Wilson’s Creek still has traces of the old Wire Road which was telegraph communications for the Federal forces during the war, ok, Yankee's! The Wire Road eventually became the outline for the route of the Butterfield Stage Coach Line, then was paved and made it's debut as America's Mother Road, Route 66. Parts of the original Wire Road that meander through the forests are still marked and visible and ready for a Birkenstock tour on foot with a trusty hiking stick in hand as you walk through history and greenery. Wilson’s Creek has five miles of paved road for a self guided auto tour but to truly enjoy Mother Nature at her best, turn the engine off and take to any of the five walking trails that offer over seven miles of nature hikes to enjoy the great Ozark outdoors. You can also enjoy the park astride a trusty steed as you saddle up and giddy up on horseback for a trail ride you won't forget.
There are throughout the year, Civil War re-enactments and living history programs that depict life in the Ozarks during the Civil War with period costumed actors in complete character. Touring the battlefield at night by candlelight is another different way to enjoy the now quiet battlefield. The sounds of nature, a bat or two flying overhead, a sky full of stars and the sweet sent and aroma of the various flowers and bushes that fill the landscape today that will also fill the senses with beauty.
Next on the Springfield Birkenstock Tour of "green" is the 114 combined acres of the Botanical Gardens and arboretum at Nathanael Green and adjacent Close Park. It's a wonderland of native Missouri flora and includes 22 gardens and an education center. There are picnic tables, grills, and hiking trails including the South Creek Ozark Greenways Trail that actually cuts through the city of Springfield and is as rustic as urban can get! The park also includes a childrens play area and various statuary as public art adorning the park. Drummond Lake is available for use in the park. Drummond Lake has a trail that goes along it's goose laden shoreline with Canada geese honking to herald your approach.
The gardens are plentiful and diverse from herbal and medicinal garden plots, a rose garden, English gardens, Wild Flower and Rain Gardens. There is also a sensory garden planned to massage all five senses, and a fragrance garden for a natural perfume effect wafting in the air. Other gardens are devoted it the iris, dwarf conifers and ferns.
The park includes the Missouri Extension Master Gardeners Demo garden and for a contemplative journey within and without, you can trek through the Japanese Stroll Garden for a touch of inner Zen to feed the green yin and yang of your soul. The area also includes the Botanical Center which is over 12,000 square feet of horticulture education, gardening, nature and the environment. It's an amazing sensory symphonic experience of the visual and olfactory senses, enhanced by the enchanting pathways and walkways through the gardens and the adjacent forests make for a most pleasant experience to be enjoyed outdoors in Missouri in an urban setting. Who said you can't have your urban cake, and nature too?
The 80 acre Springfield Conservation Nature Center is a hikers dreamscape of trails and ponds that host a cornucopia of flora and fauna native to Missouri. The Nature Center has a marshy area that is protected but you can traverse the boardwalk through the marshes and it is wheelchair accessible. Don't be surprised to come upon a white tail deer or two, along with the possibility of a fox, mink, raccoon, turtles and all manner of Ozark Critters that inhabit this Alice in Wonderland natural landscape. In addition to hiking the trails through the forests, you can also kayak on Lake Springfield.
Hiking has been elevated to an outdoor art form in Springfield and the Ozark Greenways is a volunteer organization on a mission. The have produced within the city limits of Springfield, ten trails that range in length form a few miles to over 35 miles to the town of Bolivar. There are a lot of trails in Missouri, some are rails to trails projects but Springfield has the most trails in one urban area and trailheads are peppered throughout the city with convenient parking. Most pathways are paved or crushed stone and are wheelchair accessible and perfect for moms and dads and toddlers. Bike and hike through forests and long rivers and lakes and you can pretend to be modern day Daniel Boones exploring a new frontier as you push ever westward. Grab a good hiking stick and your best footgear and hit the trails. The rugged and rustic treks will get in shape for the yearly Mountain Man and Mountain Women Festivals that proliferate in the Ozarks as well, where life in the Ozarks in long ago times required self reliance and self sufficiency and a time and a people who truly understood the words and the practices of a "sustainable lifestyle" Ozark style!
Community action has created community gardens in areas such as the Grant Beach area of Springfield and other areas, including Hickory Gardens in the northeast quadrant of the city. They donate to various community food banks, Harvest on Wheels and high school students are encouraged and do take part in the gardens to learn about natural gardening, sustainability and healthy food sources. So, when you think Springfield and the Ozarks, think Blue and Grey, but, don't forget the green!