|
     

    As summer begins its slow transition into fall, it is a lovely time to visit the landscapes of Shaw Nature Reserve. Located in Gray Summit, Missouri, Shaw Nature Reserve is a satellite location of the Missouri Botanical Garden that invites visitors to enjoy a wide array of Missouri habitats, from woodlands and wetlands to prairies and glades.

    |
     

    For plant lovers, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve is a 2,441-acre gem of breathtaking, ethereal beauty. But, it is by hard numbers that this ecological masterpiece, just off historic Route 66 in Gray Summit, 38 miles from the garden itself, can truly blow visitors away. 

    |
     

    The Shaw Nature Reserve (SNR) encompasses 2,400 acres of natural Ozark landscape, breathtaking Meramec River frontage, and an extraordinary diversity of native plant and animal habitats. The Missouri Botanical Garden founded the Shaw Nature Reserve, formerly known as Shaw Arboretum, in 1925 when coal smoke in St. Louis threatened the living plant collections at the Garden. The orchid collection was moved to the Reserve in 1926, but pollution in the city abated before it was necessary to move the entire plant collection.