Mile 917.0 RBD — 916 Big Oak Tree State Park

While not easily accessible by foot from the river, paddlers should be aware of this natural wonder that lies just over the levee, with state and national trees such as the pumpkin ash, rusty blackhaw, eastern cottonwood, slippery elm, shumard oak, bur oak, swamp chestnut oak, pawpaw, persimmon, possumhaw, swamp privet and black willow.   (Note: some of these champions have died). The black willows that we paddlers see on the river islands, which rarely are over 50 feet tall and maybe 36” in circumference. The champion black willow is found here measuring 148 inches in circumference, and 113 feet in height!  

Big Oak Tree State Park is the last remaining piece of continuous hardwood bottomland forest that once covered the entire ‘bootheel’ of Missouri. A series of drainage canals facilitated the conversion of swamp forest into agriculture land. A visit to the park will allow exploration of the major habitats within the park. The major habitats include the bottomland forest, swamp forest and shrub swamp. It is easy to find the progressions between sections dominated by oak trees and areas dominated by bald cypress. Big Oak Tree State Park is known as the park of champions. Several trees have the status of being state champions for their size. Champion trees are measured in girth, height and crown spread. These numbers are plugged into a formula that generate a point total. The points are then used to determine which nomination is the biggest, or champion, for that species. Big Oak Tree State Park currently has two champion trees. The number of champions changes due to storm damage or the death of a tree. One state champion, a persimmon tree, is 132 feet tall. The average height for a persimmon tree is 60 feet.

Some of the wildlife that live in the park include deer, opossum, raccoon, mice, turtles, lizards and snakes. Although the park has a lot of water snakes, there has never been any verified and documented identification of any venomous snakes such as the cottonmouth (also known as a water moccasin). The park is in a great location for many bird species. Mississippi kites may be seen in the summer and bald eagles in the winter. Many migratory birds including warblers, ducks and geese may be seen during the spring and fall migrations. A visit to Big Oak Tree State Park is a visit to Missouri as the first explorers saw it. Towering hickory trees and oaks form a canopy that averages more than 120 feet in height and the soaring trees and marshy terrain translates visitors back to when southeast Missouri was dubbed “Swampeast Missouri.” The trees and wetlands make the park a prime place for wildlife as well as picnic sites and shelters that are shaded by trees that have seen centuries of history. A self-guided boardwalk trail and an interpretive center tell the story of this rich landscape. (From Missouri State Parks Website).