at New River Gorge National Park, WV

Most recent visit: April 2024

For registered visitors, West Virginia’s requirements are better than average.  You get 15 days before being required to register, and there appears to be no limit on return visits per month or year.  Also, few if any residency or presence restrictions apply to visitors.  Still, as with many other states you should be careful of local sheriffs and police departments.

The good news is that West Virginia is every bit the spectacular vacationland that it advertises itself to be, and you’re allowed to go anywhere and see all of it.  I returned to West Virginia in April 2024 and for the third time my main destination was New River Gorge, America’s newest national park (it was previously a “national scenic river”).  This time I was bringing my ex-wife but still Best Friend Forever to see it for her first time.

New River Gorge Bridge as seen from the bottom of the gorge

The New River Gorge Bridge is very impressive and the Fayette Station Road Tour under the bridge is incredible.  Some years ago I saw a documentary about the Thurmond Historic District on TV (Smithsonian Channel I think) and for me it absolutely lived up to its advance billing. My BFF hated it mainly because the road leading in is pretty treacherous.  Then there is Grandview, which she really loved and couldn’t possibly be more aptly named.

The day before New River Gorge my BFF and I had stopped at Harper’s Ferry Nat. Historic Park, which is also in West Virginia.  So that partial day was Day 1 of our trip to WV.  On Day 2 we re-entered the state, visited New River Gorge, and stayed overnight at a hotel.  Day 3 we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then headed south out of state.  All well within WV’s 15 day limit and with no concerns about residency or presence laws.

Previous visits: May 2023 & June 2022

Before spending a delightful evening at a Beech Fork State Park campground in June 2022 I stopped at a nearby I-64 Welcome Center and picked up a bunch of brochures for historic homes, caverns, “coal heritage” tours, Green Bank Observatory, historic train rides – the list goes on.  

Having just one day before needing to head for the NARSOL National Conference in June 2022 I chose to spend most of it at New River Gorge, which I described above.  However, on that visit my last stop at New River Gorge was Sandstone Falls, which turned out to be the park’s only disappointment.  There is a fairly accessible overlook, but it’s pretty darned far from the falls, and even from that distance you can see that Sandstone Falls are not impressive enough to be worth the rest of the trip to the closer viewpoint.

In May 2023 I had one day and one night to devote to West Virginia. I went back to New River Gorge National Park but just checked out a few highlights before using my collection of brochures from the year before to find Lost World Caverns in the town of Lewisburg.  Any reader here knows I’m a sucker for a cavern tour.

Lost World Caverns

From Lewisburg I drove north through scenic Monongahela National Forest until I found Seneca Shadows Campground, recently renovated with modern amenities. The next morning I lingered long enough to check out nearby Seneca Rocks, then continued through Monongahela Nat. Forest until I left the state on my way to Pennsylvania.

Everything else would have to wait until next time.  But since registered visitors can be in this state for up to 15 days, there definitely will be a next time.

 New Jersey

I love New Jersey's train system!

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

N.J. Stat. 2019 §§2C:7-1 through 2C:7-23

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

10 days for initial registration; updates to address due 10 days prior to move; updates to employment and school enrollment within 5 days.  Statute only applies to residents, students, and non-resident employees. 

Visitors: Residence is apparently established by presence in the state for 10 days. §2C:7-2c.(3).

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

None.

Duration & updates:

Life. Petition to remove – 15 years, exceptions. §2C:7-2f. Updates for “compulsive or repeat” offenders quarterly; others annually, §2C:7-2

 Most recent visit: April 2024

Latin Jazzercise on the Jersey City riverfront.

For a registered visitor, New Jersey is a pretty easy state to get along with.  As with a number of other states, its statutes don’t specifically address visitors.  However, you should assume that the same ten day registration grace period that applies to new residents applies to visitors too.  There appears to be no limit on return visits per month or year. Beyond that there are no statewide residency separation or presence requirements, although you should be careful about any local rules that might apply to you.  

It so happens that I travel to New Jersey at least once per year because I was born and raised in the sprawling suburbs of the Garden State and still have family there. Most states’ registry procedures require your local sheriff’s department to report your “temporary address” and dates of travel to your own state’s SOR office, who will then send that info to the SOR office of the state you’re going to.  

Then it’s that state’s (in this case New Jersey) SOR office’s responsibility to pass the word along.  Whether any of that actually happens I have no idea.  I always adhere to my travel schedule and show up at the temporary address I have provided to my local sheriff’s department on the day I said I would, but I don’t go report to the local police, nor have they ever shown up anywhere I’ve ever gone to check on me.

In May 2023 a somber occasion brought me back to New Jersey.  My eldest brother died the previous fall and my sister-in-law decided to hold off his interment and celebration of life until spring when the weather would be nice.  It was therefore her home address that I reported as my “temporary address” to my local sheriff’s department – this time in Iowa but in the past it’s been in Florida.  

My brother & sister-in-law’s farm abuts a state park.  If it was in Florida I wouldn’t be allowed to stay there because I can’t “reside” within 1000 feet of a state or local park (as measured from property line to property line).  But Florida’s rules – and whatever rules apply to you in your home state – no longer apply as soon as you cross the state line.  New Jersey has no such restriction so you can stay wherever you want.

Portuguese Bakery in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood. Yummmmmm!

Whenever I come to New Jersey I like to make at least one side trip and have some fun.  This time I went to Newark where I spent my college years (Rutgers-Newark) just to see how it’s doing.  The answer is that Newark has come a long way since the dark days of the 1970’s and now has much to offer any visitor.  Whenever I go to Newark I especially like to head for the Ironbound neighborhood (a.k.a. “Down Neck”) and have lunch at a Portuguese (or on this occasion Brazilian) restaurant, followed up by a drool-worthy stop at a Portuguese bakery. Yum! 

As any reader of my travel blogs knows, I’m a sucker for a train ride.  New Jersey has some of the best rail transit in the U.S.  I grew up only a couple of blocks from a commuter rail line, all the kids in the neighborhood played at the railroad tracks, and I became a railroad geek at an early age.  Did you know that you can walk up to the ticket vending kiosk at any rail station in the New York metro area and buy a ticket to any other rail station? So you can buy a ticket from Port Jervis, NY to Atlantic City, or Philadelphia, or Islip, LI.

In April 2024 I traveled with my now ex-wife but still Best Friend Forever to attend a wedding in New Jersey, but with a side trip to Long Island to check in on relatives.  In the way back to the Garden State I enticed my BFF to stop at Liberty State Park in Jersey City to see its commanding view of the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Science Center (very nice!).  

Then I managed to get her onto the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to see the New Jersey riverfront in Hoboken and Jersey City.  Yes they are amazing places that have spectacular front row seat views of Lower Manhattan.  We got off the light rail at Exchange Place to take in that view.  My BFF was so impressed she insisted on going for a walk along the riverfront to see more, especially the 9-11 memorials.  It was a sunny morning and there was a Latin Jazzercise class going on one of Jersey City’s riverfront boardwalk plazas.  My BFF said, “I’m always glad I go with you to these places – This is great!”

New Jersey, the land of my birth, “The Crossroads of the Revolution,” is a great place to visit.