Day Trip Worthy? Old Mill & Waterfalls in the Missouri Ozarks

We live in an area of virtually endless discovery. I've lived in Missouri and Illinois a majority of my life and never knew about this old mill and waterfalls in the Missouri Ozarks that appear worthy of a road trip someday.

This is the Klepzig Mill in Shannon County, Missouri. I had never heard about it until I came across this stunning new time-lapse video a couple days ago.

The photographer that created that video is Ken Trudeau who also shared the history of this place on YouTube:

National Scenic Riverways near Eminence Missouri. The district encompasses three contributing buildings, three contributing sites, and one contributing structure associated with an early-20th century Ozark farm and mill. It developed between about 1912 and 1936 and includes the mill (c. 1912) and its related hydraulic system (c. 1912-1935); a spring house and smokehouse (c. 1920-1925); foundations of a 1923 farmhouse and barn (c. 1920-1925); and two post-1934 chicken coops and a ruin of a post-1934 machine shed. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990

Others that have explored that area also show some of the stellar waterfalls nearby.

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I looked this area up on All Trails and it's mostly 5-star rated. It's a total of 6 miles of hiking trails and dogs are welcome as long as they're on a leash. Several users reported that there are also swimming holes along the way. Note that there are several creek crossings where you're feet can get wet, but it looks like it's more than worth it.

If you're up for a new adventure, Rocky Falls and the old Klepzig Mill look like an interesting destination. It's located a couple hours south of St. Louis in the Mark Twain National Forest.