The largest natural spring in the entire state of Arkansas, and a National Natural Landmark sits unobtrusively at the junction of US-63 and AR-9, tight against the Missouri border.
One entrance path enters the park via State Line Road, wanders past a wooden deck overlooking the spring, a campground, historic cemetery, and baseball fields. The Spring Trial then passes by the 1886 Depot Museum before meandering back to the beginning.
As the oldest railroad station in Arkansas, the beautifully restored depot reflects its original turn-of-the century Victorian appearance, and contains some excellent displays related to life in and around the station at the time of peak use.
Life size figures portray depot attendants, train crew, and passengers frozen in time. Short audio presentations complement each display, and a couple of short videos tell the history of Mammoth Spring. The baggage room, at the opposite end of the depot from the main museum, displays a wide variety of railroad artifacts too.
Storyboards detail information about the steam locomotives that moved through during that time, how they worked, and the value brought to small communities like Mammoth Spring. Parked just beyond that outside, stands a restored Frisco 1176 Caboose folks are encouraged to climb aboard and explore.
Spring Lake Trail leads away from the depot and towards a dam and mill site used since the earliest settlers arrived in the area. Even before then, Native American tribes relied on the spring as a source of fresh water.
The 68-meter dam that stands now, originally built to power a flour production company in 1887, eventually enhanced by Arkansas-Missouri Power Company in 1927 to include a hydroelectric plant, provided power to the area until 1972.
The generators have been quiet since then, and 10 million gallons of water flow uninterrupted across the top of the dam every hour. Accessing the generator house, displays educate visitors on the mechanics and history of the hydroelectric plant, dam, and associated facilities.
A few steps away, and on the US-63 side of the park we originally entered, an Arkansas Welcome Center provides an array of information related to Arkansas, Mammoth Spring, along with refreshments and gifts.
“The Big Gun” squats just past the Welcome Center. The US War Department donated the US Model 1861 4.5-inch Ordinance Rifle in 1893 in support of the “Reunion of the Blue and Gray.” The annual event provided a platform for Civil War veterans to rebuild their lives and move towards mending the wounds of war and was fired daily at sunrise and sunset during the entire reunion week.
Continuing along Spring Lake Trail, at the opposite corner of the park from the depot, we finally encountered the infamous spring. It is indeed huge. What is visible is actually only the spring pool, as the mouth of the spring is about 20 m below the surface of the water. The emerging water forms a massive spring pool that empties across two minor cascades on either side, and into the 10-acre Spring Lake.
The trail passes over one of the minor cascades and onto the little island formed by the pair, then across the other larger cascade, and on around the banks of Spring Lake, back to the depot. The entire trail is just under a kilometer, taking only about 20 minutes to wander through non-stop. Most of it is paved, and highly accessible to those with disabilities, excepting the short distance along the eastern edge of the lake.
Established in 1957, trouble with surrounding land claims held things up until 1972. The site of the Welcome Center hosted a bit of a local farmers market prior to that, where folks sold various wares and livestock. The function was not particularly well suited to maintaining a pristine environment though and the state legislature eventually condemned the land, for addition to the park.
There are plenty of things to see and do in and around this little 62.5 acre park. Next door the US Fish and Wildlife Service maintains the oldest national fish hatchery in Arkansas, providing fish stock for the Spring River. The consistent flow of cool water provides ideal conditions for the endeavor, as well as fishing and canoeing along the Spring River below the dam.
