Energize Yourself in Nature!
Take your family on a weekend hiking and nature adventure to the St. Francois wilderness in Missouri’s Ozark plateau. Its French name dates back to the days of the Louisiana territory of New France. The wilderness is part of Mark Twain National Forest in Iron County, about a five-hour drive from Kansas City. The closest town is Potosi, Missouri, and another picturesque town nearby is Caledonia, Missouri. Caledonia features beautiful historic homes, stores, restaurants, and lodging. Other accommodations can be found in nearby Johnson Shut-Ins State Park, where one can rent cabins, RV sites, and camp.
Even though some areas of Bell Mountain were cleared in the 1940s and later replanted with only Northern Red Oak, the Bell Mountain Wilderness provides a unique habitat not typical of the majority of Missouri’s Ozarks region.
Before you start, prepare well, have adequate supplies, and study the terrain and available natural water sources. Be sure to bring plenty of water, approximately one quart/liter of water per every hour of hiking. Watch for bears, snakes, and ticks. Group hikes are limited to a maximum of 10 people. When hiking, always follow the “leave no trace principles.”
(public domain) https://gotbooks.miracosta.edu/geology/regions/ozark_plateau.html
As Old as Dirt
St. Francois Mountains are Missouri’s most rugged area and the oldest landform in North America. The mountains are volcanic in origin and emerged from a shallow sea in the Precambrian age, about 1.5 million years ago, with the Appalachians forming 480 million years ago and the Rockies 70 million years ago. The St. Francois mountains are geologically very interesting because of various sedimentary formations of “metamorphic rocks.” The French began mining for lead in the region in the early 1700s, and the first granite quarries opened in 1869. To this day, 90% of lead is mined here. The region still has active iron, baryte, zinc, silver, manganese, cobalt and nickel mines.
Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau
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The Ozark Plateau covers portions of Missouri, Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma. These were the original hunting grounds of the Osage nation. Today, they are geographically subdivided into four general regions based on elevations and bedrock characteristics. Mark Twain National Forest lies within the Ozark Highlands of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. It encompasses 29 counties, over 1.5 million acres, and is the only national forest in the state of Missouri. The Ozarks region is characterized by steep valleys and narrow river bottoms. The region is mostly covered with shrub-oak forests.
Bell Mountain Wilderness Loop
Bell Mountain Wilderness, in Iron County, Missouri, is named for a family that once lived and farmed in the area. This 9,143-acre wilderness is part of the St. Francois Mountains, rising above the Ozark’s Plateau. The 12-mile loop takes about 6 hours to hike due to the rugged terrain. It has two points of access: the southwest entrance and the northeast entrance. We chose to take the northeast entrance because of the lower elevation gain and since we did only the “in-and-out” hike, not the whole loop. The loop is popular with overnight campers who can get water from Joe’s Creek, which runs most of the year. At the end of the hike, we were rewarded with outstanding views atop the 1,702-ft. summit. This is more strenuous than Kansas prairie hikes, but nothing to compare to anything one experiences in Colorado.
The hike leads through a beautiful old growth oak forest which changes to short leaf pine trees as you gain elevation toward the summit. You will also find Northern Red and Blackjack oaks, hickory, sumac and a variety of native grasses. The peak season for white dogwoods and purple redbuds is mid-April through May. In the summer, look for yellow Missouri primrose and fall-blooming purple asters.
Bell Mountain Wilderness is also an important Audubon bird sighting area for songbirds, birds who are dependent on large, wooded areas, such as Acadian Flycatcher, Ovenbird, and Worm-eating Warbler. Mature trees are preferred by the pileated woodpeckers. Blue-winged and Prairie Warblers prefer the open, rocky glade area outside of woodlands. Areas known as mesic forests, which are neither wet nor dry, are enjoyed by the Louisiana Waterthrush and Kentucky Warbler. Areas with native grasses are populated by Scarlet Tanagers, Black-and-white Warblers, and Whip-poor-wills.
In the higher elevation, the vegetation differs from our region, and southern pines provide shade on a hike.
Mornings are magical when emerging from your cabin or tent.
Since this is a real “wilderness” and bear country, registration is required to information about the number of people in your group, your intended itinerary and estimated time of return.
This is a very nice topographical map with inclines and descends, clearly displaying the northeast and southwest entrances to the loop. If you choose to hike the whole loop, it takes about 7 hours and has a vertical rise of 700 ft.
From the parking lot of the northeast entrance, it is 2.5 miles to this sign. From here, we turned left to continue another 2 miles to the top of the Bell Mountain. The loop also connects to the 230-mile-long Ozark Trail. The single path travels uphill through mixed forest and later rocky terrain, which has a red hue due to the soil’s iron content. The path moves slightly upward, turning into a path between large boulders covered with moss and lichens as we climb toward the top of the mountain.
The summit rewards you with a great view of the surrounding mountain ridges to the east and several great wooded camping spots and contained fire pits. Wake up to Missouri’s best sunrise.
The Shut-Ins
Shut-in Creek crosses the area, creating another interesting place to visit, Johnson Shut-in Park. A shut-in is a rock formation that carves plunge pools and rapids in mountain ranges, where the river is widening out below and above the shut-in.
Visiting England in Missouri
To break up the long drive, it was fun to visit the college town of Fulton Missouri to view this historic treasure, a church, dating back to the 12th century. It was destroyed later in the Great Fire of London in 1657 and them rebuilt by London’s master architect Sir Christopher Wren only to be ruined again in World War II. It remained in ruins until 1965.
Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, wanted to build a memorial to Winston Churchill, and a plan was conceived to do so by moving the church to Fulton. , since even 20 years after the end of the war it still stood in ruins, unrepaired and listed for demolition. The church was meticulously restored, and the dedication ceremony was held in 1969, and many English and American dignitaries were in attendance. This is a great treasure to visit!
Sources:
https://mostateparks.com/advisory/69232/tick-awareness-missouri-state-parks
https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/
https://gotbooks.miracosta.edu/geology/regions/ozark_plateau.html
Magda Born
Community Services Librarian
Kansas City, Kansas Public Library
625 Minnesota Ave.
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
913-295-8250 ext 1103
