Great trails and the views are totally worth the trip! Water way for you to relax and camp!read more

One of my favorite spots on Earth is the Current River, which is a part of the National Ozark…read moreScenic Riverway. If you enjoy nature, water, and outdoor fun then this is a must visit spot! There are several great places to visit as a part of this area, but my favorites by far are the Current River and Big Spring on the Current River, and the campground of the same name. I have a wonderful group of friends that introduced me to floating on the Current when I was in college, and ever since this river has held a special place in my heart. We usually camp at Big Spring Campground. There are both electric, non-electric, and RV hookup's. There are real bathrooms, as well as hot showers within walking distance of camp (not porta potties, but it is a campground - so say hello to your local, resident spiders and their webs). We like this camp, because it's right on the river, family friendly, and close to town but far enough out to enjoy nature. While camping a must do experience for all is a walk to Big Spring. It's a natural cold spring, whose source pumps out enough fresh water to fill Busch Stadium in 33 hours! I like to walk there in the early morning or twilight to see the mist roll in. http://www.nps.gov/ozar/planyourvisit/big-spring.htm The nearby town of Van Buren offers: - a nice Lodge for those who want a nice dinner and/or whose idea of camping is air conditioning, nice beds, and tv - the local ice cream spot called The Jolly Cone - the local cafe, The Floatstream Restaurant, for your typical small diner food and a pretty okay breakfast - various small shops to stock up on essentials: beer, sunblock, souvenir tshirts, snacks, replaceable float shoes and swimsuits, intertubes, gas, fishing bait, etc. - and a whole lot of other small town amenities The water is spring fed. So it's super cold and clear - perfect for a hot summer's day! The Current has a pretty decent current, with nice deep water and wading shallows dotted with periodic gravel bars. It's great for intertubing and canoe trips. Various campgrounds and businesses offer rentals and trips with pick up and drop off options (2, 4, 6 hour floats, or even multiple day trips). Check out the area and find YOUR favorite spots and recommendations. It will probably become one of your favorite places on Earth too!

The amount of trees make this 9 hole par 3 course very challenging…read more There is an informational sign/map at all of the Amateur Tees showing the layout of the course. The Amateur tees are marked with red rocks. The Kids tees are marked with blue rocks and the Pro tees are marked with yellow. we couldn't find some of the blue or yellow tees on a few of the holes. Most amateurs are just going to play from the signpost. Lots of up and down as well.

Good local course, but not the best I've played. No starting pads and alternate tee spots are hard…read moreto locate. The fairways are infested with trees making this a challenging 9-hole course.

Current River is currently the best river lol. Current River is the best place to go swimming,…read morefishing, floating in a boat or inner tube or any other summer activity. If you want to have fun this is the place.

Beautiful area no matter where you go along the riverway. Wonderful canoeing and kayaking, horse…read moreback riding and hiking. River bluffs, caves, waterfalls, cold clear spring fed water. Doesn't get any better than this. Get out with the kids and enjoy!!

Falls were pretty. I expected more of a waterfall. The restroom is one seater and very stinky. I…read moreguess it's an outhouse. I couldn't stand the smell. I'm a country girl but eew

We've been coming here off and on my entire life. It's a family spot, and holds many dear memories…read more (This review is for cabin 18) This cabin is a 5 bedroom, 2 bath. Don't bother bringing any pots, pans, utensils, spatulas, large spoons, bowls...they are completely stocked. Just make sure to wash everything before you use it! There is a coffee pot so if you're a coffee drinker, go ahead and bring your own. This cabin has TWO full size refrigerators, so there is plenty of fridge/freezer room. It has a HUGE dinning room table (sits 11 if I remember correctly.) Bring cards, dice, games, etc. They provide more trash bags, and toilet paper at the campsite store if you run out. At one point we started to smell something HORRIBLE. Took us until we were packing up to head home to notice there was a dead mouse. One night in our room, my husband and I kept hearing sounds, only to turn on the light and see a mouse scurry out of the room and our travel tags on our suitcases had been munched up. I love all animals, so I don't mind: just make sure not to keep any food or drink in the bedrooms to lure them in. There is a lot of wildlife. Deer will come right up to the cabins, I helped two raccoons that had been trapped in the dumpster get out and run back into the woods, there are a family of cute skunks that live near Cabin 18, and some amazing spiders. There is one on the back porch of Cabin 18 that is literally the size of my palm. It was awesome to watch it make its web and spin an insect for a meal. (Please don't harm them! They may be creepy, but they eat those pesky mosquitoes!) With that said - don't forget the bug spray! When we went they were selling wood for $4 for 10 pieces. Great deal! There is little to no wifi/service so be prepared. The nearest town is Peadmont (30/40min drive) where you can pick up any alcohol or missing groceries you need. They have a little store where they sell necessities, and water shoes. They are a bit over priced, but no more than an airport. When we paid, we split the bill multiple ways and the lady helping us didn't seem to mind at all. The staff are all very kind, and helpful. It's VERY outdated. They still use an old calculator for all their math, and I was told three times different totals for our bill. But, in the end, it all worked out and everyone was happy. The river was shallow, and only as deep as 7 feet in some places. Not the best for a float trip, but awesome for just relaxing in chairs in the water and hanging out! Our party of 12 all really enjoyed our trip, and Sam Baker will always be a place of special family memories! We hope to return in 2019!

