Area Attractions &
Things to Do
around Koinania
There is a lot of Civil War history in this
area of Missouri, as well as Indian history. Check out the Fort
Davidson Civil War Site
The state parks are beautiful and close by. Most notably the Mark Twain National Forest.
Enjoy swimming in the nearby creek, which is almost like a small river,
or in our private spring fed lake stocked with bass, bluegill and crappie.
We also offer canoeing and rafting on the Black River as well as horseback
riding (horseback riding, canoe and float trip reservations can be arranged
for you), hiking and lots of woods to explore!
Horseback riding is arranged through local stables, or
bring your own horse to ride on our nearby trails. ExperienceBlackRiver.com
We host Fun and Educational Family Vacations any time
of the year. Your family will visit some of the most favorite state parks
of Missouri. You and your children can visit
State Parks and Historic Sites
Fishing, Swimming, Boating,
Floating, Diving, Shopping
Whether it's camping,
floating, fishing, horseback riding, outdoor concerts, bird watching
or plain old swimming, if you enjoy the outdoors, then you would enjoy
what is offered on the Black River. The three forks of the Black River
- East, Middle and West - converge behind the unincorporated town of
Lesterville into one crystal-clear, spring- fed river teeming with
fish, with wide gravel and sand beaches, deep pools and steep lime
stone bluffs. In an area abundant with wildlife, visitors to the Black
River may catch a glimpse of bears, deer, coyotes, eagles, hawks, raccoons
and other fauna. One ornithologist said he has counted 120 species
of birds, plus over 300 species of wildflowers have been noted. Places
to shop, such as Peola Valley Pottery and Forge and Black River Ceramics.
Floating outfits offer canoes, inner tubes, kayaks and rafts, with
floats varying in length of miles on this Level 1 floating river (even
for beginners).
Enjoy a full-moon float down the serene Black River
in mid-summer. Try a fall float for the magnificent colors, or bundle up
for a winter camp-out - it's all there. Visitors can go floating, hunting,
fishing, hiking, biking any time. Koinania is also only twenty to thirty
minutes away from Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, Bell Mountain Wilderness
and Equestrian Trail, Ozarks Trail, Mark Twain National Forest, Taum
Sauk Mountain State Park, Mina Sauk Falls, Taum Sauk Lake and Taum Sauk
Museum, AmerenUE hydroelectric power plant (where museum is located),
and Sutton's Bluff, one of only three authorized AT'! trail sites in
Missouri. For a fun-filled vacation or just a weekend to relax, visit
the Black River at Koinonia.
Hiking
In 1977 a group of public land managers, trail users
and private landowners met to discuss the concept of a long-distance trail
that would traverse the Missouri Ozarks. The concept was met with great
enthusiasm and resulted in a commitment of those involved to work toward
the development of such a trail and the establishment of the Ozark
Trail Council. At the same time, a similar movement was taking place in Arkansas
for the development of a trail through the Ozark Mountains of northwest
Arkansas to be known as the Ozark Highlands Trail. The goal of both states
is to eventually connect the two trails, providing about 700 miles of
trail through some of the most scenic country in the United States. Today,
approximately 300 miles of the trail have been completed in Missouri and
are open to the public. The following is a brief listing of those trails
completed or being constructed in and around Iron County:
Marble Creek Section
The
Marble Creek Section of the Ozark
Trail is located in Iron and Madison Counties
entirely within the Mark Twain National Forest. At the present time,
eight miles of the section, which will eventually total about 21 miles,
are open to public use. This segment runs from Marble Creek Campground
(off Highway E about 12 miles southeast of Arcadia) to Crane Lake Picnic
Area (off Iron County Road #131 off Highway E). Limited parking is
available at both Marble Creek and Crane Lake. The trails is open to
foot, equestrian and mountain bike traffic only.
Crane Lake Section
The Crane Lake Trail
is a five-mile double loop trail for hiking, horse back and mountain
bike. The north portion circles Crane Lake and is about three miles
long. This loop can be walked in two to two and a half hours. A second
loop continues on south of the dam and passes through a series of glades,
shut-ins, fields and oak-hickory forest. Take Iron County Road 131
to reach this section.
Johnson's Shut-Ins Section
The Shut-Ins Trail is a 2.5-mile loop trail that provides access to
the park's namesake. The trail begins with a gentle one-fourth- mile
walkway that leads to an observation deck over looking the scenic upper
pothole shut-ins. Continuing past the shut-ins, this trail loops through
the East Fork Wildlife Area at Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, located
off Highway N in Reynolds County.
Highest Point in the State of Missouri at 1,772
Feet
Taum
Sauk Mountain State Park, located about five miles south of Arcadia, was designated
a state park in 1992 under the guidance of the Missouri Department
of Natural Resources. The 6,508-acre park offers opportunities for
hiking, backpacking, picnicking and camping in a wilderness setting.
At an elevation of 1,772 feet, the park is the highest point in the
state of Missouri.
A trail head at the
top of the mountain leads to the Ozark
Trail, a native red-granite
plaque designating the park the highest point and Mina Sauk Falls.
Mina Sauk Falls is the
highest and tallest falls in the state. Rain runoff flows down approximately
132 feet in a series of magnificent waterfalls into a pool below. Local
legend has it that an Indian princess, Mina Sauk, fell in love with
a warrior from another tribe Her father the chief upon discovery of
this forbidden love, threw the warrior off the top of the falls. Mina
Sauk, in her despair, chose to follow her lover and leaped into the
churning water below.
But whether fact
or fiction, Mina Sauk Falls and Taum
Sauk Mountain State Park offer
beautiful vistas and fantastic scenery. A scenic over look at the park
allows you to view several mountain peaks, and an information queue
provides the visitor with additional information.
Take Highway 21 south
out of Arcadia about four miles, then turn right on Highway CC for
another four miles. In addition to the park, there is an original fire
observation tower on a small piece of property owned by the Missouri
Department of Conservation that visitors can still climb.
Dillard
Mill is one
of Missouri's best-preserved examples of a water-powered gristmill.
Sitting at the junction of two clear-flowing Ozarks streams, the Indian
and the Huzzah Creeks, the picturesque, red-painted mill is made even
more scenic by the rock dam and the waterfall that cascades into the
mill pond.
The present mill is
the second mill structure at this site. Wisdom's Mill, first constructed
in the 1850s, was named for its builder, Francis Wisdom. The original
mill eventually ended up in the hands of Andrew Jackson Mincher, and
it was during his ownership that the mill burned in 1895.
On December 4, 1900,
Emil Mischke, an emigrant from Walde, Poland, who settled in Missouri
in 1893 with his sister, Mary, bought the mill property. Using some
of the timbers salvaged from the Wisdom fire, Mischke installed steel
roller mills instead of buhr grinding stones, plus he introduced modern
turbine power to the mill. Mischke ground the wheat and corn of nearby
farmers and neighbors for years before selling the property to Lester
E. Kiemme in 1930. Kiemme's age and a shift in the local economy to
mining from farming caused the shutdown of the mill in 1956.
Kiemme sold the property to a not-for-profit
group called L-A-D Foundation of St. Louis in 1974. They, in turn,
leased the property to the Department of Natural Resources as a state
historic site on December 1, 1975.
Today, tours of Dillard
Mill are
offered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, and from
11 am. to 6 p.m. on summer Sundays. Take Highway 32 west to Bixby,
then turn north on Highway 49. Dillard Mill is about five miles north
of Viburnum on Highway 49. For more information, call 573-244-3120.
Sutton Bluff is a rugged
and picturesque bluff named after R.G. Sutton, who settled in the Valley
along the West Fork of the Black River in 1888. R.G. and his family
worked their farm for 80 years, and Lenard Sutton, a grand nephew,
was the last member of the family to make his living toiling the soil.
Today, Sutton
Bluff Recreation Area,
in Reynolds County about thirty miles south of the Arcadia Valley,
is operated by the U.S. Forest Service in the Salem Ranger District.
Boating, fishing, swimming and tubing are popular pastimes on the West
Fork of the Black River.
The Einstein Silver
Mining Company began mining here in 1877. Two years later, the St.
Francis River was dammed to drive a turbine wheel. A smelting furnace
was built, and machinery was installed.
A town site was
laid out on the hills a half mile south west of the mine. The company's
offices, a large hotel and dwellings were erected. A post office, school,
black smith shop and several stores followed. At the height of activity,
the population of 900 was made up mostly of miners and their families.
The mine ceased to operate in few years after producing 50 tons of
lead and 3,000 ounces of silver. Gold traces had been found, and the
mine reopened in 1916 and small amounts of tungsten were produced intermittently
until 1946.
Today, the facilities at Silver
Mines Recreation Area,
about 15 miles east of Arcadia Valley off Highway 72 (then Route D) offers
camping, fishing, picnicking and trail hiking. For more information, contact
the Fredericktown Ranger District at 573-783-7225.
Last updated August 08
Elephant
Rocks State Park