You Should Try This One Hike in Missouri Even If You’re Afraid of Heights

Hiding between the sparkling blue pools, towering forests, and plunging caves of the southern Missouri Ozarks, you’ll find a startling surprise: a narrow, volcanic canyon studded with volcanic rocks. And over those rocks flows the clear and clean East Fork of the Black River. It’s the natural playground of Johnson’s Shut-Ins and the 9,400-acre park of the same name that surrounds it. 

I stumbled upon this igneous paradise while searching for things to do near the Mark Twain National Forest. It caught my eye immediately, showcasing many of the natural features I’m looking for in an epic outdoor adventure. Rocks. Big, obnoxious, mysterious rocks jutting out of places they don’t seem to belong. And trees, billowing, towering, budding, flowering trees offering dappled shade to dance with the pulsing sun rays along an easy, but scenic hike. I’m generally not looking for the most extreme hike in Missouri, so bonus points for the wooden boardwalk-style forest trails that make any ascent or descent both mud-free and bug-free-ish. Then, just add water. Because that’s why my kids want, that’s what every kid wants. To bob in a clean trickle, no matter how cold, to be among the fish, where all kids belong.

After adequately browsing online reviews and visitor photos, I deemed it both doable and dazzling, adding the 2.5-mile Shut-Ins Trail to my digital maps. This Missouri Ozarks state park is pretty remote, just the way we like it, which meant going significantly out of our way to see it. We even drove right into the park and out again, thanks to mistaken identity. The entrance exhibits a strange, looping drive passing through strewn rocks, making it feel like you’re about to enter an arboretum or garden exhibit. It was odd and wasn’t the gushing canyon I had imagined, so we left, drove a good 5 miles down the road, and then turned back to try again. On the second entrance, I realized that the unusual rocks are called The Boulder Field, another point of interest in Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park. 

The next surprise was learning we’d have to walk almost a full mile to reach the water, which meant we weren’t setting up a cooler and a camp chair on the shoreline like I thought we would. Mainly because I wasn’t willing to haul anything that far, and my family wasn’t interested either. Instead, we layered our swimsuits under our clothes, pulled on sneakers, and took off into the forest. It was an excellent, easy trail from the start, easily guiding us through the chirping forest and down to the East Fork. But just steps before putting our toes in the drink, it started drizzling, dropping the temperature just enough to make swimming undesirable. I nudged my family to keep trudging on, because I wanted to see the forest, and I’d seen there was a remarkable overlook at the end of the trail. Considering this wouldn’t be the most extreme hike in Missouri, I knew we could adequately pass the time until the rain passed. 

Almost immediately, the boardwalk began to rise, with wooden stairs dangling partway between the forest and the rocks, broadening our perspective of the Johnson’s Shut-Ins into an impressive, bird's-eye view. Within a few steps, we encountered several groups turning back, feeling a bit weary with the unexpectedly aerial hike. But for us, the ascent was intriguing, and we followed it all the way to the end, gushing over the famous Ozark blue water flowing over pewtery grey rocks, creating dozens of slides and pools through the canyon floor. Over just half a mile, we rose almost 300 feet, finding ourselves at a bluff overlooking the canyon, plunging straight down the cliffs and into a deep, jewel-colored pool blocked in by ancient rocks.

For me, the gravity-defying overlooks deliver the awe that brings me back to nature over and over again. But my kids took a quick peek and raced back down the trail, leaving echoes of giggles in their wake. They’d rather bob in a freezing current riddled with pretty rocks than look down on it from above. 

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