Beautiful State Park!! Water is crystal clear and clean. Beautiful walking trails with lots of…read morescenery.

We almost ran out of time to make the stop at Elephant Rocks State Park, I am so glad we didn't. It…read moreis definitely worth the drive to this wonderful place. The trail is well maintained and accessible. But if you can you will want to walk around the huge granite stones. We have to go back again soon!

This is one of my favorite places to go in the summertime! It's handicap accessible, and a pretty…read moreeasy trail to walk. Although it's easy, there are tons of huge and beautiful rocks the kids love climbing on. It's just a really peaceful place. The trail is approximately 1 mile long.

Overall, a great hike with a bit of difficulty. If you are an experienced hiker it may take you…read moreless than an hour. Otherwise plan for 1-2 hours for sight seeing and breaks. Great location with plenty of parking. There is a bathroom by the entrance of the parking lot. Camp ground is not to far either. Family oriented hike if you are after a weekend get away!

I've lived in this area all my life and this is definitely my favorite hiking spot, it has great…read moreviews. And for me, great memories. It doesn't have anything too monumental or special about it, but it doesn't have too to be a great spot! once you get to the end of the trail there's a stream/waterfall that's a great place to sit and enjoy the nature. And climb around on some cliffs as you can see in the pictures. Once you're to this spot you can walk to Johnston shut-inns from there, (11 miles) if you're looking for an all day hike that ends with swimming. Maybe have someone bring a car there first so you don't have to walk all the way back Directions to Taum Sauk can be confusing for someone who has never been, assuming you'll be heading south through Arcadia/ironton, you'll keep going south after those towns for a few miles. Then make a right on CC hwy, it's on a turn and a hill so don't be afraid to pass it up and turn around somewhere, rather than lock em up and cause a scene. After you're on CC hwy eventually there will be a Y in the road, to the left is a tower you can climb. To the right is a gravel road, follow that and it leads to the trail. There's a nice lookout on that road on the way to the trail as well. I hope this review helped, and don't forget to respect the land. Happy trails

We had such a great time at Stark Caverns! Brielly was a great tour guide and made the whole…read moreexperience fun and educational. The caves were beautiful and we got some really great pictures. We learned a lot throughout the tour and it was a great experience for the whole family. We especially loved the complete darkness experience and the black light portion of the tour. Those were definitely some of our favorite parts. Overall, it was a really fun tour and we are so glad we went. I would definitely recommend Stark Caverns for families!

Genuinely cool cave. There are algae fossils in there from when Missouri was underwater millions of…read moreyears ago, which is a wild thing to stand next to. Sadly our guide Macy was less "passionate cave enthusiast" and more "reciting a script she's said a thousand times and stopped listening to herself." I still don't know how this part of Missouri used to be an ocean based on the tour. She gave the exact same intro four separate times. Not because groups were bumping into each other, just straight up robot mode, probably from also trying to work in the photo package pitch every single time. Ask a follow up question and you'd get a shrug dressed up as an answer. A kid asked about a mineral and got a confident "nope, not that" immediately followed by "I'm not really a gem expert," which, ma'am, pick one. Nobody could tell us where all the clay that used to be in the cave went (there's a lot of water now after the excavation), how the bootleggers pulled off their operation, or whether the cave's ever taken earthquake damage. Also they sell alcohol at the gift shop right before you head into a dark cave, which feels like a liability seminar waiting to happen. What indigenous tribe did the skeleton remains belong to? How did you know it was an indigenous person(s)? What is the difference between an arrowhead and a spear, and when did those relics be given to be on display? She said the stairs were built by child labor because there are child sized handprints in the concrete, but provided no evidence of truth or why. Was it his 18 kids? No one knows. At least it was cool inside while the weather was hot outside. The cave has a story to tell. Macy just wasn't the one telling it. Would recommend the cave, would not recommend Macy. She already told us she's had a bad Yelp review, and I'm sad to say I understand why.

Thoroughly satisfied with all the great service that they provided. They pick you up right at your…read moredoor at Echo Bluff and take you down to the river and go above and beyond to make sure that your day goes well. They are the best.

Another successful trip from Akers to Round spring (day trip). Carrs is always the best with…read moreshuttling and they pick you up at your campsite (multiple options along the way). We stayed at round spring and took the 8:30 shuttle to Akers. Finished our trip around 4pm. Shuttle was there to take us back across the road to our campsite. My only complaint/issue was we bought 3 bundles of wood from them this year and they would not burn. It was pretty humid Saturday night, but Sunday was perfect "fire" conditions and the wood still would not burn. So after spending 8 dollars on bundles-expected a nice long fire. But instead I was stirring and rekindling every 10 minutes. But besides firewood, we will continue to use Carrs for reliability and equipment on the Current.