Just outside St. James, a private stretch of ground holds one of the state’s clearest springs—pumping out 100 million gallons daily. It is the fifth-largest spring in Missouri, and the flow stays cold and steady year-round—typically in the mid-50s Fahrenheit—which is why the Missouri Department of Conservation runs a sybionic relationship with The James Foundation, the privately owned Maramec Spring Park. You pay $7 a car at the gate and the rest of the day is yours—picnic t