Trail Town- Eminence, Missouri and Alley Spring Mill

The first post for my ambitious 52 places near or along the OT has proven to be a little difficult for me to write. I’ve been going round and round asking myself which section of the OT should I post about first, how about my favorite section, do I have a favorite section? The first post should be a place that I feel is special, but there are so many that are incredible places, so which is the most deserving of being the first post of the New Year. So many questions and thoughts, and then there’s the weather, the weather is so cold that I certainly didn’t want to encourage anyone to go out in this bad weather. So, which one will it be? Well, I decided on not a place along the trail but rather a place that is trail town, and I have many “favorite” trail towns along the OT, but this town is the one that I return to time and time again…..and that’s the town of Eminence, Missouri.

I love Alley Mill. ( There I said it!)

The town of Eminence is located in Shannon County, on Highway 19, an area rich with history and natural beauty. A popular “floating” area, so I stay away during the summer to avoid the crowds, I prefer trips in the winter, early spring and fall. The Ozark Trail is only 13 miles east down Highway 106, and two of the most interesting and beautiful sections of trail meet here, the Blair Creek Section, and the Current River Section, here in the Ozark National Scenic Riverway. See pages 68-95 in The Ozark Trail Guidebook for more information on these sections, and I will certainly have posts later this year with where to go and what to see along those sections.

The place that is a must see is Alley Spring Mill. Located 6 miles west of Eminence off Highway 106. The big red Mill was built in 1894 along Alley Spring. This spring pumps out over 81 million gallons of water a day. There are short hiking trails along the edge of the spring and also an overview trail. The mill is only open during the summer months the campground is open all year, but the water is turned off from October 30^th-April 15^th. In town is Tim's Grocery Store-great pork chops, and several other stores along Main Street to check out. Enjoy!
Check these links for more information: www.eminencemo.com www.nps.gov/ozar/index.htm