Millstream Gardens Conservation Area - Wildlife refuge in Ironton - , USA

Comparing this to the Johnson shut ins, the area is less crowded and shut ins are just as nice and there’s a couple overlooks of the St Francis River. I’m giving it a 4 stars I wish there were more access points to get up close to the shut ins, otherwise this is nice to spend time at.

I love going to this place, it’s always very pretty. And it’s rare to see more than a few other people, if anyone at all. Last I was there, I walked the Turkey Creek/Silver Mine Trail, but I turned around at the day use area before the bridge, so maybe I didn’t actually walk the Silver Mine part of it. I started from the pavilion area within Millstream Gardens, where there is an incredibly cool tree that had a twisted trunk that looked like there was a big loopy knot in it. Part of this trail follows an old road - the first indication was a nice wooden bridge at the beginning, and you could see remnants of asphalt for quite a while. It crosses over the Tiemann Shut-ins Trail at the Cats Paw Overlook, and then continues, eventually getting into US forest service land. The trail was very discernible throughout, but narrowed quite a bit when you got out of the conservation area and into the forest service land. The surface was good, from smooth dirt and pine needles to rockiness to boulders and roots - it was never boring, for sure! I was there mid June, saw lots of really pretty flowers and some cool caterpillar thingies. The water level in the whole area was very low, so there were really no great shut-ins to see, and the St Francis river was barely flowing in some parts. Still pretty!! The hike was great though - at that picnic area I had a snack and got to use the privy before I walked back, so it was a really good hike. According to AllTrails, I walked just over 4-3/4 miles.

Excellent walking path down to a scenic view of the river. If you want to go off the path, you can walk down to the river. There are some unofficial paths where others have made their way down. Absolutely beautiful area.

Beautiful granite bolders. The St Francis River is great as usual not crowed. More than I expected

The best natural wonder in Missouri. Incredible, no picture can do it justice.

Gorgeous views, lovely scenery, such a beautiful gem close to home.

Interesting hike on the river bed in the summer and whitewater kayaking in winter. Love this area

For those with strollers, wheelchairs, scooters, etc, this is a paved trail that leads you to a beautiful overlook of the St. Francis River. With so many benches along the path, it's great for all ages.