Roaring River State Park

Missouri's Roaring River State Park is a valley packed full of Ozark-centric recreation: camping, pic-a-nics, hiking, lodges, cave-fed springs, and wow, trout husbandry. While modest in scale (more Jellystone than Yellowstone), it's a popular spot and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources maintains it well. In best Ozarkbahn form, you'll also have plenty of fun getting there.



The park sits just a few miles from the Arkansas border, and has several points of entry. The route from Northwest Arkansas tracks Missouri 112 East from Seligman through a few miles of farm land, then dips into the Mark Twain National Forest. It's a short, but moderately curvy road with elevation changes and excellent woodland scenery. Leaving the park East on MO-F will take you over rolling hills to Missouri 86, which is a spectacular drive North towards Cassville, or a pleasant jaunt South to Eureka Springs, AR. Quite a few of my own drives have taken a detour through Roaring River.

[Seligman, MO, to Roaring River State Park on Google Maps]



Even if you're just in the neighborhood, Roaring River is worth a stop. The Deer Park Trail is less than a quarter mile long, and climbs rock stairs and boardwalks to a bluff overlooking the spring-fed pool that begins the Roaring River.



There's a great view of the trout hatchery below, which is a surprisingly neat-o enterprise. I never counted on fish farming being all that interesting, but their network of moving pools filled with junior troutlets is quite a sight. A quarter-fed dispenser allows you to feed the fish, and they'll be delighted to see you.



Though most of the park's traffic is bent towards camping and trout fishing, a number of hikes ring the surrounding hills. For example, the 1.5-mile Devil's Kitchen Trail visits a couple of smaller cave springs, and it shows off a fair cross-section of local limestone crags and native flora.



As you can tell by the progression of seasons in the pictures, I've been here a few times. Pretty sound endorsement, I guess?

[Roaring River State Park gallery]

Ozarkbahn ratings
Treefullness: A+
Fish: trouty
Hikes: spoiled for choice
Nearby roads: pretty good when traffic allows