Often romanticized, the ideal American landscape of the 19th century conjured images of pristine woodlands and running streams filled with leaping fish and smooth river stones. You will find that today at Roaring River Missouri State Park near the Arkansas state line. Roaring River is a premier trout fishery in the nation, towering hills protecting a deep spring is an ideal setting by anyone’s standards.

In the 1930’s the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program workers built lodges, bridges, camps, and trails at Roaring River State Park which are still in use today. These programs not only gave people work but set the foundation for America’s appreciation of the outdoors and created a greater awareness for the need to protect our nation’s natural resources.

Roaring River State Park offers fishing, picnicking, hiking, and more. Learn more about Roaring River State Park.

On your return to Eureka Springs, see a WPA era diving platform, hand-cut native limestone dam, bridge and other WPA structures at Lake Leatherwood. Visit the oldest earthen and hand-cut stone dam (1894) in the Ozarks at Black Bass Lake. Lake Leatherwood and Black Bass Lake are both Eureka Springs parks and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Informational kiosks provide history and detailed trail information.