Henning State Conservation Area

I was in town at Branson for a work training. My hotel didn’t have a fitness center so I needed a place to do some running. I arrived at Henning State Conservation Area and found a very nice view. I did some research and it looked like a good run.
The initial trail is 1.1 miles, the secondary trail is .4 miles, and the innermost trail is 3.4 miles. That’s almost a 5 mile total. Unfortunately, about .25 miles into the run I twisted my ankle and had to take it easy the rest of the run. It was my fault I twisted it, I was running in the wrong shoes and didn’t have adequate running support. I was planning on utilizing the elliptical at my hotel… that ended up not existing. :)
You should check it out, grab some good photos, take a 5 mile trail walk and burn off some of that calories from the buffets. I definitely recommend it.

Such a beautiful and quiet area. Clean, unpoiled. Nice, realaxing hiking (walking) trail.
Checking out the bald eagles (one would crusie over the lake at the same time ach day when I was out there), the beautiful blue heron, and fuzzy little ducks.
This place has etched some dreamy memories in my mind.
Jose, I miss walking with you on this trail.

This unspoiled land was donated to the state of Missouri by Paul Henning and his wife. For you trivia buffs, yes, the same Paul Henning who was the genius behind The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Petticoat Junction as well as other ’60’s sit coms. He and his wife lived in the Branson area and bought up a huge amount of land when they saw developers coming in and clearing the land around them. They held onto the land and donated it when they passed away. It has become a conservation area and has several lookouts that have spectacular views of the Ozarks. Also has several trails of varied degrees of difficulty for hiking. Very clean and well maintained. the state of IL could learn from other states on how to maintain the trails and parks.