Missouri Hiking Trail Review: Grand Gulf State Park and Greer Spring Branch Trail (Plus Bonus Trip to Mammoth Spring State Park in Arkansas)

Grand Gulf State Park has been on my Missouri Bucketlist for quite awhile. One fall Saturday morning, Caroline and I got a wild hair and decided to make the nearly 3 hour trip South to check it out. Before we knew it, not only did we find what we were looking for at Grand Gulf, but we ended up taking it a little further and went to Mammoth Springs, Arkansas! Finally, we did a bonus hike at Greer Springs on the way home.

Grand Gulf State Park

Grand Gulf State Park or “Little Grand Canyon” is located just outside of Koshkonong, Missouri, near Thayer and the Arkansas border. It’s most famous for the natural bridge and the extensive collapsed cave system which gives it its name.

The “gulf” is a half mile long with walls as high as 130 feet. There are two hiking trails and one boardwalk that one can use to view the gulf from above or gain access to the canyon below. The natural bridge spans 250 feet and has a 75 foot opening.

Interpretive Loop Trail: The Interpretive Loop Trail is an extremely short loop trail that is mostly a series of steps that take you down to the canyon floor. (119 steps, one way, to be exact) At the bottom of the steps is a platform that one can view a small cave, and if there’s been enough wet weather, a waterfall.

If you desire to travel through the bottom of the gulf to go under the natural bridge and enter the largest sink hole, this is where to do it. However, word of caution, there is no marked trail, so proceed with caution. (Caroline and I decided not to proceed any further than the stairs. Next time!)

Natural Bridge Trail: This Trail is a 3/4 mile loop that takes one over the Natural Bridge and gives you several views of the gulf. You can get some nice side views of the bridge plus other areas of the gulf. I would advise going when there’s few to no leaves on the trees to get the best views.

The best view in the park is accessed by the short boardwalk over the largest sinkhole. One can get an amazing view straight down into the sinkhole. It almost gave me vertigo. I appreciated that this was handicap accessible.

Mammoth Springs State Park, Arkansas

Mammoth Springs State Park in Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, a National Natural Landmark, is one of the WORLD’S largest natural springs.

As we crossed the Arkansas border, we were met immediately by the small town of Mammoth Springs. The park was just in the city limits. You can’t miss the massive spring that fills a 10 acre lake before it goes over a spillway into the river.

There aren’t any natural hiking trails, but there is a nice visitors center and a paved sidewalk that crosses the spillway and old mill, goes along the historic, Frisco railroad station, and around the lake and spring.

After touring the grounds of the park, it was time to eat. The visitors center recommended the Wood’s Riverbend Restaurant across the street. It was fried chicken day and Caroline and I both partook. We chose to sit outside on their large porch that overlooked the river. It was the perfect home style meal for lunch.

Afterwards, we hit up a nice flea market across the road where I was greeted by this fellow before heading to our next destination.

Greer Springs Trail

On the way home we stopped by Greer Springs. The 1.8 mile trail took us back to the second largest spring in Missouri. It was amazing! Large amounts of water rapidly bubbling out from seemingly nowhere underneath the rocks….

What I enjoyed most about the hike was the solitude. We met one other couple on the trail and had the spring all to ourselves. There was no other person and nothing to keep us from getting right up next to the spring and exploring around the grounds.

At the end of the evening, it was time to head home. At the beginning of the day I never imagined I would make my way to the Southern Missouri border, but it turned out to be a lovely day trip with beautiful hikes, great food, and some interesting history lessons.