Elks River Breaks Natural Area
at Big Sugar Creek State Park
As a result of the uniqueness of the park's natural features, 1,613 acres of the park were designated as Elk River Breaks Natural Area by the Missouri Natural Areas Committee. The woodlands found within this natural area are among the last of a landscape that was once common across the region. These woodlands feature open growths of shortleaf pine, oaks and hickory trees, over grassy hillsides rich with shrubs and wildflowers, and exotic plant species such as sercia lespodisia, Japanese honeysuckle, multiflora rose and Johnson grass. There is a potential for another natural area in the upland portion of the park. There are also two Ecological Stewardship Areas presently located in Big Sugar Creek State Park where two burn units are used to attain regrowth of the natural areas.
