HaHaTonka State Park


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Ha Ha Tonka State Park

The Basics

Ha Ha Tonka State Park
1491 State Road D
Camdenton, MO 65020

Phone: (573) 346-2986
Email: moparks@dnr.mo.gov

Directions: From Camdenton: Travel Approx 2.5 miles west on U.S. Hwy 54, until you reach State Route D. Turn left, heading south, and Route D takes you to the park.

About Ha Ha Tonka

As one of Missouri's premiere parks showcasing karst geology, Ha Ha Tonka State Park is unique in the number and quality of its many geologic features. Caves, sinkholes, bluffs, springs, and a natural bridge set this park apart. The natural bridge is 70 feet wide, spans 60 feet, and rises more than 100 feet in the air. A steep walled sinkhole, called The Colosseum, is nearly 500 feet deep and 300 feet wide. Wispering Dell is a sink basin measuring 150 feet deep, and is located within two bluff shelters, Counterfeiter's Cave and Robber's Cave. Both were used during the 1830's as a hideout for criminals. Two-hundred-fifty foot tall bluffs overlook Missouri's twelfth largest spring, Ha Ha Tonka Spring. Discharging an average of 56 millions gallons of water daily, the spring sits at the mouth of an underground cave that collapsed during ancient times.

Boardwalks and trails take visitors to these unique geologic features, and provide access to many of them. You can explore caves and sinkholes, or climb from the spring to the castle. A visitor center features a large map of the park carved from stone.

One of the more interesting features of the park is its castle ruins. In the early 1900s, a wealthy business man from Kansas City, Robert M. Snyder, had visited the area and decided to purchase some land here. He acquired more than 5,000 acres, and had plans to build a private retreat, complete with a European-style castle, rising over three stories. He had also planned an 80-foot tall water tower, a carriage house, greenhouses, and other buildings. Construction began in 1905, only to be halted a year later by Robert's untimely death in one of the state's first automobile accidents. His sons eventually finished building their father's dream, and the property soon was leased as a hotel, until fire completely gutted the castle in 1942. The carriage house burned the same day, and in 1976, the water tower was burned by vandals. Only the stone ruins of the buildings remain today.

Features & Facilities

Visitor Center | Gift Shop | Pavilion | Picnic Area/Tables | Caves | Spring | Historic Ruins | Restrooms | Boat Dock

Activities Available

Hiking Trails

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