Weekend Getaway

My fiancée (Dawn) requested that we venture out on a weekend getaway as soon as we were permitted to. Her only requirements included that it be to Missouri and that it involve hiking and waterfalls.

Our adventure began Friday following work. We left our home in Olathe, Kansas and made our way to Jefferson City, Missouri where we stayed the night and left our Blue Heeler mix with Dawns’ mother. The morning came quickly, and the weather forecast indicated a high percentage chance of rain at all the locations we planned to travel to.

The first destination on our Missouri weekend getaway was to Clifty Creek Natural Area. Its location was an hour south and to the east of Jefferson City. It made for a relatively short drive with the ability to see some upland forest along the way. The winding roads took us from side to side as well as up and down the hills and valleys. Dawn told me that I was enjoying the drive a little too much. We did manage to dodge all the migrating box turtles as they were crossing the road. From mid-April to September, it’s common to see them migrating through southern Missouri. Please be kind and do not run over them.

Clifty Creek Natural Area

The trail through the forest at Clifty Creek Natural Area was a pretty hike that was easy to follow. We hiked the trail that traveled through Clifty Hallow. This trail provided access to the creek as you hiked the trail, and in certain areas, it also brought you along a cliff edge drop off. Because it was a forested area, the cliff edges only provided a more elevated view of the forest area and what was down below. Unfortunately, it didn’t provide a panoramic view of the landscape.

The trail to the arch can be treated as a loop or as two individual trails. From the parking lot, you would hike about 1/10 of a mile before you reached an intersection. We took a right and that hike went through the Clifty Hallow and was about a mile hike. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation website (https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places/clifty-creek), the other route to the arch was approximately 1.4 miles. If you were to treat the trail as a loop, round trip would be 2.5 miles from the parking lot.

Since the creek was elevated due to recent thunderstorms, we chose to travel the same path to and back via the Clifty Hallow path. Next visit, I hope to treat the path as a loop.

Clifty Creek. Missouri Department of conservation, https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places/clifty-creek. Accessed 26 May 2020.

Maramec Spring Park

Our second destination to travel to on our weekend getaway was to Maramec Spring Park. The park is located a short 10-minute drive from Saint James, Missouri. The park is beautiful and boasts that it is “one of the most beautiful spots to be found in Missouri.” It was unanimously agreed upon that it was one of the highlights of our trip. The Maramec Spring Park is a privately owned and operated park and does require an admission fee.

There were numerous things about this park that stood out, the first being all the trout. Containment areas of hundreds and thousands of trout that you can admire and feed. The second most memorable part is the natural spring. According to the park website, the water rises to the surface from a depth of more than 350 feet and is 56 degrees year-round. The water is an emerald color that I haven’t been able to witness in person until this trip. The most stunning thing about Maramec Spring Park was the fog above the spring.  The temperature was warm, the humidity was rising, and the temperature difference between the water and the air caused there to be a fog above the spring.

I would really like to make a return trip with my dad to go fly fishing here. The ease of accessibility to the water and paths along the stream would be a great opportunity for a person with his mobility complications. If you are interested in going fishing at this location, check out their website to learn more about fishing licenses, fees and accessibility (http://www.maramecspringpark.com).

Maramec Spring Park, http://www.maramecspringpark.com. Accessed 26 May 2020.