Month: April 2024

Old Hwy 86 Campground, Blue Eye, Missouri

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Sunrise over Table Rock Lake

There are many ways to go about camping-primitive https://howtodotheozarks.com/2020/06/25/ozark-mountain-primitive-camping/, cabin, trailer, or tent https://howtodotheozarks.com/2021/08/07/tent-camping-in-the-ozarks/. The word camping may bring pictures of lazy days fishing, roasting s’more marshmallows over the campfire, swinging in a hammock while the birds sing over your head. I have been camping in multiple ways whether with Scouts, my young children, or with them as adults. Some things never change-it’s generally a lot of work, but worth it.

Having visited many campgrounds over the years in all types of weather conditions, I have to say that I was truly impressed with Old Hwy 86 Campground in Blue Eye, Missouri. Their bathrooms, whether fully plumbed or pit toilets were comfortable, clean and well maintained. The roads were well paved, the sites marked and organized with space in between so you didn’t feel like you were sharing the space with your neighbor. The state parks in Missouri and campgrounds near Silver Dollar City could use some tips from the folks who run this campground!

Pavilion with grill at Old Hwy 86 Campground

After hiking in Branson https://howtodotheozarks.com/2024/04/24/hiking-ruth-and-paul-hennings-wildlife-refuge-and-conservation-area/ and lunch at McFarlain’s Family Restaurant, McFarlain’s Family Restaurants | Best Family Restaurants (bransonimax.com) which is worth a visit for their cornbread alone, Darby and I headed down to Blue Eye, past Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, over a very sketchy bridge being replaced (thank goodness) and nestled down in a valley near Table Rock Lake. Our friend, Nicole was camping with her 2 children and invited us to stop on by and pitch a tent for the weekend. Circumstances being what they were, Saturday night was all we could manage. I am not a spur of the moment person and Nicole had sprung this invitation on me earlier in the week.

Nicole graciously offered use of sleeping space in her 19″ tagalong trailer, but I preferred not to squish myself into the already full space with 3 other people. Darby agreed we would be fine outdoors even in 40 degree weather. I did buy a smaller tent for this camp out as Cole’s nine person tent would have been way too big and more difficult to heat with our bodies than the 4 person tent (if we are being realistic, it was a three person tent-just saying) I ended up with.

Well used play area

Nicole was having a walkabout when we arrived and Darby questioned me about the possibility of this site actually belonging to our friend. “Well, of course, it’s hers-there’s her car, here’s the girl’s bikes, etc.”. Luckily, I was right and we set our tent up within her spot and not some random strangers. Nicole showed up with the dog and her children after we had gotten all our stuff organized and the tent pitched.

Now adults can sit in chairs and talk and be completely happy to do so for the entire weekend. Not so children. They need to be doing something, whether crafting, pretending to fish, swimming, bicycling, something! And the girls did all of this. Darby and I were perfectly content to gab, crochet, and watch the fire with intense fascination while roasting marshmallows, but the girls wanted to do EVERYTHING. I’d forgotten how exhausting children could be. Nicole had lots of activities stored in the camper for them and had also brought their bikes which was a true blessing. There were a lot of other children in the campground looking for new friends to do something with as TV was not an option.

Swimming area

Again, well maintained roads, plenty of lighting and parking made this an excellent family campground. They have a swimming area, pavilion, boat ramp, and 75 electric sites for trailers or even tents. Most of the sites had metal tables which are nicer than wood and discourage pests. Everyone was respectful of the campground rules, especially quiet at 10 p.m. I always bring my earplugs just in case I am near an obnoxious camper bent on partying until the wee hours, or running an air conditioner https://howtodotheozarks.com/2024/02/14/camping-and-floating-at-nro-party-time/

Sleeping in 40-degree weather in a tent means preparation. I had long PJ’s on, my sweatpants and my hoodie as well as a down sleeping bag and a double crocheted afghan that Tim’s mom had made for us years ago, all which kept me warm and almost hot throughout the night. Thankfully, this camping trip was rain free, though it was windy with the campground being located on a peninsula.

