Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park

It’s a cool state park, with a short walk to get to the swimming area. I guess the 3 stars is because we drove halfway to Arkansas in order to do this, and I was ready to go after about 20 minutes. There was very little wildlife, probably because it was during the day and it was about a zillion degrees outside. Chalk one up for nature being smarter than the people. Overall nice, impressive to see, but a little overrated for the length of trip that I had to take.

The park is nice but parking is limited. You cannot bring any food or drinks into the walking trail or river area.
The water is the main attraction but its difficult to swim there. People jump from cliffs and there are huge rocks everywhere.
There is a new visitor center there that is extremely nice with a small museum and excellent restrooms.

This is one of MO’s most favorite parks so crowds will be a problem, go mon tue. or wed if you can it will still be crowded so go early as you can and enjoy your self .
don’t even think about not wearing tennis shoes or water shoes!!!
This is one of MO’s very best parks we stayed in the campground foe 3 nights with our RV it was $ 23 per night and the new camp site was beautiful very quiet and privet very clean bathrooms and showers beautifully kept grounds. Elephant rocks State Park is 9 miles away and also great fun and beautiful full of geology, history, and nature these are my favorite Mo Parks!

I really wish Unilocal would start doing half stars, because I never know what to rate places. I would want to give it a 3.5, but I’m rounding up because I came during the awkward time when it isn’t quite winter and it isn’t quite spring. It seems like it’d be much more gorgeous once there was more greenery around.
The park is really well maintained and is definitely worth a trip down there. It’s easily a full day’s adventure if you like hiking and are an outdoorsy person. We spent the majority of the first day hiking on two trails. While there wasn’t much greenery, the views of the «mountains» were spectacular and made for some great picture opportunities. There’s also a huge area by the river that was a lot of fun to wade through. The nice thing about this park is that there is a huge gradient in terms of how adventurous you want to be. Some of the inclines are especially steep, so you can get a vigorous walk. Others are fairly low, so it’s a nice leisurely pace. Even though we came the day after a rainstorm and before spring really hit, we still had a great time. Yeah, we probably didn’t get the best experience possible, but it was still fantastic and I had an enjoyable time! Definitely recommend this place for a day trip from STL!

I’ve never been to a place that so defied my expectations as this park. It’s a great place and I’m excited to go back. Just be aware that no amount of photos or internet research can fully prepare you for this thoroughly unique experience.
**BRING WATER SHOES**
People will tell you that the shut-​ins are like natural water slides. Mother Nature’s Ozark Water Park!
Yes! But no. Imagine Hurricane Harbor without all the safety precautions engineered into the design, without lifeguards, without… soft things. The shut-​ins are rock, y’all. HARD. ROCK. It sounds great when you hear about it, it looks fun in pictures, but your jaw will drop when you’re faced with it in real life. If I had been under 12, I would have been in absolute heaven. Kids are unfazed by the potential dangers and jump into the rushing water with reckless abandon. As an adult, I looked at the slippery rocks and asked myself, «Do I like my teeth? Do I like my unbroken hips? I do? All right then…»
**BRING WATER SHOES**
Ultimately, what’s so awesome about the shut-​ins is the fact that it’s so wild, so untouched and yes, so dangerous. The closest park ranger is a few hundred yards away. There’s no official supervision whatsoever. Except for a walking trail, man’s hand has done nothing to alter the landscape. It’s straight up dangerous and you are free to be as reckless as you want.
If you are an old lady such as myself, there are some lovely, deep blue pools just past the shut-​ins that make for great swimming. You can go through the shut-​ins to get there, but that would require you to actually go through the shut-​ins. Another way is to climb up the stairway to the top until you find part of the railing that opens into the woods. Climb down the trail and you’ll be on the other side of the shut-​ins. This is also where people jump off a cliff into the water below. Again, you can be as dangerous as you want.
**BRING WATER SHOES**
Finally, a comment on the park grounds/​newly built structures. This is hands down the NICEST state park I’ve been to in Missouri. The recently reconstructed facilities are very nice. Except for the bathroom, which stank like urine. But on the other hand, the bathroom had actual running water and toilets, and was NOT a splintered seat perched precariously above a festering hole in the ground, so hey, progress!
**BRING WATER SHOES**…and a picnic.

