Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park
One of the most visited parks in Missouri- right near us!
Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park is located just 15 minutes from our location. People love to visit the beautiful park and play in the shallows of the East Fork on Black River. Whether you want to shoot through Mother Nature's hydraulics in the shut-ins, jump off rocks into deep holes of water, or just lay on the beach there's plenty of water to enjoy. Also, you can hike a trail that will show you 1.4 billion years of geologic history, take your horse on a pretty mountain trail, or eat a lunch at the picnic areas.
Johnson's Shut-Ins consists of 8,550 acres in Reynolds County. The term "shut-in" refers to a place where the river's breadth is limited by hard rock that is resistant to erosion. In these shut-ins the river cascades in many rivulets over and around igneous rocks worn smooth over many eons. It is used by park visitors as a natural water park. This immense natural playground is the primary feature of the 180-acre Natural Area.
A one-fourth mile walkway takes visitors to an observation deck overlooking the shut-ins. Camping, hiking, and swimming are popular pastimes, with rock climbing allowed by permit from Sept. 2 through the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend.
The story of Johnson's Shut-Ins starts over a billion years ago when the igneous rocks here, pink granites and blue-gray rhyolites, were formed from volcanic activity. Learn more history in the new museum located just as you come to the entrance of the State Park.