Places · Springs · Near Van Buren, Missouri

Big Spring

One of the largest springs in the United States, pouring an average of 289 million gallons of clear blue water a day into the Current River, four miles south of Van Buren.

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Big Spring is one of the biggest springs in America. The National Park Service puts its average daily flow at 289 million gallons of water, and it is one of three springs that trade the claim to the largest in the country, alongside Idaho's Snake River Spring Complex and Florida's Silver Spring. Underground passages carry the water here from as far as 45 miles away, and the water brings with it a load of dissolved limestone equal to about 70 tons a day. That dissolved rock is what gives the spring its striking blue color, and it is slowly carving out a huge cavern underground.

You can see the spring right from the parking area, and a wheelchair accessible walkway leads straight to it. The accessible Slough Trail is nearby, along with several other trails. The area around the spring has picnic areas with tables and grills, two reservable picnic shelters (Big Spring Shelter near the spring and Peavine Shelter near the campground), and Big Spring Campground, which has sites for tents and RVs, electric hookups in the 200 loop, and a dump station. Rangers present campfire programs on weekend evenings in the campground amphitheater during the summer.

Big Spring was one of Missouri's first state parks, from 1924 until 1969, when the people of Missouri donated it, along with Alley and Round Spring state parks, to the National Park Service as part of Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The Big Spring Lodge and the nearby cabins, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Depression era, are currently closed for renovation, so check the Park Service page for the latest on their restoration before planning around them.