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Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, Middle Brook, MO

Photo: Kbh3rd, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor AdventureFamily Favorite

Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park

Swim and scramble among smooth volcanic rock chutes and pools where the East Fork Black River squeezes through the shut-ins.

148 Taum Sauk Trail · Middle Brook, MO

About Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park

Johnson's Shut-Ins sits in the St. Francois Mountains, where hard igneous rock narrows the East Fork Black River into chutes, potholes and small cascades that work as a natural water park. Beyond swimming, you can hike, camp, picnic and go rock climbing. In December 2005 the Taum Sauk reservoir on a neighboring mountain failed and flooded the park. An auto tour now passes the recovery area and ends at an overlook of the flood path, where a path leads into the boulder field the flood left behind.

  • #state park
  • #swimming hole
  • #hiking
  • #camping
  • #rock climbing

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