Old Hwy 86 Campground would be an excellent spot for a reunion or your next camping adventure. Not too far from civilization, beautiful scenery, well maintained amenities and the chance to move your entire home into a tent for a weekend. Not a bad trade for a little peace and quiet. So get out there folks and discover the joy of camping for yourself.

Hiking Ruth and Paul Hennings Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area

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Apparently, I am about as good at navigating an Alltrails Map as I am Google Maps.  Which is to say, not very well.  Our adventure begins in Branson, Missouri, just around the corner from Shepherd of the Hills.  Tucked back into the mountainside is a very picturesque conservation area set aside from the hustle and bustle of the commercial fun to be had in Branson.  Ruth and Paul Henning Conservation Area | Missouri Department of Conservation (mo.gov)

We’ve got high hopes!!!

Darby and I set out early on Saturday for this adventure, as we needed to complete our hike, then get out and get our tent set up to camp out at Old Highway 86 Campground with friends.  We started at about 10:30 am and right off the bat found I was going too far from the trailhead while attempting to navigate with my newly purchased Alltrails app.  Now, don’t get me wrong, if I had paid a little more attention to Alltrails and worked a little harder to figure out the directions, we would have had a much longer, more strenuous hike!

For those of you who have never been, Branson MO is VERY hilly country.  It used to be about as backwoods as you could get.  Blasting apart the mountain tops and putting in alternate roads to avoid Hwy 76 has greatly changed the terrain of this area over the last 30 years.  But I digress. Our hike started out misdirected and only got worse (or better depending on your viewpoint) from there.

Once we actually found the trailhead and started in the right direction, we noticed how wonderfully someone had blazed the trail with bright pink ties on every few trees as we walked along.  But, oh contraire, these lovely pink ribbons led us down a path of treacherous rocky terrain that quickly tired both of us out, leading down a ravine that was both beautiful and more technical than anything we’d done since Hemmed In Hollow https://howtodotheozarks.com/2022/05/13/hiking-hemmed-in-hollow-arkansas/.

Needed my hiking sticks for this!

After wandering down the ravine, Darby started to question my navigational prowess and I checked Alltrails.  Uh Oh, darn it, off trail again!  We climbed back out with no discernible route, not even a game trail, up to the Glade Trail we were supposedly supposed to be on.  Beautiful wildflowers grew abundantly on our now more navigable path and folks smiled and waved as they passed.  Notably, Darby and I were both loaded down for a 5-6 mile hike with backpacks filled with water, snacks and first aid kits when our friendly co-hikers had coffee cups in hand as they leisurely traveled the path.

Onward!  Spying a sign, we eagerly approached to see if we were on the correct path for our Homestead Trail goal.  We were in luck!  If we traveled around, then up, we would meet up the path we were looking for and get in another 4 miles.  Yes!  We struck out, ignoring the Alltrails App and wandered up the hill to enjoy some beautiful views of the Branson landscape.  This part of the trail was less technical but still uphill and a very good cardio workout for the two of us.  We did pause for photos at the overlook, with Darby later wondering what trail we could possibly be on since our route didn’t include said overlook. 

Parts of Branson are still unspoiled and full of natural beauty!

1 ½ miles in we come upon another map provided by the nice Department of Conservation folks.  WAIT! WHAT!, “you are here”-pointed right next to where we started???!!!  Two ladies walking down, holding coffee cups, of course, let us know that “yes the parking lot is right up there”.  And so ended our 5.5 mile hike at a mere 2 miles.  Defeated, laughing our heads off, and tired from the uphill battle we so gallantly fought to come this far, we decided lunch was in order and then on to camping.  But, that my friends is another story. 

All in all, we hiked 2 miles with my Google Fit telling me it was worth 182 heart points, so that has to count for something, right???!!!  Lessons learned this trip:  Trust Alltrails for crying out loud-and always be flexible, fun and laugh at your mistakes! Oh, and those pretty pink ties?  Tim later told me that they were probably for the trees that needed to be cut down.  Get out there!