PATTERSON — Park Naturalist Michelle Soenksen has worked at Sam A. Baker State Park for 17 years. She took the job sight-unseen, she explained, with plans to move on to other parks eventually. Instead, she fell in love with this ancient sprawl of Ozark wilderness.
“I love this park. There’s just no other park I’d rather go to,” Soenksen said.
Sam A. Baker State Park sits near the town of Patterson and encompasses over 5,000 acres of the St. Francois mountains, one of the oldest mountain ranges in North America.
It maintains 35 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails, ranging from easy one or two-mile treks to a 12-hour loop for serious backpackers. The trails have shelters open from October through May. For outdoor enthusiasts who prefer some creature comforts, there are electric campsites with showers.
The park is popular with families, according to Soenksen.
“It’s a very family-friendly park. We’ve got people who come every year, some two or three times a year,” she said.
Spring is a great time to visit Sam A. Baker because some sites are especially beautiful, such as Mudlick Hollow on the Mudlick Trail.
“Mudlick Hollow is a narrow shut-in area you can hike through, and it’s beautiful in the spring,” she said.
Shut-ins are dramatic gorges formed by erosion and are one of the park’s unique features. Another is Mudlick dellenite, an igneous rock formed in the Precambrian era only found within 50 miles of Mudlick Mountain. The name “Mudlick” itself references the way wildlife in the area were observed to dig for underground water.
“The animals would pound on the ground and cause that water to seep up, and then they’d lick the mud,” Soenksen explained.
The Mudlick Trail is an intermediate to difficult hike, depending on which section one takes, and it climbs 1,000 feet to the top of Mudlick Mountain. An easier hike is the Shut-Ins Trail, which is about 1.5 miles one-way.
“It’s fairly flat and takes you to a very nice swimming hole,” she noted.
Big Creek and the St. Francis River intersect at the park, which offers boating, canoeing, fishing and swimming.
“The creek is the perfect temperature — it’s cold, it’s clean, you can see the bottom,” Soenksen said. “It’s just perfect swimming conditions.”
The park’s visitor center is a great first stop for sightseers. It displays a scale model of the park, exhibits on the St. Francois Mountains’ ancient history and even a snake room. Visitors can also find information on programs like the Wildflower Scavenger Hunt, which runs until the end of April, Keep Baker Beautiful day on April 30 and the Wild Edibles Scavenger Hunt during May.
“The programs are pretty big here,” said Soenksen.
Sam A. Baker State Park is also part of the Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites Explorer program, and participants can earn a badge during their visit.
National Park Week is April 16-24, and the National Park Service encourages residents to explore parks in their area. Facts about the relationship between wellness and time outdoors are available at nps.gov/articles/naturesbenefits.htm.
More information about Sam A. Baker State Park can be found at mostateparks.com/park/sam-baker-state-park or on the Missouri State Parks Facebook Page. Campsite reservations can also be made on the website or by calling 877-422-6766 during business hours, 7 a.m.-10 p.m. on weekdays and weekends.