Greer Spring

[Al Agnew]

Wife and I had to go to Springfield last Friday and stayed until Saturday morning. We planned to stop somewhere along the way back home and hike Saturday since it was going to be such great weather, but it dawned on me Saturday morning that a lot of the national forest areas that I'd thought about hiking would probably be overrun by orange clad nimrods with deer rifles. And you know...there just aren't many state parks in far southern Missouri between Springfield and Van Buren where you could hike without the hunters. And then I thought about Greer Spring.

It had been many years since I'd hiked down to the spring. The last time I'd done it had been in May...I'd never seen the spring canyon in the late fall. In fact, the parking area and the trail itself seemed to have changed a lot from that last time, which I remembered as a very quick but very steep walk down into the canyon.

It's an easy hike now, winding along the side of a tributary hollow, switchbacking down into the lower end of that hollow, and finally on down to the spring itself. And the spring and canyon are much different this time of year. In late spring, everything is green, moss is everywhere, ferns grow in profusion, and the water is that beautiful slightly milky blue color of so many of the big Ozark springs. If there was one word to describe the setting in the spring, it would be lush.

In the late autumn, it's so much more austere, and the spring itself is very clear, without much of the blue color. But it's still a gorgeous place. I got to thinking that, as near as I can figure, this and Blue Spring on the Current River are the only two first magnitude springs and branches in the Ozarks that are still pretty much in their natural settings. There are a few big ones that emerge right into the rivers, but most of them are either trout parks or historic mills or old resorts or just parks you can drive right up to the spring. Funny how Greer and Blue are, in my opinion, by far the most beautiful springs and spring settings!

[jdmidwest]

They changed the access several years ago. Before that you parked at the mill before you drop off the hill into the valley of the river.

Dry weather and low flows have probably reduced the dissolved solids that give the spring its traditional blue hue. I think as of this spring, all of the spring branch will be open to the public. Then you will get to see the mill and its unique system of pulleys that drive it way up on the hill. The private cabins and fishing areas, the cable car across the spring branch will probably all be open to the public as well. It is a very special place indeed, kept private all of these years by Private ownership. Hard to say what the new Public ownership will do to it.

[Greasy B]

No doubt the natural setting would not have survived public ownership If that had happened prior to the slightly more enlightend attitudes that now exist. Maybe Anheuser Busch's attempt to turn it into a source of bottled water was a blessing. Didn't Leo Drey play a role in the preservation?

[Kelroy]

The 'sit-down cable car' is still used by the USGS for making monthly discharge measurements; it is one of the last ones in the state, as they have been phased out by safer methods. It may someday be replaced by a simpler unmanned pulley setup, as we tend to be a little nervous, liability-wise, about dangling our personnel over the water.

Greer is a wonderful place to work. I used to hike down quarterly to get water-quality samples. It's always a thrill to see what's lurking around every bend in the trail. I especially enjoy seeing it in the winter, with a fresh blanket of snow.

[jdmidwest]

I really hope it retains its semi pristine state after next year. But will be looking forward to seeing it all again.

I have not seen the cable car since the 80's, that was the last time we had permission to go there. I would not have used it then, surprised it still works today.

There is another over Cinque Hommes in Perry Cty we used in the 90's. Crossed one turkey season where my feet almost dangled into the raging flood waters. Was hunting with a local that posted me near a big sink that morning before daylight. Lucky I did not wander till daylight, big hole in ground just off the road in front of where I was posted.