Taum Sauk Mountain State Park
Taum Sauk Mountain State Park | |
---|---|
The highest point in Missouri: Taum Sauk summit | |
![]() ![]() Location in Missouri | |
Location | Iron County & Reynolds County, Missouri, United States |
Coordinates | 37°34′17″N 90°43′45″W / 37.57139°N 90.72917°WCoordinates: 37°34′17″N 90°43′45″W / 37.57139°N 90.72917°W[1] |
Area | 8,732.23 acres (35.3381 km2)[2] |
Elevation | 1,772 ft (540 m)[1] |
Designation | Missouri state park |
Established | 1991[3] |
Visitors | 144,160 (in 2017)[2] |
Administrator | Missouri Department of Natural Resources |
Website | Taum Sauk Mountain State Park |
Taum Sauk Mountain State Park is a Missouri state park located in the St. Francois Mountains in the Ozarks. The park encompasses Taum Sauk Mountain, the highest point in the state.[4] The Taum Sauk portion of the Ozark Trail connects the park with nearby Johnson's Shut-ins State Park[5] and the Bell Mountain Wilderness Area, which together are part of a large wilderness area popular with hikers and backpackers.
Activities and amenities[]
The park has a rustic campground, a paved trail to the highpoint, picnic facilities, and a lookout tower providing a view the dense mountain forest obscures from other vantage points.
Mina Sauk Falls, the highest waterfall in Missouri,[6] is reached via a rugged trail that makes a three-mile (5 km) loop from the highpoint parking area.[7] The falls have cascading waters only during times of wet weather; at other times they are reduced to a trickle or less.
The contiguous Taum Sauk Mountain and Johnson's Shut-ins state parks consist of 16,050 acres (65.0 km2) in the Missouri Ozarks.
High point plaque on Taum Sauk
Mina Sauk Falls
References[]
- ^ a b "Taum Sauk Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- ^ a b "Taum Sauk Mountain State Park: Data Sheet" (PDF). Missouri Department of Natural Resources. November 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ "State Park Land Acquisition Summary". Missouri State Parks. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- ^ "Taum Sauk Mountain State Park". Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
- ^ "Taum Sauk Section". The Ozark Trail. Ozark Trail Association. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
- ^ "St. Francois Mountains Natural Area". Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ "Taum Sauk Mountain State Park: Trails". Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
External links[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taum Sauk Mountain State Park. |
- Taum Sauk Mountain State Park Missouri Department of Natural Resources
- Taum Sauk Mountain State Park Map Missouri Department of Natural Resources
- Protected areas of Iron County, Missouri
- State parks of Missouri
- State parks of the U.S. Interior Highlands
- Protected areas established in 1991
- Protected areas of Reynolds County, Missouri
- 1991 establishments in Missouri