Ha Ha Tonka

[Anne]

Yup that's a real place. http://www.odd.net/ozarks/parks/haha.htm History there, I'm too lazy to type out what all it's about.

[Willard]

Ha Ha Tonka kicks major ass!!! I've been there before for a church retreat.

[Anne]

I can't wait to go back in the summer to walk the trails. Mom and I went down to the spring, to the castle, the natural rock bridge, and the cave.

Makes me wish I knew how to scuba dive and had permission to go under that rock ledge and see if there's a cave back in there to check out!

[White Rabbit]

Very cool!

[Reggie]

Hi I'm new.
Ha Ha Tonka rules. I've been going there since I was a little kid when the trails werent safe (there was one part where you had to inch across the side of a cliff and hold onto metal rungs driven into the cliffside )
If you guys haven't been to the caves there I highly recommend organizing a trip and going. I think the requirement is that you have a group of 4+ with helmets and 3 flashlights apiece. River Cave is best and Island cave is pretty cool if you don't mind going through the claustrophobic part back around to the left and up through cracks.

[Anne]

Awesome about going when it was dangerous. I didn't know it had been like that, this was my first time going. And thanks for the info about the caves! I really want to go caving somewhere for the summer. Where do I get the ok for this?

[Reggie]

I think you just call in advance (not sure of the number there) to set the date and register at the Visitor's Center thing there when you arrive. I think the River Cave might have to be a guided tour with a Park Ranger, so things have to be coordinated for that. I forget what dates the caves are open, but I think it was march when I went. I almost froze my manhood off in the waist-deep water you have to wade through at the beginning of River Cave! But it was worth it.

If someone here is good at organizing group trips, I would probably be in. Might even drive if it is a group of 4 or something. Some guy with Doling Park Family Center (?) arranged the trip when I went; maybe we could hit him up for another.

Sequiota cave is kind of fun to do in the summer. Not an amazing cave, but entertaining; especially when you can feel the bats dodging around you!

[Watcher]

God, that reminds me of when I was a kid. I went out there for a nature class in 86-87 or there abouts. Only problem was it was with a bunch of kids from a school that hated mine. It was pretty interesting, though.

[baroness]

is anyone familiar with caves that are not included on the trails or maps?

last time i was there we searched the off- pathway areas around the wooden walkway, the water tower, and some others also, but couldn't find anything (except a seed tick nest, apparently, yuck.)

my mom used to go when she was younger, and says there is a cave that is essentially hidden, but overlooks the trail.
since then its changed and we can't figure out if they've covered the entrance or what. she even has some pictures, but not anything that helps with landmarks and such.

now we are determined to find the damn thing!

ps anne- she says that people used to scuba dive into that spring and it does in fact go into a large cave =)

[cobcob]

[Nicotti]

For those that didn't already know this the "canyon" at Ha Ha Tonka is the remenants of an old cave system. The land eroded down far enough to collapse the ceiling of the cave. Course this happened hundreds to thousands of years ago.

[pavement]

that place is sweet, their is a way in to the island cave off the path on the lake side of the island about mid way at the bottom of about a 10 to 15 foot bluff. I did not have anything with me, so I was not able to go inside, and i have not been back to Ha Ha Tonka since.

[Punctual]

well cobcob they put that sign up right after me and a few friends went in with inflatable boats (i didn't get to go all the way back cause they were pansys) but yeah was SUPER muddy

[crazydrummerdude]

Finally hit this up today; castle, water tower, almost all the trails, natural bridge, balancing rock, the spring, and saw the entrance to the river cave. Cool place! I can finally cross it off the list.

..best part, it's free.

Didn't get any pics, though.

[Robzilla]

Ha Ha Tonka is a fantastic place. I like to disappear on the long trail across the highway, it has savannah, forests, some interesting rock formations, and primitive camping. The trail with the rungs you mentioned is probably Devil's Kitchen, and last I checked it was still there. Nothing too bad, just a place where they put some handles in to help people step across a gap.

I'm going to guess the cave will be closed for a while unfortunately. That's happened across the state as they try to prevent a fungal disease that's been killing off bats. All of the park caves in Spfd are off limits for that reason right now.

As far as the history I can rush through the generalities. It was built by a KC area business man in the early 20th century to emulate Scottish castles he had fallen in love with. He died in an early auto wreck, I think before the castle was completed, it then later burned down to its current state sometime around the 40's.

It's a cool place, I was there just this week hiking.