Alcove Springs Park

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Alcove Springs offers visitors a picturesque landscape of the Independence Crossing of the Big Blue River near Blue Rapids. The rocks that surround the springs create a unique natural element that pools the water below. Located on the Oregon Trail, Alcove Springs was a stop for many emigrants, California-bound gold seekers and other travelers who camped there, including the Donner-Reed Party. Today remnants of their stay still exist today in the form of carvings in the rocks.