Missouri Camping and Hiking Review: Council Bluff Lake Conservation Area

It was another great weekend for the Martinez/Taylor/Weber/Harris/Matthews Family at Council Bluff Lake Conservation Area in the hills of the Mark Twain National Forest in Iron County. A tradition that started several years ago, continued again this year:  A weekend of camping, swimming, hiking, and enjoying each other’s company away from the stresses of the outside world and technology distractions.

I feel that Council Bluff is a place that doesn’t get as much recognition in the outdoor community as it should.  The array of activities offered accommodate various interests:  camping, backpacking, hiking, mountain biking, swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, picnicking…  I will attempt to describe these various aspects of the area and hopefully persuade you to check Council Bluff Lake out!

• CAMPING:  Council Bluff has one established campground in the area, The Wild Boar Ridge Campground.  It offers several single-family sites, four large group sites, and many walk-in sites.  Obviously these sites are suitable for tents, but they are available for RVs as well.  I wouldn’t recommend these sites for larger RVs unless you are staying on one of the group sites.  Amenities are limited to a grill, table, lantern post and fire ring.  There are vault toilets and drinking water provided throughout the campground.  Notice I did not mention SHOWERS or ELECTRICITY!  That’s right, showers are located at the beach area (which you have to drive to) and there is ZERO electricity.  So if you stay here you may be “roughing” it for a few days.
  

  

  

  
• SWIMMING/PICNICKING:  The Council Bluff Lake beach and picnic area is arguably one of the nicest day use areas in the state.  I’ve not been to too many beaches in the state of Missouri with as large expanse of a nice, clean, sandy beach.  Unlike other lake swimming areas, Council Bluff’s swimming area’s sand extends all the way out into the water until I one can’t touch.  At most lakes, the sand quickly turns in to rock once one wades into the lake.  There’s also a very nice grassy area above the swimming area, with a lot of beautiful, mature trees, and several picnic tables and pavilions that guests can utilize.  The bathrooms and showers are kept nice and clean. Finally, a shop is available that one can buy snacks and ice and rent canoes and kayaks.  Note:  There is a $5 day use fee, but if you are camping, that is included in your camping fee.
  

  

  Council Bluff Conservation Area in Missouri

  

  

  

  
• HIKING/BACKPACKING/MOUNTAIN BIKING:  The Council Bluff Lake trail is one of the highlights of the conservation area.  The trail is 14 miles in length and circles around the lake.  This trail is utilized for hiking, backpacking, and mountain biking.  There are several different trailheads throughout the conservation area that one can access the trails, but the main trailhead is at the beach area.  The trail is well marked, for the most part.  One can tell that the “beach side” of the trail around the lake is frequented a lot more than the “back side” of the lake.  There were a few places that the trail was a little overgrown (end of May).  And the only place we got lost was when we were hiking up a section that was actually an old access road and we missed the mark to “turn off” and continue on down the trail.  One wouldn’t think there would be too many hills to climb just walking around the lake, but I was unpleasantly surprised with a few of looong steep inclines we had to tackle (particularly that access road I mentioned).  That being said, for the most part, gains of great elevation were minimal.  We met several mountain bikers and backpackers along the trail.  We also met some backpackers who were hiking the Ozark Trail, which connects to the Council Bluff trail.  Things you could encounter on the trail:  gorgeous views of the mountains and lake, deer and other nonthreatening mammals, snakes (we saw a huge cottonmouth swimming across one section of the lake), ticks (Enrique picked off almost 100 ticks upon finishing), and feral hogs (just don’t make them feel threatened should you see them).

Side note:  It took us a little over 5 hours, pushing hard, to complete the trail.  It was much harder than I expected, but well worth it.  When we reached the “Enough” boat access point, I had had about Enough, but we were probably only half way through!!  This is a challenging trail due mostly to it’s length, but one you should definitely attempt.

• BOATING/FISHING:  This lake is a fairly popular for fishing.  All I know is that the couple of times we tried fishing it, we weren’t very successful, but that’s not saying a whole lot.  What I would like to point out that this is a nice lake to take a casual, slow cruise.  There is a strict speed limit on the lake.  This is not a ski lake!
  

  

  
• HUNTING:  A lot of people come to this area throughout the year during the various hunting seasons.  Just this past week, while sitting at camp, a man walked by with his gun and dog and claimed to be squirrel hunting.  Personally, I’ve only been hunting in the area once with my sister and father.  I did not kill a deer and they still speak of my experience to this day…with laughter.  (I will share that with you some time down the road).  That being said, I do know there are some monster bucks in the area.  My sister has shot two of them over the years.  One limped away and we were unable to ever recover it, the other is hanging on my dad’s wall.  (I just ask that you hunt legally and follow all gun safety rules.)

This weekend is always one of our favorite events of the year.  If you follow me much, you know I’m not big on going to the same place repeatedly to adventure.  But this isn’t a typical weekend.  We come here because it’s easy for our whole family to come and go as we need.  With a new baby and my father who prefers to go home most evenings, it just works for us.

SOAPBOX TIME!  I love social media just as much or more than anybody….I’m a blogger, I better like it!!  That being said, “unplugging” is always important.  This is a time that other than reading a book or taking some pictures, we get to have everybody’s attention and have real, live conversations with one another.  We laugh, tell stories, sometimes even cry.  As a teacher, I feel society is losing that real human contact with one another and our natural world.

So my challenge to you is to get your family together and possibly even get out of your comfort zone.  Find a nice place to get “unplugged” and camp, hike, fish, or whatever you may be into and enjoy one another’s company!