Johnson’s Shut-Ins is truly one of our favorite state parks in Missouri! It’s a unique place with great trails and an outstanding campground. It is about 1.5-2 hours outside of St. Louis. The main features of this park are the shut-in formations on the Black River. These shut-ins are essentially rock formations that create pools of water in the river. The Ozark Trail passes through Johnson’s Shut-Ins, so you can hop on that trail for an out-and-back hike or you can hike on one of the trails inside the park. The campground itself is one of our absolute favorite campgrounds.
This park is also located about an hour from a few Ozark National Scenic Riverways sites: Rocky Falls, Blue Spring, and Alley Spring and Mill. On multiple occasions, we have camped at Johnson’s Shut-Ins and driven to Rocky Falls for a day hike.
The Shut-Ins
For most people, this is the highlight of Johnson’s Shut-Ins. In the warmer months, people come here to chill out in the river on or around the shut-ins. To access the shut-ins, you drive through the main entrance to the park and continue all the way to the back of the park. There are several picnic areas along the main road, which ultimately dead-ends into a parking area for the shut-ins trail. From here, a trail/boardwalk leads to the river. Note that no pets are allowed on this trail or in the shut-ins area.
There are several entrances from the boardwalk to the river. Further upstream (closer to the parking lot), there are fewer rock formations. The river is wider and usually a little calmer. This is were we tend to see a lot of families with younger children. Downriver are the larger shut-ins. These larger shut-ins create larger pools of water in between, sometimes so deep you cannot touch the bottom without going under water. It’s fun to climb around on these rocks, but it is easy to bang a knee or stub a toe in this area. We usually wear sandals or water shoes when climbing around in this area.
Near the main entrance, there are colored flags to indicate the water conditions in the river. If the water is flowing too quickly, the gates to the river on the boardwalk will be closed. Click here for a link to more details about swimming on the Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park website.
Hiking
There are several trails within Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park. Trails range from roughly 2 miles to 10 miles. Trail surfaces vary from paved to gravel to boardwalks to dirt. You can also access the Ozark Trail from Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park, which continues throughout southern Missouri.
Shut-Ins Trail
- Quick Facts
- Length: 2.3 miles (round trip)
- Trailhead: Shut-Ins parking lot at the end of the main road.
- Link to State Park website
Although it’s a shorter trail, we really enjoy the Shut-Ins trail loop. You get to walk along the shut-ins and along some of the cliffs above the river. We’ve hiked this trail in different directions: sometimes starting at the shut-ins, sometimes planning to end there for a quick dip in the water. There are short cuts that wind around, so it’s possible to get a little turned around, but it’s still a neat area to explore. The trail climbs quite a bit up a steep hill, but there are some very cool rock formations/waterfalls back in this area that are worth checking out. Note that pets are not allowed on this trail. This is a bit of a bummer for us because we do love to hike with our dog.
Scour Trail
- Quick Facts
- Length: 1.4 miles
- Trailhead: The trailhead is located off Highway N, east of the main entrance to the park.
- Link to State Park website
We’ve hiked the Scour Trail to the Ozark Trail and headed toward Taum Sauk Mountain State Park. This was an out-and-back hike. The trail mostly winds through the woods with a few look-out points. We have found that parts of it can be overgrown at times.
Campground Trail System
- Quick Facts
- Length: 2.5 miles (system total)
- Trailhead: Hop on anywhere in the campground!
- Link to State Park website
We absolutely love the campground at Johnson’s Shut-Ins and this trail is part of the reason why. The trail is flat and meanders through the campground. It’s a great way to start or end the day. If we arrive later in the afternoon, we’ll often walk this trail between setting up our site and eating dinner. You can loop around and walk the whole trail through the campground or stick to a smaller portion and make it a quick stroll.
Black River Trail System
- Quick Facts
- Length: 3.1 miles (system total)
- Trailhead: Campground or main day-use area
- Link to State Park website
If we’re looking to do a run (that’s not a trail run), we’ll usually hop on the campground trail system from our campsite and then run out of the campground to this trail. We’ll follow this trail to the main area of the park and then turn back when we feel like we’ve gone far enough. It’s a great feature of the park!
There are more trails in Johnson’s Shut-Ins that we haven’t yet ventured out on. Click here for a complete list of trails in the park on the state park website.
Stargazing
Johnson’s Shut-Ins is located far from any town, which makes it a great location for stargazing! We will often set up our pop-up hammock at our campsite, bundle up in a blanket, and stare up at the stars. We’ve seen many shooting stars darting across a star-filled sky.
Campground
The campground at Johnson’s Shut-Ins is one of our favorites! We like the multiple-loop design with the campground trail meandering through each one. The campsites are generally tucked into the trees, creating a sense of privacy and a more rustic feel. There is a general store with WiFi if you need to pick something up or get connected. One of the state park trailheads is located near the campground for easy access. We’re not the only ones who think this is an outstanding campground. It was USA Today’s “Best State Park for Camping” in 2022. To read more about our experiences in this campground, check out the blog post: Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park Campground – Miles of Yellow Lines.