Another round of Tracey V Nature, Nature is yet again victorious.
PLEASE read this and other reviews before going to Johnson Shut-​Ins. I’m going to sound so Negative Nancy, Thanks Mom, Statler and Waldorf, but my pessimism may help you have the time of your life here. We live is such a cushy world that I think sometimes we assume something is going to be easy or accessible or safe. Guilty of such a mindset, I threw on a pair of flip-​flops and was like, let’s do this! Many people told me this place was cool, so I was good to go for the 2+ hour drive there from St. Louis. In no way was I prepared for Johnson Shut-​Ins, and this is a place where a little planning goes a long way.
Not a dull drive at all. Confederate flags guide the way to this off-​the-​beaten path state park.
It was free to enter, but we did get stopped entering and were given a parking pass (free). Signs told us coolers, food, alcohol, and disposable bottles were not allowed at the Shut-​Ins. I was puzzled. I totally pictured this being a river with a beach, and anticipated lying on a blanket and eating a picnic. There are a lot of nice picnic tables at the entrance, as well as some gross bathrooms and changing rooms, but the picnic stops there.
It does get crowded, mainly with families. Consider the weather and go early.
You follow a dirt trail into the woods a few hundred yards and walk along a wooden walkway. There are several sets of stairs leading down to a very shallow part of the river/​creek where you can splash around. Not much of a bank to the river. If you keep going (less than a 4-​minute walk, even for me), you make it to the Shut-​Ins. Shut-​ins are really hard to describe. Basically, it’s a place in a river where giant jagged rocks and boulders have accumulated. The water attempts to maneuver around and through these rocks, creating «slides» and «waterfalls». I wouldn’t so much call them slides as I would call them mini-​death chutes. And I wouldn’t so much call them waterfalls as I would call them Tracey-​falls. When you look at it, you think awww, what a sweet and peaceful creek. But when you get in there, you will be wishing you were a fearless, invincible and short 7-​year old. Being a giant adult, the first time your shaky feet slip off a rock as you wade into the water, which they will, your life will flash before your eyes. What is a one foot plop for a kid is a 6-​foot plummet for you, and what is 6 weeks in a neon cast for a teenager is hip replacement surgery and the end of your golf career for you. I know I’m an out-​of-​shape pansy, but it was DIFFICULT to get around in that river. WAY less fun than it looked. Part of my problem is that I was wearing flip flops. If you take anything away from this review, let it be this: WATER SHOES. When I was a kid, I HATED water shoes (#firstworldproblems). My mom made me wear them to a water park once and I’ve never forgiven her for it. It’s impossible to look sexy or cool in water shoes. I’d rather wear arm floaties AND a life vest than water shoes. Seriously. But I’m telling you, I would have paid 200 dollars for a pair of water shoes when I got in those Shut-​ins, man. Actually, that’s a lie, since the store in the park sells them for 13, but still. Flip-​flops? You might as well just tie a noose around your neck. Ditch the flip-​flops, and your delicate tootsies will be crushed beneath your girth into the innocent-​appearing riverbed, which is actually the angel of death for your feet. Searing pain will shoot up your legs, and you will feel like the biggest loser ever for not being able to walk barefoot in a creek. Where is Tony Robbins when I need him?
So yeah. Water shoes. Get them. If all else fails, wear sneakers.
If you get past the shut-​ins, that’s where the good stuff is. There’s a deep pool, & beyond a sandbar there is another super deep pool. Those pools are amazingly gorgeous and worth the effort to get to. Clear, aqua water like you’ve never seen, plus an enormous cliff which you are no longer allowed to jump off of. Kids do jump off the smaller rocks on the side of the cliff, though, and nothing makes you feel better about crying about walking barefoot in a river than watching a middle-​aged beefcake belly flop while trying to impress his teenage sons.
If getting through the shut-​ins is difficult, you can continue on the wooden walkway and go up the stairs. If you continue all the way up there will eventually be a place where there is an opening in the railing and a dirt path down the side of the mountain. It is VERY steep and should not be attempted barefoot or in flip flops. Again, water shoes or, better yet, sneakers. WITH TREAD. If you continue on the wooden walkway without going down the mountain, you come to an observation deck at the top of the cliff where you can see the gorgeous pool. People used to jump off from there, but doing so now will lead to hefty fines and zero sympathy if you get splattered on the jagged rocks below.

