Sam A. Baker State Park is a public recreation area encompassing in the

Saint Francois Mountains The St. Francois Mountains in southeast Missouri are a mountain range of Precambrian igneous mountains rising over the Ozark Plateau. This range is one of the oldest exposures of igneous rock in North America. The name of the range is spelled out ...

region of the

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

offers fishing, canoeing, swimming, camping, and trails for hiking and horseback riding. The visitor and nature center is housed in a historic building that was originally constructed as a stable in 1934.

History

The

was acquired in 1926 and is named for Missouri

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Sam Aaron Baker who encouraged the development of the park in his home

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. In the 1930s, the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

added many structures to the park including the park office and visitors center, which was originally used as a stable, the stone dining lodge, most of the park's cabins, and the backpacking shelters on the Mudlick Trail. Twenty-five buildings and five structures comprise the Sam A. Baker State Park Historic District, a national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1985. (includes photographs)

Activities and amenities

*The park offers access to the St. Francis River and Big Creek for fishing, canoeing, and swimming. *Camping: The park has 187 campsites, half of them electric and 18 rustic, plus air-conditioned cabins. A separate campground with 21 sites is available for use by equestrians. *Trails: The Mudlick Trail is available for hiking, backpacking, and horseback riding. The Mudlick has three stone shelters available for backpackers, and views of the Mudlick Mountain Wild Area and the Mudlick Natural Area. There is also the Shut-Ins Trail, the Hollow Pass Trail, and the nearby Wappapello Section of the Ozark Trail. The park also has a paved bicycle trail open to cyclists, hikers, skateboarders, and roller skaters.

Access

Missouri Route 143 passes through the park. From the west access is via Route 143 from DesArc in southern Iron County. Access from the east and

US Route 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues ...

is via

Missouri Route 34 Route 34 is a highway in southeastern Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at the Illinois state line on the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Gir ...

north of

Silva Silva is a surname in Portuguese language, Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Portugal and Brazil. It is derived from the Latin word , meaning "forest" or "woodland". It is the family name of the House of Silva. The name is also widespread i ...

to the Route 143 junction east of

Patterson Patterson may refer to: People * Patterson (surname) Places ;Canada * Pattersons Corners, Ontario *Patterson Township, Ontario *Patterson, Calgary a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta. ;United States of America * Patterson, Arkansas *Patterson, C ...

.''Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer'', DeLorme, First edition, 1998, pp. 56-7

References

External links

Sam A. Baker State Park
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Sam A. Baker State Park Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Missouri State parks of the U.S. Interior Highlands Protected areas established in 1926 1926 establishments in Missouri Civilian Conservation Corps in Missouri Protected areas of Wayne County, Missouri Nature centers in Missouri Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Buildings and structures in Wayne County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Missouri National Park Service rustic in Missouri