Fishing, Hiking, and Eating near Bull Shoals White River State Park in Lakeview, Arkansas
Over Easter, Aaron and I took advantage of the extended weekend and planned a quick weekend trip getaway. One of Aaron’s favorite places is in Arkansas near the White and Buffalo Rivers. And since I am usually dragging him along on one of my adventures, I thought I would plan something around his interests. I wanted to find a place that offered trout fishing and a few decent trails for me. I ultimately decided on Lakeview, Arkansas. This is the area near the White River and the dam at Bull Shoals. It had everything I was looking for in this trip including accommodations that were exactly what we needed.
I knew the general area, so I began searching for a place to stay. This is what would ultimately decide exactly what area we would end up in. Aaron wanted to fish, I wanted to hike, and we only wanted to take one vehicle. I wanted to be free to come and go, and I didn’t want Aaron to have to plan his fishing around my hiking, so what we needed was a place that we could unload the boat and leave at the dock, so I could take the Expedition and Aaron wouldn’t be stranded in the water.
Our Accommodations
I found exactly what we needed on AirBnB. The Rivercliff Cabins offered a boat dock within 40 feet of the cabins and even better was about 200 yards from the River Entrance of the White River – Bull Shoals State Park, which meant hiking for me! I chose a cabin with one bedroom, but the potential for more sleeping room just in case our kids were able to go (which neither one ended up being able to make it).
It was a great cabin with a comfy bed, one bathroom, kitchen and living room area and a nice deck and porch. Since it was just the two of us and we enjoying eating local, we didn’t plan on cooking many meals there – possibly breakfast. But the kitchen was fully equipped and there was a grill outside if we had wanted to. There are only three buildings on the property so it was a bit private and secluded as well even without other people staying on the property.
The owners and staff were very helpful and informative. All the needed information was sent in an email and some personal insight was added through text. Quickly after making reservations, I received helpful information and was given some insight into the local fishing scene. The Rivercliff dock is the first private dock below the dam and the area is good for trout and walleye fishing.
The property does have a dock to use for your own boat or they have boats that you can rent – including kayaks. The dock was handy for us because Aaron would take off in the boat, and I would take the Expedition to hike. When I was finished, I would text him (we had cell service the entire time) that I was done and heading back, so then he would be watching for me on on the dock to pick me up so I could join him to fish. It worked out perfectly! We will definitely return to Rivercliff at some point.
The Fishing
After getting settled in and getting our fishing licenses purchased (which you do online), we set out for a little evening fishing so Aaron could make plans for the next morning. The Rivercliff property is less than a ¼ mile from the state campground below the dam, so several boats put in on its launch area. For evening fishing on a Friday night, there were several boats still out. On about the third cast, Aaron had a hit and began reeling it in. We could tell it was a large one and then it began flopping around a bit. It was a large brown trout, and I was torn between getting a picture and reaching for the net to help grab it. I decided on the net and about that time the fish made a big roll and got away. No fish. No picture. Only a fisherman’s tale of how the big one got away.
Although this brought us high hopes of what the rest of our fishing trip may hold, unfortunately, we never saw a big brown again. The rest of the Friday evening fishing led to me catching three rainbow trout – my first ever. We also saw several other boats bringing some fish in. The area along the rocky portion of the shoreline in the state park is a catch and release area, so although some people were catching a few in this area people weren’t keeping them.
Saturday morning Aaron headed out on his own and caught a few small rainbow as well. I joined him after my morning hike, but wasn’t as lucky as the night before. Although I don’t believe anyone was doing as well as yesterday. We were not seeing as many boats bringing the fish in. And there were a lot of boats out. It was a holiday weekend and people were taking advantage of the gorgeous weather. It was a full day of fishing, but we did take a break for lunch to head into town for pizza. I’m not sure how many trips we made up motoring up the river and then floating back down, but it was numerous! There were no “wall hangers” to be had, but just a peaceful day on the river.
Sunday morning, Easter, our last day so we spent a few more hours fishing. Again Aaron set out without me while I hiked and I joined him later. There were fewer boats out and Aaron caught a few more rainbow trout. It wasn’t a total bust on fishing. We were catching them but just not a lot to write home about. We are both willing to return to this area fish again.
Hiking Options
While Aaron was doing a little morning fishing, I was doing some morning hiking in the Bull Shoals – White River State Park. None of the trails were extremely long, so I planned on doing all of them in the park. I thought at one point Aaron was going to do a little hiking with me, so I was going to save the “best” trail for him, but a little snafu with his hiking boots allowed him to miss the hiking.
I got up Saturday morning and drove the half mile to the LakeSide Trail trailhead. It’s roughly one mile of easy terrain that allows you a view of Bull Shoals lake near the dam. It was a beautiful morning for a hike, and the lake was quiet with only a few boats out fishing. The elevation gain was roughly less than 100 feet so nothing too strenuous. I could tell that the views of the lake were going to be on the left, so I decided to head right -or counterclockwise – to save the best views for last.It is easy enough that just about anyone could do this trail – even my mom.
