How to use this guide
This is a mile-by-mile guide to U.S. 60 from Springfield, Mo. to the Mississippi River. The narrative begins at Springfield and continues east to the Mississippi River. Highway mileage is shown from Springfield, but you can easily use the guide in reverse. Side trips are shown in shading. Advertisers are printed in color. Enjoy your trip and remember to buckle up! For more information about the Ozarks, read the River Hills Traveler monthly magazine.

U.S. 60 – used by warriors, settlers and now, you!

U.S. Highway 60 is one of the nation’s longest high-ways. It starts at old Fort Henry, on the beach in Virginia and ends in Arizona near the California border, where it joins Interstate 10 and heads into Los Angeles.
A long and important highway, it follows the Virginia Warriors Path, a trail used for continental travel by Indian tribes for thousands of years. Pioneers from Kentucky and Tennessee followed this Indian trail to reach the Ozarks, where they settled.
In Missouri, Highway 60 begins in the Mississippi River Delta, an alluvial floodplain that extends all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. At Poplar Bluff, the landscape changes to Ozark hills. Two reservoirs are in this region, Clearwater Lake and Lake Wappapello.
At Van Buren, 60 crosses Current River. Here is the headquarters for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri's only natural national park. From Van Buren to Mountain View, 60 is within easy driving distance of the rivers and springs within the park. Some of the biggest springs in the world are located just off the highway.
West of Van Buren, you might notice that the highway crosses almost no rivers or streams. It was built between two major drainage systems; to the south is the White River system, which has been almost entirely impounded to create Bull Shoals, Table Rock and Beaver lakes. To the north, rivers flow into major tributaries of the Missouri, like the Osage and Gasconade.
Today, U.S. 60 carries thousands of tourists traveling for entertainment at musical Branson, Springfield's unique shopping and Missouri's "Great Lakes": Bull Shoals and Table Rock. But afterwards, returning by way of Highway 60 may be half the fun of your trip. In Springfield: Springfield is the meeting place for several major highways. Mo. 13, U.S. 60, 65, and 160, and Interstate 44. They all move traffic into and out of the Springfield area.
U.S. 60, to the east, traces an ancient Indian pathway to the Mississippi River. It travels across the highest parts of the Ozark plateau in the west and then descends into the lowlands of Southeast Missouri.
You may begin at the Springfield Visitor Information Center on U.S. 65, five miles south of I-44. From there, go south on 65 for 4.5 miles to junction with U.S. 60. Go east. Trip mileage begins at the Jct. U.S 60 and 65.
0.0 Sidetrip to Ozark. Travel south on U.S. 65 (from U.S. 60) 4.0 miles to Jct. Route CC.
Further south is downtown Ozark and Mo. 14. Ozark is home to the Ozark Mountain Ducks semi-pro baseball team, several antique stores and flea markets. The historic Ozark mill can be found downtown on the Finley River. Return to U.S. 60.
0.0 Go east from the clover leaf on U.S. 60. Exit Springfield city limits. Incidentally, Springfield is Missouri's third largest city.
8.7 Bus. 60, goes through Rogersville.
29.1 Seymour. Watch for horse-drawn vehicles from Amish community.
39.3 Jct. Mo. 5 South. Mansfield.
40.6 Jct. Mo. 5 North. Exit for Tourist Information Center; Homesite and museum of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House on the Prairie." Museum and gift shop on Bus. 60 east of town.
63.3 Junction Mo. 95. Mountain Grove is a local retail and manufacturing center. It is in the heart of Missouri's dairy region. Mo. 95 goes south 14 miles to Shannon Ranch State Conservation Area. Also south of Mountain Grove is the North Fork River and Bryant Creek and an Old Mill Tour.
0.0 Take Mo. 95 south from U.S. 60, traveling through downtown.
22.1 Jct. Mo. 14.
30.7 Jct. Route N. Take N north (right) 2.0 miles to Rockbridge Mill. This mill was built in 1868 and was once the center of a thriving village. Now it is a main attraction at Rockbridge Trout and Game Ranch.

