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Mastodon State Historic Site

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Park Information

Looking to take a trip to where something big happened? Try Mastodon State Historic Site. The site is the home of the Kimmswick Bone Bed, one of the most famous and extensive Pleistocene ice age deposits of fossils, including a number of bones of giant mastodons. Interpretative trails and picnic sites dot the landscape and a museum tells the natural and cultural story of the Clovis culture, which existed in the area between 10,000 and 14,000 years ago.

Park Hours

Historic Site Grounds

  • 8 a.m. to one-half hour after sunset, daily, year-round

Historic Site Office

  • 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday
  • 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday
  • Please note there will be times when the office is temporarily closed while staff are working on the grounds. The office telephone is monitored for messages during office hours.

Museum hours

  • March 16 through Nov. 14
    9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday
    12 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Sunday (closed Easter Day)
  • Nov. 15 through March 15
    11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday
    Closed Tuesday-Thursday
    11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday
    12 p.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday
    Closed New Year's, Thanksgiving and Christmas days

 

Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites
May 23, 2013
Fifty years ago, if you had arrived at the natural tunnel in Bennett Spring State Park, you would have seen a lake. Around 1964, a dam created from gravel and silt and reinforced with rebar and concrete blocked the upstream entrance of the natural tunnel. There is no record of how long the resulting lake lasted, but historical accounts state the dam failed after heavy rains, leaving only the portion of the structure seen today at the end of the trail. Walk the Natural Tunnel Trail today and imagine what it would have been like 50 years ago. For more information about this trail, other trails at the park, and all the other things you can do at Bennett Spring State Park, visit mostateparks.com.