Taum Sauk Mountain State Park

37°34′17″N 90°43′45″W / 37.57139°N 90.72917°W / 37.57139; -90.72917^[1]Area8,732.23 acres (35.3381 km²)^[2]Elevation1,772 ft (540 m)^[1]DesignationMissouri state parkEstablished1991^[3]Visitors144,160 (in 2017)^[2]AdministratorMissouri Department of Natural ResourcesWebsiteTaum 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.

In 2005, the Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Power Station was damaged and a billion gallons of water flooded parts of the park and other nearby areas.^[6]

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

Mina Sauk Falls, the highest waterfall in Missouri,^[7] is reached via a rugged trail that makes a three-mile (5 km) loop from the highpoint parking area.^[8] 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.
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  High point plaque on Taum Sauk
• 
  Mina Sauk Falls

References

External links