There’s a quiet place in Strafford where you can walk among dense evergreens and towering pines, winding on mulched trails over bridges and springs.
It’s not a public park or trail. It’s a private reserve planted by an exuberant lover of conifer trees — the kind that bear and drop cones, or have needle or scale-like leaves. The 100-acre property, called the Lovett Pinetum, is now managed by a nonprofit that allows individuals or small groups to come walk through the trails, as long as they book a time slot to come visit through the website first.
On first glance, I thought maybe this spot wasn’t the kind of place to take children, as the website was more targeted toward academics. The pretty spot attracts researchers and students who come to study the vast collection of trees, some of which are not common in the Ozarks. But the site says any individual or small group can visit. In fact, the nonprofit even welcomed the lovely Firefly Nature School (full of young children) to its grounds as a home base for their outdoor classes a couple times per week.
My 5-year-old son, Leo, is now a student at Firefly because I’m obsessed with this place. Although many species are native to the region, some are from different parts of the country. As such, I feel like I’m in a different state when I wander the grounds. There are 90-foot pine trees that tower in wooded areas, and when I’m under them, I remember walking in the Tonto National Forest in Arizona.
In the afternoon, the sun streaks through the conifers and settles low on the ground, glinting off hills and catching on blankets of golden pine needles in a way that makes the whole place seem to glow.
How to Visit
Visit the Lovett Pinetum website to schedule a visit.
Print or save the map of trails.
Address: 2706 N Pearson Valley Dr., Strafford, Mo. 65757
Follow signs to the parking area. There’s an office adjacent.
DEAR SPRINGFIELD MAMA 
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