Johnson's Shut-Ins Reynolds County, Missouri
N 37° 32.275 W 090° 50.268
15S E 691032 N 4156744
A spectacular setting for a swimming hole that is in Johnson Shut-Ins State Park. Access is limited to preserve the wild setting. Suffered major damage in 2005 due to reservoir break, but a Herculean effort to restore area is succeeding.
Waymark Code: WM95T2
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 07/03/2010
Views: 9
The East Fork of the Black River cuts through the Johnson's Shut-Ins of ancient rock formations that are millions of years old. A marvelous swimming hole of cool, clear water in this wild natural area was named Missouri's most popular swimming hole in a Rural Missouri readers poll taken several years ago. That was before the catastrophic upper reservoir collapse(Taum Sauk pumped storage hydroelectric plant)in December 2005 that made national headlines.
The path of the resulting flood waters scoured the area and destroyed much of the state park and left huge rocks and sediment. Since that time a Herculean effort to restore the stream is just now reaping benefits.
The experience of taking a dip in this "swimming hole" is again drawing visitors from Texas to Michigan.
Be advised that swimming is at swimmers risk and the water is deep.
The rocks are slippery and walking takes your complete attention. It is a free swim-- one of life's great pleasures, but remember huge crowds of visitors may choose to visit by auto, and that nearby parking access is carefully regulated. In summary, if you come on a popular holiday weekends the waits for a parking space may be long.
Bring your swim suit and towel, change the park's dressing rooms and then carefully walk to the swimming hole. Leave food,beverage and pets behind-- as this is a pristine setting that requires good stewardship on the part of visitors.
I found it interesting to observe the map of this Waymark in the hybrid mode. By zooming in and panning a bit to the east and south you can see the outline of the reservoir that collapsed in December 2005 and the scour path it created.
Ameren-UE Corporation reports that their Taum Sauk reservoir has been carefully rebuilt and will return to service in 2010. The settlement agreement that they reached with the State of Missouri is helping restore the park's facilities, but of course cannot restore the park to its original conditions. However, it has helped in bringing the park back from those dark days in December, 2005.