Watercress Recreation Area
The Forest Service's in-town Current River access: a double-lane concrete boat launch, five picnic sites, and concrete stair entries down to a river beach, a half mile from downtown Van Buren.
Songbird Trail
A half-mile Forest Service loop inside Watercress Recreation Area: past Watercress Spring, up a hillside to Civil War earthworks overlooking the Current River, and by a small cave in a rocky bank.
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The Songbird Trail packs a spring, a cave, and a Civil War position into a half-mile loop. It begins in an open grassy area between campsites #11 and #12 in the Watercress Recreation Area, where Watercress Spring runs through a slough to the Current River almost at the trailhead.
From the spring the trail climbs a hillside on unsurfaced ground at a 10 to 12 percent grade. High on the hill, a plaque marks where a Wisconsin regiment camped and later dug gun entrenchments overlooking the river, and the remains of those earthworks can still be seen. Watercress Cave, a small cave in a rocky bank, is the other named stop before the route turns back south toward the entry road.
Short does not mean flat: the Forest Service rates the trail moderate, and the climb is the price of the overlook. The trailhead has no separately published point of its own, so start from the recreation area: park in the day-use lots, walk into the campground, and look for the grassy opening between campsites #11 and #12.
Good to know before you go
- Fees
- No fee is stated by the Forest Service for this trail (recorded as unknown).
- Hours and seasons
- No hours and no seasonal closure are stated by the Forest Service for this trail. The Forest Service names fall, winter, and spring as the best seasons to walk it.
- Parking
- Park at the Watercress Recreation Area on Watercress Drive in Van Buren. The trail begins between campsites #11 and #12 inside the recreation area; there is no separate trailhead parking.
- Accessibility
- The trail surface is unsurfaced native material with a 10 to 12 percent grade, rated moderate by the Forest Service. It is not an accessible trail.
- Nearest town
- Van Buren, Missouri
- Coordinates
- 37.00194, -91.01861
What you can do there
- Half-mile loop trail, Forest Service Trail No. 266139
- Watercress Spring at the start of the trail
- Civil War earthworks with an interpretive plaque
- Watercress Cave, a small cave on a rocky bank
- Hillside overlook above the Current River
- Unsurfaced trail at a 10 to 12 percent grade
Best for
Filed under
Nearby places
Carter County Courthouse
Missouri's only cobblestone-covered courthouse, built in 1871 and reclad by the WPA in 1936, stands vacant on its Main Street square in Van Buren, still the town's gathering ground for tree lightings and the Festival of Lights.
Van Buren Riverfront Park
Van Buren's own river park at the foot of Main Street: a concrete boat ramp and canoe launch on the Current River, a picnic shelter, and swimming areas on one acre, open 4 AM to 10 PM.
Big Spring Campground
The Park Service's main campground in the Big Spring area: 123 reservable sites on the Current River, a boat ramp, electric hookups in one loop, and Big Spring itself within walking distance.