Ozark National Scenic Riverways was the first federally protected river system in the United States. Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in August 1964, its establishment predated the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by four years and became the legislative model that followed. The park preserves 134 miles of the Current River and its major tributary, the Jacks Fork, across roughly 80,000 acres of the Ozark Highlands in southern Missouri. The creation of the park was contentious locally - it relied on eminent domain acquisition in a region where private landholding ran deep - but the resulting protections preserved a river system that had been at risk of dams and shoreline development. What sets the Ozark riverways apart is karst. More than 300 freshwater springs have been documented within park boundaries, including Big Spring, one of the largest single-outlet springs in North America at a daily discharge measured in hundreds of millions of gallons. That groundwater keeps the Current and Jacks Fork flowing cold and clear year-round, even in late summer when surface-fed rivers dry to a trickle. The same karst geology produces hundreds of caves - Round Spring Cavern is open seasonally for ranger-led tours, and Devil's Well and Jam-Up Cave are among the named wild caves - along with Rocky Falls and dozens of smaller waterfalls, sinkholes, natural bridges, and blue holes. The rivers support roughly 100 fish species and more than 200 species of birds across a genuinely biodiverse corridor. Floating is the defining activity, and floating the Current is a Missouri rite of passage. Canoes, kayaks, rafts, tubes, and traditional johnboats all work, with authorized outfitters and livery services spread across the park. Popular float sections run from Baptist Camp or Akers down the Current, and from Alley Spring on the Jacks Fork. Gravel-bar camping is allowed along much of the river as long as sites sit a half-mile from developed campgrounds, which makes multi-day self-supported floats straightforward. Paddlers should expect company on summer weekends - particularly around Eminence - and more solitude in shoulder seasons. On land, the park is traversed by the Ozark Trail, and shorter routes visit Cave Spring, Blue Spring, and the overlook above Alley Spring Roller Mill. Historic sites include Alley Mill, the Big Spring Historic District with its CCC-era stone structures, Buttin Rock School, and Welch Hospital. Night skies are excellent across the ONSR; it is one of the darkest areas in Missouri. Administrative headquarters is in Van Buren, with visitor contact at Big Spring, Alley Spring, and Round Spring.