Shannon County, Missouri

Set among the foothills of the Ozark Mountains lies the beautiful five-county area we call the Ozark Foothills Region. Situated midway between St. Louis and Memphis, it is 160 miles to either city, north and south respectively. The area is also 160 miles northeast of Little Rock, AR.

Summersville, Missouri - "The Best Kept Secret of the Ozarks" is the nearest town and offers all the amenities and comforts of home.

We offer some of the friendliest folks anywhere and have a great deal to offer those willing to relocate in this most beautiful area of the Ozarks. Located close to the crystal clear waters of the Jacks Fork and Current Rivers we’re happy to host canoers as well as horse enthusiasts wishing to ride our picturesque hills and valleys . . . . . in fact Big Creek Trail Rides offers eleven rides through out the year to provide those with horses a breath taking view of our hills and “hollers”!

Residents enjoy a variety of outdoor activities centered around the natural attractions scattered throughout the five-county area. Big Springs State Park, home of the world's largest natural spring; Current River; Black River; Markham Springs State Park; Clearwater Lake; Johnson's Shut-Ins; Deer Run State Forest; Pinewoods Lake; Lake Wappapello; Watercress Park; Sam A. Baker State Park, and the Mark Twain National Forest offer camping, fishing, hiking/fitness/nature trails, motor boating, tubing/floating, swimming, and water skiing. The area is also designated as part of the beautiful National Scenic Riverways.

Healthcare is readily available in the five-county region. Along with numerous clinics, there are also Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center's North and South Campuses, plus the John J. Pershing Veterans Administration Hospital, in Poplar Bluff, as well as Ripley County Memorial Hospital, in Doniphan, and Reynolds County Memorial Hospital, in Ellington.

Three Rivers Community College, located in Poplar Bluff, is utilized by students from all over the area. The well-rounded curriculum and the extra-curricular activities offered at the community college are outstanding. Southeast Missouri State University, located in Cape Girardeau, and Arkansas State University, in Jonesboro, AR, are less than 100 miles away, making them popular choices for area students seeking four-year degrees.

The Ozark Foothills Region of Southeast Missouri is a beautiful area with numerous natural attractions. Residents have access to first-rate healthcare, as well as topnotch educational opportunities. While enjoying the friendliness of the small town environments, local citizens are able to take advantage of the opportunities and services found in the larger municipalities nearby. The Ozark Foothills Region is an excellent place to call home!

Montauk State Park

Just down the road, and offering some of the finest trout fishing in the Midwest, Montauk State Park is located at the headwaters of the famed Current River. The park's springs combine with tiny Pigeon Creek to supply 43 million gallons of water to the river each day. The cool, clear stream is an ideal home for rainbow trout, and the scenic valley is the perfect setting for camping, hiking and other outdoor pursuits.

Anglers descend on Montauk State Park from March 1 to Oct. 31 for the official trout season, and on winter weekends for a catch-and-release season. After a day of fishing, you can tour the park's trout hatchery, managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Early settlers first established Montauk as a self-sufficient community in the early 1800s. A gristmill, built in 1896, is open seasonally for tours.

For visitors wishing to spend a night or more in the park, Montauk offers a wide variety of choices. The large campground, equipped with modern restrooms, hot showers and dump stations, features both basic and electric sites. The park offers rental cabins with kitchens, modern fourplex cabins and motel rooms for guests choosing to spend the night indoors. A modern dining lodge opens daily during the trout season and on weekends during the catch-and-release season.

Mark Twain National Forest

Mark Twain National Forest is just down the road.

Missouri's only national forest, the Mark Twain, encompasses roughly 1.5 million acres, mostly within the Ozark Highlands. Located across southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, the Ozark Highlands are an ancient landscape characterized by large permanent springs, over 5,000 caves, rocky barren glades, old volcanic mountains and nationally recognized streams. Portions of the Ozarks were never under oceans, nor were the areas glaciated.

A trademark of the Mark Twain is plant and animal diversity. The area is described by The Nature Conservancy as a “biologically rich ecological resource.” The eastern upland oak hardwood and southern pine forests converge here with the drier western bluestem prairie of the Great Plains, creating a distinctive array of open grassy woodlands and savannas. This rich mixture of unique, diverse and ecologically complex natural communities (some 65 in all) provides a home for nearly 750 species of native vertebrate animals and over 2,000 plant species. The number of species that are endemic or restricted solely to the Ozarks eco-region (almost 200 species) rivals those found in the tropics or glacial eco-regions.

Geologic features associated with the karst terrain and igneous outcroppings of the Ozarks provide a wide variety of interest to the landscape. There are sheer rock faces, underground caverns, natural bridges, sinkholes, knobs and caves throughout the Forest. Caves provide habitat for unique animals like cave salamanders and southern cave fish. Shut-in creeks, whose enormous rock boulders restrict flow, create nationally renowned white water kayaking and canoeing opportunities.

Due to the karst topography, there is an abundance of natural springs found in the area. The Ozarks are home to the world's largest collection of “first magnitude” springs (those with over 65 million gallons of water daily flow). Almost 3,000 springs feed rivers and streams that flow year round. Many of these streams are so clear that ten feet of depth appears to be only one foot deep.

Greer Spring, the second largest in Missouri, is considered to be the most pristine and scenic in the state. Discharging an average of 222 million gallons of water per day, Greer Spring more than doubles the flow of the Eleven Point River. The importance of the water resource of the Mark Twain is exemplified by the designation of the Eleven Point Scenic River, one of the first Wild and Scenic Rivers in the nation. These natural features are a destination for many visitors to Missouri.

Today the Forest's large land base is many things to many people, containing some of Missouri's most beautiful and desirable landscapes and providing natural settings critical for the tourism industry. The diverse Ozark topography is the keystone of many recreational opportunities. The Forest provides hiking, hunting, mountain biking, horseback and OHV riding areas that complement other agencies. Over 45 million people are within a day's drive of its unique features and recreation opportunities.