Loved it! My family and I stayed for 8 days and had a wonderful experience at the campground, despite 3 days of rain and 90 degree + weather. Excellent shaded and grassy lots (we stayed in a basic lot), great campground store, and polite and helpful staff. The bathrooms were clean and checked regularly. Staff patrolled often. Quiet times were respected. Perfect for families and close to some cool activities!

+ Sober fun? Sober fun!
+ Natural «waterslides»
+ Great summertime activities for families
At just under 2 hours away from the heart of Saint Louis, Johnson’s Shut-​Ins is a GEM for summertime fun for kids, adults, and adults who think they are still kids. This is one of those experiences where you can make it as safe or as dangerous as you please. Want safe fun? Wade in the shallow areas away from the cascading rocks. Want to be a dangerbear? Then go exploring and find yourself some slippery slidey rocks that have been shaped into natural slides and go wedge your bottom in for a whirl.
More dangerbear fun you say? There are some tall rocks that you can jump off of into some pretty deep pools of water. It’s one of those things where you pretend you have no fears of death by cracking your head open and ignore the fact that you can’t see the bottom of the pit of water. But it is sooooo good. To jump off a terrifyingly high rock into a questionable but refreshingly cool pool of deep, dark water.
This is a great place to go exploring with a group of friends. You could easily spend an entire day here clambering over the rocks and pools of water. Further downstream you’ll hit a larger body of open water. Some parts are so deep you can take a leisurely swim. For families, you could easily stay in the shallow areas and keep a close eye on your kids. Just don’t let them near the sharp, mossy rocks.
Water shoes are definitely recommended as the rocks can be sharp and/​or mossy underwater. Flip flops will get lost easily! And don’t forget that sunscreen. I saw many a lobster-​colored body the afternoon that we went. We went on a Friday afternoon in late May and it was not crowded at all. Can’t vouch for the rest of summer, but I’d definitely like to come back before summer is over.
TIP: Make sure you watch out for road signs for when to turn as you get near the park as google maps may be unreliable with cell service going in and out around the area. And don’t forget the speed limit is a measly 60mph on the way there from STL… *grumble*

Campgrounds — too inconsistent with their lots. We stayed in the basic loop and got an ok lot but there were much better ones available so its a good idea to get some info on which lots are best. i may even include the list we came up with later on. The camp store is nice, air conditioned (including the bathrooms which are better than the loot bathrooms) and free wi-​fi, but odd hours. I believe it was open from 8am — 11am and then 5pm — 9pm. but wi-​fi and bathrooms are available all night and day.
Shut-​ins park — i think the water level was pretty low but it was fun, especially in the 110 degree weather. Go early/​late morning to avoid the crowd and «stupid» people. college kids bust in around noon, at least in the summer. beautiful rock formations and amazing history. you wouldnt even know that some of the deep areas that you think are 20+ feet are closer to 60 feet deep. great places to jump also.
definite must see

Haven’t been since the reservoir flood, but this has always been one of my favorite spots in Missouri. Loses a star only because of the omnipresent crowds.

You’ll have a blast at this state park. They have camping so you can stay overnight, and there are lots of big rocks to climb on and play in the water. It’s use at your own risk, so watch for the slippery rocks. Tons of fun on warm summer weekends. Sometimes crowded.