Arguably the most famous springs in Arkansas are the hot springs found in the city and national park in Garland County from which their names derive. The springs found throughout Eureka Springs (Carroll County) are well-known too. But the largest natural spring in the Natural State isn’t found in Hot Springs or Eureka Springs, but near the Arkansas-Missouri border in Fulton County.
Named Mammoth Spring due to its massive size, the spring is the third-largest in the Ozark Plateau and the seventh-largest in the world. Its outlet pool is contained inside Mammoth Spring State Park in the town of Mammoth Spring.
Mammoth Spring’s massive discharge gushes several hundred feet down the outlet channel before merging with the Warm Fork of the Spring River to form the Spring River. The chilly water that comes from the spring creates excellent trout fishing conditions. It’s also great for canoeists and kayakers. In fact, floating the Spring River is one of the most popular outdoor activities in the state.
Mammoth Spring is created by the rain and snow that falls in southern Missouri and creeps into the area water table, where it flows through a vast network of cavities and passages. Those cavities host an underground river that emerges on the surface at the town of Mammoth Spring. The water that emerges forms a 10-acre spring pool that drains over a tall rock dam. The spring generates a harmonic mean flow of about 322 cubic feet per second. The water emerges at a cool 58 degrees.
Mammoth Spring itself cannot be viewed at the Mammoth Spring site because its mouth is more than 70 feet below the surface of the vast spring pool. About 10 miles northwest of Mammoth Spring, a portion of the underground river that feeds the spring can be seen at a collapsed cave inside Grand Gulf State Park in Missouri.
Since the days of the early European settlers, Mammoth Spring was used to power a gristmill. The Mammoth Spring Milling Co. built a stone dam in the late 1880s and a water-powered gristmill downstream of the outlet of the spring-fed lake. The dam was purchased in 1925 by the Arkansas-Missouri Power Co., which built a hydroelectric plant at the dam site. This plant supplied electricity to the town of Mammoth Spring and the surrounding area until 1972. That same year, Mammoth Spring was declared a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
In 1957, Mammoth Spring State Park was established by the Arkansas General Assembly, which condemned the land where a popular cattle sales barn was located. The park was placed under the management and supervision of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. The 62-acre state park provides many recreational opportunities for visitors, including boating, fishing and hiking. At the park, you’ll also find a tourism welcome center and a restored 1886 St. Louis–San Francisco Railway train. The old depot is now home to a railroad museum. The former depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 1992.
Mammoth Spring State Park’s visitors’ center features numerous artifacts and exhibits that interpret the region’s history. A leisurely walking trail, which starts at the visitors’ center, leads to a restored rail depot that once connected the town of Mammoth Spring to the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. The old hydroelectric plant and gristmill nearby showcase the economic importance the spring had to the early development of the region. Mammoth Spring State Park also provides a pavilion, several picnic areas, a baseball field and a playground. Canoes and kayaks can be rented at the visitor center during spring and summer for those wanting to venture out on Spring Lake.
Although it’s quite a drive from central and southern Arkansas, Mammoth Spring and the town and state park that bear its name are worth the visit if you find yourself in this scenic part of our state.
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