Missouri Parks and Outdoor Space

5/14/16
Roaring River State Park 12716 Farm Road 2239, Cassville, MO
We have visited a large percentage of Missouri's state parks but we had never been to this one. This park is over 4,000 acres and is 8 miles south of Cassville in Barry County, 1 1/2 hours southwest of Springfield. The area was formerly a resort community and was established as a state park in 1928 and is one of Missouri's oldest state parks. The Civilian Conservation Corps/CCC and the Works Progress Administration/WPA workers helped develop the park in the 1930s and many of the structures and trails they built are still in use. There is a lot of striking stone work in the historic lodge and other buildings, walls and steps, and fish hatchery.
This park has a fish hatchery which produces rainbow trout and fishing is one of the most popular activities. Today was the annual Kids' Fishing Day with many activities and live Bluegrass music. There are seven hiking trails, a nature center, a swimming pool, campgrounds, cabins and a modern inn. On Friday nights in the summer they have concerts at the amphitheater.
Roaring River Spring is the 20th largest Spring in Missouri with an average output of 26 million gallons of water a day. The spring is at the base of a limestone cliff and there is cavern beneath the spring. There is a smaller spring at the top of the cliff that creates a small waterfall that falls into the main spring.
We hiked three of the seven trails, walked along the river, explored the fish hatchery and historic buildings, and visited the spring. This was a beautiful park with a lot of diverse and interesting geologic features and we really enjoyed our visit. We spent four hours and walked about 6 1/2 miles. We picnicked by the river before we left. I highly recommend a visit to this Missouri State Park.