Return to Mo. 95, then go north back to Jct. Mo. 14. From Mo. 95, travel east 9.0 miles to Jct. 181 south. Going south on Mo. 181:
3.5 Jct. Route CC West and community of Dora.
4.2 Jct. Route CC East. CC goes to Hammond Camp 4.1 miles, a National Forest Service Recreation Area on the North Fork River, and then on to West Plains.
Continue south on Mo. 181.
6.9 Jct. Route H. This area is locally known as the 'Crossroads'.
Turn right to stay on Mo. 181.
10.7 Hodgson Mill and Bryant Creek. Hodgson Mill was built in 1894 over a spring which pours 29 million gallons of water every day into Bryant Creek. This is the most photographed mill in the state according to the Missouri Department of Tourism. It has been under restoration recently. Watch for construction hazzards. The Sycamore access to the Bryant Creek is across the Bryant from the mill. The turnoff is 0.3 miles south on 181.
15.8 Zanoni Mill. A rare over-run mill, Zanoni Mill was built in 1905. Located near the mill is the original general store that served the community.

19.3 Entrance to Caney Mountain State Conservation Area.
23.4 Gainesville city limit.
25.0 Jct. U.S. 160. Downtown Gainesville is to the right (west). Turn left.
Going east on U.S. 160:
8.2 U.S. 160 crosses Norfork Lake at Tecumseh.The Norfork is part of the White River system. There is a recreation area with campground, restrooms, picnic, etc... on the west side of the lake.
10.5 Jct. Route PP. Turn left and go 1.1 miles north to Dawt Mill turnoff. Watch for sign. Go 1 mile west to mill and river. Dawt Mill was built in 1897 and is the only water-powered grist mill on the North Fork River. It has been restored and is part of a riverfront resort.
Return to Route PP and continue north.
12.4 PP crosses the North Fork.
15.7 Jct. Route H, turn right (south) and go 0.3 miles to turnoff for Riverside Canoe Rental.

Going north on Route H from PP
0.1 Turnoff for Blair Bridge access to the North Fork River.
0.4 Turnoff for Warren Bridge access to the Bryant Creek.
5.6 Jct. Mo. 181 at the Crossroads. Continue north to backtrack to Mountain Grove and U.S. 60. Incidentally, Mountain Grove is home to Southwest Missouri State University's Fruit Research Campus.
69.3 Jct. Route MM, 1.5 miles to Austin Community Lake. Picnicking, fishing
.
70.0 Jct. U.S. 63 North, Bus. 60 to Cabool. Big Piney River to the north, drains north, eventually to the Missouri River. All streams previously crossed, drain south.
75.3 Roadside park.
79.7 Bus. 60 to Willow Springs. Watch for road construction for the the next 5 miles.
81.3 Jct. Mo. 137 & Mo. 76. Take 76 west for sidetrip to Noblett Lake. Watch for detour as the new interchange may not be open yet.
7.5 Jct. Mo. 181 and 76. Take 181 south.
8.6 National Forest overlook.
9.0 Jct. Route AP, take south. The Missouri Children’s Forest is on the left.
12.2 Turn off for lake, follow signs.
13.0 Road to right leads to picnic area.
13.3 Ridge Runner trail. The trail is 37.6 miles long. An 8-mile loop around the lake passes Hellroaring Spring, an old woods road and Horton cemetery, the result of a plague in 1902.
13.9 Parking lot. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the earth-and-concrete dam between 1938-1940.
(Note: From lake, backtrack to U.S. 60.)
84.1 Jct. U.S. 63 south, 19 miles to West Plains. Watch for road construction-Two new lanes and a new interchange are being added. Be aware of temporary construction detours.
89.6 Sims Valley Lake, public fishing, 2 miles north.
97.8 Mountain View. Jct. Route Y, take north for sidetrip to Barn Hollow Natural Area.
1.2 Sign for Barn Hollow, take gravel road to right.
2.6 Crossroads, go right.
3.9 Parking lot and trail-head. A trail begins in the uplands and works its way into the Jack’s Fork
River valley, which harbors numerous caves and dolomite rock formations.
97.9 Jct. Mo. 17 South. 24 miles to West Plains.
99.5 Jct. Mo. 17 North, crosses Jacks Fork River at Buck Hollow. Western edge of Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR), a national park.
101.2 Jct. Route 00, another Blue Spring is 4 miles north in Jacks Fork Valley. There are several caves in the vicinity.
106.0 Jct. Route M, goes to Jacks Fork River and Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
110.3 Birch Tree. Jct. Mo. 99, 17 miles south to Thomasville National Forest Recreation Site on the Eleven Point River. The Eleven Point is Missouri’s only federally designated Wild and Scenic River.
114.1 Jct. Route E, 10 miles north to Alley Spring.
119.2 Jct. Mo. 19 South, 22 miles to access for Greer Spring, the second largest spring in Missouri and one of the world’s top 10. Eleven Point River access.
Note: Look for our Driving Guide to Highway 19, Missouri's official Scenic Highway.

