Location – 4/5
Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park is a park on the East Fork Black River in Reynolds County, Missouri. The park flooded in 2005, caused by a pump storage plant reservoir failing, and the park was rebuilt and reopened in 2006 through 2010, including a new campground. We visited in July 2020 and it was hot. We’d definitely recommend trying to go when it’s a little cooler as the swimming area is a car ride away. The drive out there was not too bad and was on major roadways. Every activity was a short drive from the campground.
Campground – 5/5
Even with it being 10 years old, everything seemed somewhat new. We were most surprised at how clean and pristine everything was. The front gate worker was the most informative and helpful state park employee we’ve ever met and was very welcoming. They came by every so often preparing sites for new campers and checking on us. Loops 1-3 are electric hookups, Loop 4 is basic sites, and Loop 5 is walk-in. We stayed on Loop 4 site 412. It was a standard state park setup where your neighbors were 50 feet from you on either side, but there was plenty of space to stretch out. Loop 5 offered a little more distance but it was walk-in only.
Activities – 3/5
Swimming
After spending the day before sweating non-stop, it was great to be able to cool off in the water. The shut-ins were about a 10 minute drive from the campsite. We got there around 10am and were among the first people there. Be prepared as there are food and disposable container restrictions and there is a LONG walk to get to the water. We ended up bringing a little bag with reusable water bottles, towels, and our belongings. Once you finally reach the end of the half-mile long walkway you will see the shut-ins. There is not really a good place to set your things, but we just found an area and claimed it as our home base.
We learned the term “shut-in” refers to a place where the river is met with hard rock that is resistant to erosion, which causes the water to flow quickly creating a natural water park with natural slides. These slides seemed to be hit or miss, as some were fun but others were very dangerous or too sharp. In addition to the rocky area, there are two big swimming areas. To the left as you walk in is a more shallow swimming area and to the right is a deep swimming area.
Hiking – 4/5
We are rating hiking at a 4/5 even though the best hiking is a 20 minute drive to another State Park great for day hiking called Elephant Rocks State Park. It’s a great picnic or day-use area with big rocks to climb and hike through with tons of beautiful scenery. There were children’s playgrounds open, but we didn’t partake due to COVID. There were lots of shaded areas which was a welcomed break from the sweltering heat.
Amenities – 5/5
Bathrooms
The bathrooms were cleaned regularly; however, due to the amount of people using them, they got dirty fairly quickly. The restrooms were in a big concrete structure which had private rooms with a private shower and flush toilet. The bathrooms were only a hundred feet away from site 412.
Firewood and Shopping
This was the nicest camp shop we’ve ever been to. It had everything at reasonable prices (I double checked REI and Amazon pricing, and should’ve picked up some stakes). They had cool drinks and snacks for a much needed break. We definitely ended up spending too much time shopping there just because they had a lot of cool trinkets. As we frustratingly learned, wifi is offered, however, we were better off just not using it as it was terrible, but good enough to get an emergency text in. We were able to buy firewood at $5 a bundle which we picked up at the big wood shed next to the shop.
Overall Rating – 4/5
Overall we give this site 4 out of 5. Even though this park is known as a popular swimming destination, we would recommend coming here in the fall to just chill at the campsite and/or focus on hiking at Elephant Rocks and surrounding areas.
