For an awesome view of a natural phenomenon, plan a visit to Big Spring,
just four miles south of Van Buren, Missouri, along State Road 103.
Here, in the midst of the Ozark National Scenic Riverway, you can watch
as 284 million gallons of clean, clear water pour out each day, on
average, from under the rocks before tumbling into the Current River.
Although the flow from Big Spring fluctuates with the
weather, in June 1928 a record 804 million gallons of water gushed from
the spring’s underground cavern.
Rated as the largest of 20 springs in the Missouri/Arkansas
Ozarks, the popularity of the Big Spring has yielded a developed, albeit
primitive, campground with 123 non-hookup sites. En route to the spring
you will pass by an historic dining lodge and cabins that were built in
the mid-1930s; the facility is still in use.
You can view the spring from pathways that go along both sides
of the water as it flows from the cave. Even if you can’t spend the
night in this heavily wooded area, plan time for a picnic.
For more information, call (573) 323-4236