Since this was a short hike, I decided to do two trails. Next I was on to the bike trail. I started at the trailhead just off the entrance to the park. Starting here made the trail measure out to be just short of three miles and had an overall elevation gain of 200 feet. So a few small inclines but nothing out of this world. This trail didn’t offer any great views being that it is mainly on the interior of the park, but I did see the most wildlife here. I came upon about eleven deer, two different times, and a fox on my way out. The wildflowers were beginning to bloom, so I saw a few of those along the way, and the creeks were babbling from rains earlier in the week. If you need a trail with a breathtaking view, this isn’t it, but if you enjoy a walk in the woods then this is perfect.
I was saving the best trail for last because I planned on Aaron joining me but he was unable because of leaving the inserts out of his boots. So again I arose early – not too early – on Sunday morning to finish my last hike – the Big Bluff Trail. It advertise a view overlooking the river from atop of one of the bluffs. And it did not disappoint. It measured out at 2 miles with an elevation gain of 240 feet, so you more or less hike up and then back down. The overlook was going to be on the left, so again I decided to hike counterclockwise to save it for the end. Even though it was a spring morning, it was a bit chilly with it being about 40 degrees out. Because it was cold, I wasn’t expecting to see a snake, but I did. Nothing poisonous just a harmless snake laying at the base of the tree which completely startled me nonetheless.
I continued my trek upward and then began circling back towards the river, but saw four more deer on this morning hike. Before the overlook there are a few signs warning people of the danger. It is always important to be aware of our surroundings. The clearing did offer a lovely view of the river below and the golf course on the other side of the river. It would have been nice to not be reminded of the real world. I took a few minutes to take it all in and checked out all the boats to see if Aaron was up in this area, but his green boat was not to be found. All in all, it is a nice trail with a great view. This trail was a bit rockier than the other two trails but nothing to compared to some of the sections we have hiked on the Ozark Trail.
Wildlife and Nature
We saw plenty of wildlife while fishing and hiking. While fishing, we saw numerous birds including a bald eagle that flew over us a few times and then perched up in a tree overlooking the river. We saw ducks, heron, and a beaver while fishing too. I saw several deer, a snake and a fox while hiking.
And the state park has a large spring that feeds the river just below the dam.
The spring at the park 
Our Food Findings
Food is always an important part of our trips and we like to go local as much as possible. On the way down we stopped for breakfast in Mountain View, MO and breakfast at The Lazy C’s Grill Here you can eat breakfast and play a round of pool while you are waiting!
Friday evening we went into Mountain Home, AR to find a place for dinner. I had one placed picked out through Yelp, but when we arrive at our destination it appeared to closed, gone, out of business, even though it was current on Yelp and Facebook. That led us to find another option. I let Aaron choose and he wanted Italian which put me into a bit of a panic because I didn’t have enough WW points left for Italian. After a bit of a fuss, I finally decided on my second choice and boy am I glad that I did!
Cooyons cajun restaurant was spectacular! It’s real food which means its made from scratch there. We are on Weight Watchers. We splurged a bit on one meal. I have no regrets! Aaron wanted the Boudin Balls as an appetizer and tomato soup. The balls were excellent. As a main dish, I chose the soft shelled crab po’boy which included an in house made bread. Again it was great. Aaron chose shrimp and grits. He was in love from the first bite. They were “the best he had ever eaten.” All other shrimp and grits will be compared to these. I could see a road trip in our future just for the shrimp and grits. And if we were splurging, why not have dessert! A lemon blueberry mascarpone cake. It was worth it! I must stress this, if you are ever in this area, stop here and eat. You will not regret it!
During our break from fishing on Saturday, we made the quick two mile drive into the town of Bull Shoals and stopped at the local pizza place – Bush’s Pizza and More -which I had found on Yelp.
Because we can’t normally agree on a pizza, I decided to order two! We ordered two medium pizzas – one taco and one Canadian bacon with half pineapple. Both were great. And I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the taco because that wasn’t my choice. The place is small but there was only one other table in there while we were probably because we were there in the late afternoon. Even if it were crowded it would be worth the wait for a table of to get it go. We took our leftovers with us and enjoyed them for supper and breakfast the next day!
Our final day left us waiting for our “big meal.” Being that is was Easter, I knew that some of the restaurant options were going to be limited. With us being a mile from one of Aaron’s favorite restaurants on the river – Gaston’s, I decided we should splurge (again) and do the Easter Brunch overlooking the White River. Buffets are always a little “iffy” on the quality of food, but this one was quite good with a great variety. The dessert bar was amazing. It was a nice way to spend Easter morning.
The brunch at Gaston’s brought our trip to an end, so with that we began our trip back home. It was an excellent weekend that wasn’t too far from home and offered something for both of us. I would suggest taking the time to plan a short trip to the area!
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