Nature
Near Columbia, Missouri, Finger Lakes State Park occupies one thousand one hundred thirty-eight acres of land reclaimed after strip mining for coal, making it a notable example of industrial ground converted to recreation. The site began as Peabody Coal’s Mark Twain Mine, which operated from 1964 to 1967 and produced 1.2 million short tons of coal. After Peabody donated the land to the state in 1974, restoration with federal grant money turned its hills, gullies, and linked mining lakes into a public landscape. Today it is one of only two Missouri state parks designated for off-road vehicle use, while also supporting water sports, camping, picnicking, and mountain biking.
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Missouri · United States