120.1 Jct. Mo. 19 North. North to Winona, Eminence and Alley Spring on Jacks Fork of Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
0.0 Side trip going north on 19 into Scenic Riverways.
1.1 National Forest ranger office, maps of national forests available.
2.9 Lewis Lake picnic ground, usually closed.
9.0 Mahan Roadside park.
9.6 Rocky Creek State Forest.
11.4 Eminence city limits.
12.1 Eminence courthouse and state historic marker.
12.3 Jct. Mo. 106. Go west on 106 to get to Alley Spring and old mill. Alley Spring Mill was built in 1894 and is now a museum with a picnic area and a hiking trail. To get to Blue Spring, go east 12 miles on 106 to Owl's Bend. At 256 feet deep, Blue Spring is the deepest known spring in the Ozarks. North to Round Spring and cavern, tours in season. Camping, canoeing, hiking, trail riding, natural areas in all directions.
127.4 Picnic area.
130.7 Jct. Route P, north 8 miles to Peck Ranch Wildlife Area. Heart of Missouri wild turkey and deer restoration program several decades ago.
131.4 Jct. Route J, south 13 miles, Irish Wilderness Area.
141.1 Jct. Mo. 103. Go south to Big Spring recreation area


1.0 Lee Reeves Roadside Park. On right, Skyline Drive takes the high road for scenic views of the Current River Valley.
3.3 Entering Big Spring Park, part of the ONSR.
4.0 Jct. Route Z, goes to cabin rentals and camping.
4.4 Parking lot. Big Spring is the largest spring in the United States and the largest single-outlet spring in the world. It has an average daily discharge of 427 million gallons of water, but can release up to 1.3 billion gallons
4.7 Camping area.
141.5 Current River bridge. Most of the Current is within Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
141.6 Van Buren on left. Headquarters for Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Road to Watercress Spring Recreation Area is 1 mile north on Bus. 60.
Side Trip Into Van Buren:
0.0 Turn left to see the Hidden Log Cabin museum. It is located just west of the courthouse square on Johns Street. Turn right for ONSR Headquarters and Watercress Spring.

0.5 Road to Watercress and ONSR Headquarters. Turn left.
0.8 Cross spring branch. Trail leads to Watercress Spring and Civil War trenches.
0.9 Boat ramp, beach.
1.1 Picnic area, campground entrance. Return to Bus. 60. Bus. 60 continues east through town.



149.2 Jct. Mo. 21 North, goes to Clearwater Lake.
0.0 Turn north on 21 for sidetrip to Clearwater.
1.2 Miller Lake, public fishing and picnic tables
2.6 Jct. Mo. 34, take east to Route HH
8.3 Bicentennial forest to left.
8.8 Jct. spur to Route HH
9.8 HH, go right to Clearwater Dam.
14.5 Jct. Route RA. Thurman Point, undeveloped.
15.1 Dam, Visitor Center open in season. Black River on right. Camping both sides of river below dam. Lake is on left .
16.0 Left at far end of dam on Lake Road 3 to Piedmont Park Recreation Area. Clearwater Lake is a flood control reservoir and is part of the White River Basin, same as Table Rock, Bull Shoals, and Norfork.
16.0 Right at far side of dam on HH to resorts, city of Piedmont.

160.1 Jct. Mo. 21 South. U.S. 160 is 23 miles south.162.2 Exit for Piney Wood Lake.
0.0 Sign for lake on left.
0.3 Camping area to right.
0.4 Lake parking. Piney Wood Trail takes you on a 1.3 mile hike around the lake. The lake also has fishing piers and picnic area.
163.7 Ellsinore.
178.8 Jct. U.S. 67. U.S. 60 goes south, U.S. 67 goes north to St. Louis.
181.3 Missouri Highway Patrol offices; Camelot RV Park.

