July 14, 2019
We have all seen photos of Alley Mill, the bright red wooden structure next to the bright blue waters of Alley Spring. They say it is one of the most photographed sites in the MO-Outdoors. I have no way of telling if that part is true, but it is an absolutely beautiful spot and worth making a day trip if you find yourself anywhere near Eminence, MO.
The Wanderers
And that is exactly how Billy and I found ourselves at Alley Spring & Mill on the hot final day of June. Our extended weekend with the family at Echo Bluff State Park had wrapped up, and everyone headed home. But we weren’t finished exploring this beautiful part of our state, and Alley Spring was an obvious choice for our first stop. The spring is only about 5 miles west of Eminence, and an easy place to navigate to.
The Spring
We arrived early afternoon to find the parking lot largely empty. With no idea of where we were going, Billy and I just started following the gravel path along the spring branch. The flat trail winded through the woods sandwiched between the cool spring and, in many places, large rock outcroppings. In a few spots where the footing got tricky, stairs or handrails were installed to make it easy for almost anyone.
This portion of the trail is probably only .2 of a mile, and soon led to a gushing rapid/waterfall where the spring pond exited into the stream. Right above that was the large pond, surrounded by woods and a large cliff, scenic in its own right. We watched a grass pickerel work the weedy shoreline and took it all in from the bank opposite the mill. Eventually we worked our way into the mill, where Forest Service personnel were on hand to answer questions and exhibits showed how everything worked.
We mostly just lingered outside, marveling at the flow of water and the beautiful scenery. We took advantage of the clean restrooms on site and headed into Eminence for lunch. Somehow we settled on Ruby’s Family Restaurant, and found the staff friendly and the service fast. Of course the food was delicious and prices extremely reasonable so I certainly recommend this diner while passing through. Here is a bit more information from the web:
Now what?
With our bellies full but time still left on our clocks, we headed East toward Rocky Falls. This was a quick stop as neither of us and been there before. I had seen a million photos of Rocky Falls, but once I laid eyes on the large volcanic shut-ins I was amazed by the large size of it. Photos lose perspective of the size of the falls and simply don’t do it justice. We climbed around and watched the show, enjoying the falls and the small crowd of people splashing around the swimming hole at the bottom of the falls.
I think Billy and I were both surprised that such a little creek could create such a noisy show. Absolutely a place that deserves more time in the future. We were not up for the 5+ mile out and back hike to Stegall Mountain from here, but that is on the list for sure.
Additional information
There is so much history surrounding Alley Spring & Mill, here is a good place to start:
https://www.nps.gov/ozar/learn/historyculture/alley-mill.htm
https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places/alley-spring
Also don’t forget Rocky Falls, add to your list of must-see locations in the Missouri Ozarks:
