JOHNSON'S SHUT INS
Shut-Ins is an Ozark term, referring to water-sculpted formations in deep, narrow gorges where rivers are “shut in.” Johnson’s Shut-Ins are the most spectacular in Missouri. You can clamber over them, bathe in their chutes and potholes, and swim in the deep pools below these otherworldly volcanic rock formations. A splash in the shut-ins is a perfect way to end your hike at Johnson’s Shut-Ins. Johnson’s Shut-Ins is one of Missouri’s most popular state parks. Folks come from all over the state to camp, hike, fish, and splash in the rocky wonderland on the east fork of the Black River. This 8,670-acre scenic landscape includes 3 designated Missouri Natural Areas—the 180-acre Johnson’s Shut-Ins Natural Area, the 1,110-acre East Fork Wild Area, and the 4,814-acre Goggins Mountain Wild Area. Nine hundred kinds of plants have been catalogued in the park, and its bird checklist tallies more than 200 species. The park’s main draw is the geological wonder of the shut-ins. They’re the remnants of igneous rock formed over a billion years ago, when volcanic material cooled to become the blue-gray rhyolite you see in the shut-ins today. Five hundred million years ago, seas covered the rhyolite with thousands of feet of sediment. Two hundred and fifty million years ago the Ozarks rose, the seas retreated, and streams cut down through the sedimentary rock to the shut-ins and began sculpting the igneous rock into the indescribable formations in the park today. Johnson’s Shut-Ins is one of the most beautiful places in the Ozarks. The Black River flows noisily over the blue-gray rhyolite for several hundred yards, forming pools, chutes, potholes, waterfalls, and cascades. Below the shut-ins, the Black River pauses for awhile in deep, green pools where expansive rock patios slope gently into the suddenly calm stream. Steep rock walls fringed with pines and cedars overlook the scene, topped with platform overlooks with views across the shut-ins and down into the pools. Scenery: Scenic overlooks from rugged mountainsides, fantastic water-carved rock sculptures in the Shut-Ins, and deep, green pools in the Black River.