185.8 Exit on U.S. 60 east. U.S. 67 continues south. Watch for road construction. MoDOT is routing U.S. 67 around the city. Poplar Bluff is the largest city between Springfield and the Mississippi. A center for small engine manufacturing and retailing, Poplar Bluff is at the point where the Ozarks give way to the vast Mississippi Delta. It is also a major retail center. Arkansas is 22 miles south. In town:

Continuing east on 60 from 67:
189.3 Black River. Its headwaters are clearest of Ozarkian streams.
190.5 Bus. 60 goes southwest into Poplar Bluff's downtown area.
191.0 Jct. Route T, take north for sidetrip to Wappapello Dam and Recreation areas.
12.0 Redman Creek Recreation Area, Corps of Engineers management office. Visitor center open in season. The lake is a flood control project, impounded in the 1940s to reduce flooding of cropland in Missouri and Arkansas.
12.7 Jct. Route D, Eagle Point Recreation Area. Overlooks lake and St. Francois River. People's Creek and Dike Two Recreation areas located north on Route D.
198.0 Fisk Access to St. Francois at Route DD and 60.
199.0 St. Francois River. A lowland stream here, but its headwaters contain Missouri's wildest whitewater.
200.0 Jct. Mo. 51, north to Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.
0.0 Take 51 north for side trip to Mingo.
11.4 Jct. Route T, goes west to Lake Wappapello.
12.1 Puxico city limits
14.2 Road on left goes to Mingo visitor's center, nature center. Mingo Swamp was created by the shifting to the east of the Mississippi River about 18,000 years ago. Today, the area is one of the last large (21,676 acres) areas of swampland left in the Missouri Bootheel. The refuge is home to 246 bird species and is an important waterfowl stop in the Mississippi Flyway.
14.5 Visitor’s Center. Displays. Nearby is the popular boardwalk trail that extends into the swamp.
21.8 Duck Creek Wildlife Area. Fishing, waterfowl hunting in season.
205.4 Jct. Route TT, take south to Otter Slough Wildlife Area, a bottomland forest and swamp. Waterfowl hunting in season.
213.1 Dexter city limits. Jct. Bus. 60 goes through town. U.S. 60 continues east.

Dexter is on a landform known as Crowley's Ridge - a ridge that extends from the Ozark highlands far south into Arkansas, protruding from the Mississippi Delta. In town:



214.5 Jct. Mo. 25. There is a Veteran's museum north of town.
214.7 Gravel road on left, sign for Holly Ridge Natural Area.
0.0 Turn left for sidetrip to Holly Ridge.
0.7 Turn left on gravel road.
1.6 Go right at intersection.
2.5 Cemetery, old church.
2.7 Intersection of 3 roads, go left.
3.0 Parking lot. Holly Ridge Natural Area features a natural stand of American holly and other unusual plants. It also contains some small springs. A hiking trail at the parking lot leads through the area.
225.4 Jct. Mo. 114, 1 mile east to Morehouse.
233.4 City limits of Sikeston, Bus. 61.
236.1 I–55 South; 19 miles south to New Madrid, the epicenter for the earthquakes of 1811-1812, largest in U.S. history. A museum in town documents the quakes. Another New Madrid attraction is the Hunter-Dawson Historic Site, an antebellum mansion.
236.5 I–55 North; 26 miles to Cape Girardeau, currently best known nationally as the home town of radio talkshow host, Rush Limbaugh.
Leave U.S. 60 briefly, continue east on I-57 to Charleston.
246.9 Jct. Mo. 105, take south for side trip to Big Oak Tree State Park.
9.4 Jct. Mo. 80, East Prairie is two miles east. Go straight on Mo. 102 to park.
14.3 Ten–Mile Pond Wildlife Area. Fishing, waterfowl hunting.
21.2 Jct. Route RB, sign for park, go right.
21.9 Picnic area.
22.3 Boardwalk, lake parking. Take the boardwalk to the Interpretative Center on your left. The park contains several oak trees over 130 feet tall, 146 species of birds and 22-acre Big Oak Lake. There is no camping, but fishing and hiking are allowed. (Note: Towosahgy Archaelogical Site is 2 miles east. Ask for directions and information at the park.)
249.3 City of Charleston Exit I-57 and return to U.S. 60.
257.3 Big Lake Bayou, one of many oxbow sloughs in the Mississippi delta. Many sloughs have been drained to create farmland.
258.5 MO/IL state line, confluence of Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Cross Mississippi River bridge and view confluence from Fort Defiance State Park.
 

For more useful information about this part of Missouri, Click here for a FREE TRIAL SUBSCRIPTION to the River HillsTraveler , the monthly outdoors journal that covers the central and eastern Ozarks of Missouri. Write  TRAVELER, Route 4, Box 4396, Piedmont, MO. 63957. Or call 573-223-7143. 
E-mail, btodd@semo.net 
 

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