watkins mill state park

We visited Watkins Mill State Park for their annual "Christmas on the Farm". It was absolutely wonderful! There is a visitors center that has a small museum in it that is very informative and helps to give you an idea of how the mill was ran and about the Watkins family. As you leave the visitors center, you walk down a lovely path lit by decorated kerosene lanterns which take you to the Homestead. As you walk in, carolers greet you in the Parlor, which is beautiful! The entire home is furnished as it was during the Watkins years and decorated as it would have been for the Christmas festivities. Each room has a charm of it's own, beautifully decorated with lanterns, greenery, old-time children's toys, cedar Christmas tree, etc.... Father Christmas is there to greet you in the Main room and no one leaves without his gift of fruit and then in the Dining Room, which is breathtaking as you see the beautiful china, etc..., every hour they have the story, poem and lighting of the Plum Pudding. What fun! As you leave this area, you are greeted with a piece of Plum Pudding and old-world cookies, then enter the back porch area where you are given a hot cup of wassail as they are cooking it on the wood stove in the "kitchen building" that was used back then. (Homes did not have kitchens in them!) You can also walk the garden area and see the building that they hung the plumb pudding by, the hams, etc..., and also the coops that still hold their chickens and turkeys. It has become a lovely tradition in our family to visit annually and will continue to be. We are never disappointed!

We ate picnic lunch at a shelter house not far from lake, then went to Watkins home and woolen mill. The tour guide did a good job and was very open to questions and showing us other things that we asked about. The house has many items belonging to family. The mill has the original equipment. Though the equipment isn't working, it was interesting to see and guide explained how each type was used. My favorite new fact was that teasel heads were used in the first wool carding machines. Very well malntained. Nice museum and gift shop also.

Watkins Mill is very interesting because it's a preserved early woolen mill from the early industrial revolution. The home and mill are intact with many original pieces of early machines. The property is beautiful and the museum is small but informative. The guides are sincere but do not have the depth of knowledge that experienced travelers expect. There are picnic areas and lovely shaded walking paths. Most of the time you cannot hear modern sounds so it's a real treat. There's no entrance fee but there is a small $4 fee that covers the house and mill tours.

Watkin's Mill state park is lovely. The house + mill tour is only $4, which is a great value. Each tour lasts 1 hr, which means that you've got to hoof it between attractions, The mill and house have many original pieces and there's a lot of interesting history for both. The mill is 100% (or darn close) original and the information is intriguing. Fortunately, they allow photography inside. Lighting inside is uneven; so, be prepared (a tripod is best!). My groups had two high school tour guides -- both poised, informative and enthusiastic. One wasn't as able to answer questions. Still, they engaged some very young children; so, there's something here for all ages.

Like many state parks, this is a great park for hiking, swimming, birding etc, but the wool mill and house set this state park above the rest. The museum and self guided walk are free, but I highly recommend paying the $4/adult, $3/child over four yrs, for the house and mill tour. The house tour including the ice house, smoker, and garden gives inside into what a well off family would have lived like over 100yrs ago. While the mill shows what life would have been like for those working to make the Watkins family rich. The mill tour includes a walk through which explains the process of woof from shearing to final product (weaving and dying included). It has many machines of the era and of real interest is the process of creating the colours for the wool. This is a must visit for wool and knitting enthusiasts of all ages.Watkins was incredibly diverse and appears to have taken every opportunity to use the mill and surrounding area (corn and wheat mills, general goods sales area, broom making, black smithing) to its fullest. In its time it must have been an incredible site to see.I understand that they do regular historical demonstrations and would recommend planning ahead to take every advantage of these (I wish we had!) because it would really bring the experience to life. Check out their website or call ahead for details. http://mostateparks.com/park/watkins-woolen-mill-state-historic-siteThe shop is small, but has some interesting related historical and recipe books.

Nature at it' best. Winding roads travel through the park to the Historic Woolen Mill. Picnic areas, hiking and bike trails. Camping area with modern facilities. Swim beach for some water fun in the lake. Boat ramp with stocked lake for the angler in the family. Loads of wildlife to enjoy. If you are looking for a peaceful weekend get away or a Sunday afternoon picnic destination. Check out Watkins Mill. Please don't feed the bears!!!! Bears, what? Ok so there are no bears. Enjoy, I do.

I stopped by to see the visitor's center, house, and old Woolen Mill. The visitor's center is small, but has some very nice displays on agriculture. It was $4.00 to go on a tour of both the old house and the old mill. Both tours were a little less than an hour each, and the tour guides shared a lot of history. The house a garden were kept as they were more than 100 years ago. The Mill is also mostly original, and the tour guide can demonstrate how some of the wool and other fibers were made into products. This was a great learning experience, and well worth a visit.

The sites have no grass mostly mud gravel It's very shaded and woods. Family sites are way to small. The trail around the lake was a great ride in the bikes.

We visited the old church and school house. Though we couldn't get in we were able to get amazing pictures. We enjoyed just walking and driving around. The actual mill and visitor center are must sees

Way too lengthy. Tour guide should cut talking way back! Be prepared to go up several flights of long narrow stairways.

Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and Historic Site offers the best of both worlds -- a state park with camping, hiking, biking, swimming and boating and the ONLY 1800's era woolen factory in America.

I adore this place. It’s a sleeper attraction, way out north of Kansas City, right “next door” to the Jesse James boyhood farm (which in the rural era means some three miles away). It’s a simple sort of place, in its own way, centered on the Watkins family, which established a homestead, woolen mill, school and church on what was once a remote farm (it still feels remote). The reason it’s a National Historic Monument? “The Watkins’ lives were shaped by the settling of the frontier, the Civil War, and the coming of the industrial age.” If you’re interested in process and machines, the mill is fascinating (the last surviving mill of its kind, with all equipment intact). I’m more interested in how life was lived then, and so I adore the main house, the school and the church. And the stories of the people who created this fabulous community, which are beautifully told in the adjacent museum. On this visit, my first in the dead of winter, I wandered around the property totally on my own and it was easy to imagine you were in the 1860s, the heyday of Watkins Mill (another great time to have a “heyday” experience is during the summer, when volunteers dress up in period costume and cook meals in the house’s summer kitchen as visitors wander through). The snow, left over from a White Christmas, was a nice bonus. Watkins Mill State Park surrounds the mill, house and visitors’ center. It’s a well-known, at least in the region, spot for camping, hiking and swimming in its lake.

Great camping and hiking/biking trails. Interesting tour of the mill buildings and house. Recommended.

Though one of the smaller state parks, Watkins Mill offers some of the best RV camping available. We rarely get through a stay without seeing deer, turkeys, raccoons, and squirrels. We've even seen coyotes and a bobcat. We always enjoy spending time walking around the pond and stopping by the visitor's center. It is close enough to the metro for a movie and some shopping during the stay.

We camped here for a few nights in October and enjoyed the visitors center and walked around the home and mill. The campground was very nice and the hosts were excellent. I brought my bike and enjoyed an easy ride around the lake. We were pleasantly surprised that it is close to the Jesse James Family home so we went there one day and much enjoyed that. I'm looking forward to going back when my daughter is older and can enjoy the tour.