After two days of driving from Fort Collins, Colorado, we decided to take a little detour to visit Mark Twain State Park. It was named after the famous humorist and writer, Mark Twain, whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens.
We visited the historic site of his birth home. His parents rented a two-room cabin in the town of Florida, Missouri. Twain was born on November 30, 1835 and was raised in Hannibal, Missouri which sat next to the mighty Mississippi River. This boyhood home was the inspiration for his books, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Over the years, he was a printer, typesetter and later became a riverboat pilot. This also provided him materials for Life on the Mississippi River.
The campground has three loops: Badger, Coyote and Puma. The Puma campground is closer to Mark Twain Lake and a short distance walk. Most sites have either 30 or 50 amp electric, and some have full-hookup. Most of the loops are well shaded by trees, and the fall colors were just starting to turn. There are some rental cabins and shower houses throughout. There's three hiking trails from within the campground: White Oak, Post Oak and Dogwood. It's a nice campground and we found ourselves very relaxed after two days.
The picnic area has a 9-hole disc golf course, a 1941 CCC shelter with fireplace, and two hiking trails: Whitetail & Dogwood. You can hike between the campground and picnic area on Dogwood trail.
This is definitely a fishing, boating, kayaking and paddleboarding lake! While we had our kayaks with us, it was simply about relaxing and enjoying the nature. It was a welcome change for us after seeing mostly ponderosa pines and quaking aspens in the Colorado mountains for months to short-leaf oak, pine and hickory.
The town of Florida is just a few miles north of the campground on MO-107. This is where you will find Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site. The two-room cabin is located inside the shrine. The museum has a vast collection of Mark Twain's personal items, including the original handwritten manuscript of Adventure of Tom Sawyer in 1876, his furniture, glasses, pipe, hat, horse carriage and more. There's also an 1850s two-story log cabin on display in town. These were typical cabins found in the Salt River area.
We would definitely come back to this area for a longer visit, take our kayaks out on the lake, and explore the woods on the many hiking trails.