Springs & Falls
The Eminence area is the home to many amazing springs that rank among the worlds largest! In addition, we have caves to explore and rich history to learn. Use the links on the left (above on mobile) to learn more.
Alley Spring
With its beautiful turquoise water, Alley Spring has a 100 year old grist mill which you can tour. The mill is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Stop in for an up close look at one of the Ozarks’ most famous landmarks. There is no charge, but donations help offset operating costs. Located six miles west of Eminence, Missouri, on State Highway 106. Books and postcards may be purchased at the mill. The mill machinery is no longer operational, although restoration efforts are underway.
Alley was home, farm, and school for people who lived here a century ago. Dances, baseball games, and roller-skating were all part of Alley’s busier days. The first mill was built in 1868. A post office was established, named after a prominent local farming family, Alley.
From that day on, the area has been known as Alley Spring, Alley Mill, or just plain Alley. The present building was constructed during 1893-1894 by George Washington McCaskill as a merchant mill. With a turbine rather than a water wheel, and with rollers rather than grist stones, it was considered to be very “high tech” for its day. It served the needs of the local community by processing the farmers’ grain. Originally unpainted, it was first painted white with green trim, then later the famous red color associated with Alley Mill today.
Big Spring
This is the largest spring in Missouri and the largest freshwater spring in the United States. On an average day, around 278 million gallons of water gush forth from subterranean passages, swelling the nearby Current River. Experiments in which harmless dye is placed into the ground have shown that water travels from as far as 45 miles away through underground passages before surfacing at Big Spring.
Blue Spring
This is one of Missouri’s deepest springs and is located approximately 12 miles east of Eminence on Highway 106. The spring flows slowly from a very deep cave shaft that is situated at the base of a dolomite bluff.
Photo credit Mark Pelton
Pulltite Spring
This spring is located close to Pulltite campground, about 14 miles north of Eminence off of highway EE. The spring branch carries a daily flow of 38 million gallons from Pulltite Spring into the Current River. The spring flows from the rock structures at the bottom of a cliff forming a small pool. Pulltite Spring gained its name from the “tight pull” of the horse drawn teams down a steep hill next to the mills that were positioned on the spring-branch.
The spring was purchased by St Louis businessmen in 1911 and was run as a fishing resort, until the area was acquired by the National Park Service in 1967.
Round Spring & Round Spring Cave
Located approximately 13 miles north of Eminence on Highway 19 is Round Spring. The spring flows into an almost perfectly circular cavern that has collapsed, and from there it travels through a natural tunnel before it emerges into the spring branch. It is believed that a portion of the spring’s recharge area is to the northeast of Spring Valley, which means that the water would have to flow under the Current River to reach the spring.
Round Spring was also one of the first parks in the Missouri state park system (1932). The Round Spring State Park was incorporated into the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in 1972.
Round Spring Cave is heavily decorated with formations and the National Park Service conducts daily tours by lantern, that take about two hours. Tours operate Memorial Day – Labor Day.
Rocky Falls
Nine miles southeast of Eminence on Highway NN is one of the finest examples of this geology in the state, Rocky Falls Shut-in. Rocky Falls is an impressive, steep cascading waterfall that pours into a large pool of water. There are parking and picnic areas available right by the water. This is a great place to have a picnic and explore the waterfall area and do some day hiking. One section of the Ozark trail hikes right past the falls.
Welch Spring
Welch Spring is located approximately 2 miles north of Akers on Highway K and is the fifth largest spring in Missouri. The spring flows from the base of a wooded dolomite hill near the historic Welch Hospital, and then flows to the river over a rock impoundment. Thomas Welch homesteaded Welch Spring, in 1855, and a gristmill was run on the spring-branch until nearly 50 years after the Civil War.
