big oak tree state park

Let me begin by saying if you're a naturalist, arborist, or someone who just really likes seeing nature that is not seen everyday, you could still very much enjoy this park, but if you're a typical traveler you'll probably walk away disappointed. Unfortunately, this park has been hit hard by uncontrollable forces. The champion Bur Oak was toppled in 2009, and now all you can see is slowly rotting remains. This is actually par for the entire area along the boardwalk (which is now a metal walk after a fire a few years back). A massive ice storm a few years ago broke virtually every tree not only in the park, but in the area. The trees are recovering, but there are rotting limbs and tree sections everywhere, as none of this was cleaned up with the exception of that which was across the boardwalk. On the heels of the massive ice storm came the massive flood in which the Mississippi River levee was breached in three places. One of those breaches was right behind Big Oak and I'm guessing the rushing waters pretty much wiped out anything that was there as far as structures go. We were there today for the first time since then, and the only building still there that I remembered from earlier visits was a heavily damaged interpretive center built roughly eight feet off the ground. The Missouri Department of Conservation has done a good job of trying to restore pavilions, restrooms, etc. again, but the scars on the park from that water rushing through it, and the work in progress, as MDC tries to restore the park from it are clearly visible. Then finally, some problem has developed with the lake in recent years in retaining water. Today, I was shocked when I topped the lake levee and saw that the "lake" was only a hole in the ground with saplings 8-10 feet tall and a couple of inches in diameter growing all in it. It could be there's still water out there in it somewhere. We walked a few feet into it, but it became so brushy so quickly that we just abandoned the search for water in the "lake." There are a couple of other drawbacks to this park as well. One is that the boardwalk makes you double back on yourself rather than taking you on a loop. You walk almost 3/4 of a mile into the woods only to come to a dead end and have to backtrack that same route back to the starting point. The other drawback is that it is well off the beaten path. If you are crossing the Mississippi via the Dorena-Hickman Ferry, then this park is nearby. If you're on I-55 at Matthews, I-57 at Charleston, or crossing either bridge from Cairo into Missouri you're well over 20 miles from this park, and so you're basically looking at a 50 mile round trip to go see rotting trees and a dry overgrown lake bed. I don't fault the MDC for their efforts with the park. It just, unfortunately, has been hit with too many things too close together and it is not going to recover anytime soon.

The ice storm 2 1/2 years ago damaged the trees severely, felling at least one of the state record trees for which the park is noted. The small visitors center is closed. The pool whichdraws fishermen has dried up almost completely in this year's severe drought. Bird watching is still good, though it would be better without the drought. There is not much reason to visit unless visiting very earlyin the morning to view birds and other wildlife.

Two trails. We took one that was supposed to be through a swamp. It was on an interesting metal "boardwalk" (presumably to keep you dry, but we were there during a dry spell). The "boardwalk" was not very well maintained, with many sections marked off as hazardous because of sunken parts of the metal. Several state champion trees can be found on the two trails - some dead, unfortunately. (The area is well-suited for large trees.)