The shut-ins are the main attraction on a Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park visit, but there are a few other things to see and do.īe sure to visit the River Center near the park entrance. There also are changing rooms and bathrooms. Near the parking lot for the shut-ins is a store that sells souvenirs, water shoes, and food. We designated one day to exploring the shut-ins, but we could have spent another day there. Nonetheless, my 4- and 8-year-olds had a great time playing and swimming in the safer parts of the shut-ins. Despite the area’s reputation as nature’s water park, this is a wild, outdoor area. You must supervise your kids closely here, and signs are posted indicating swimming is at your own risk. Some of the channels, waterfalls, and chutes are like small rapids and are not suitable for young children. We often resorted to a bear-crawl style of walking to get around, with feet and both hands down on the rocks to reduce the risk of falling. The rest of the river bed alternates between chunky, ankle-twisting rocks that range from tennis ball-sized to basketball-sized, and large, smooth, very slick rocks. There were some great open, pebbly, shallow areas that were safe for preschoolers to play and splash in, and my 4-year-old delighted in seeing minnows and holding a tadpole with two legs. Visitors can play and swim in the (mostly) shallow water among the rocks, and the area is described as “Mother Nature’s water park.” Be sure to bring good water shoes.
Over time, water eroded the rock into channels, small plunge pools, small waterfalls, and chutes. The East Fork of the Black River runs through this park, and the water is “shut in” by hard volcanic rock. We devoted two additional days to seeing the area’s other attractions. We pitched our tent at the large campground and devoted a day to enjoying the park’s signature attraction: the shut-ins. In this part of Missouri, Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park makes a good home base if you’re a die hard camper. So when we saw the four-destinations-in-one magnet, we knew we had to hit up all those places so we could buy the magnet. Louis, and even a magnet from Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon in England that my husband and I picked up in our pre-kid days. Our fridge is tattooed with magnets from Turkey Run State Park and Spring Mill State Park in Indiana, and with magnets from gems like the zoo in our hometown of St. We are suckers for buying magnets from places we visit anyway. We were browsing in the campground store and spotted a souvenir magnet highlighting four destinations in the area: Elephant Rocks State Park, Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, Fort Davidson State Historic Site, and Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park. We discovered the magnet during our first day at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.
JOHNSONS SHUT IN SERIES
View all of the posts in Mumbling Mommy’s Family Trip Tuesday series at this link.ĭuring a recent camping trip in the Ozarks in southeast Missouri, our family’s goal was to visit all the locations on the magnet.
What to do on a Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park visit in Missouri.
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