MONTAUK STATE PARK
Offering some of the finest trout fishing in the Midwest, Montauk State Park is located at the headwaters of the famed Current River. The park's springs combine with tiny Pigeon Creek to supply 43 million gallons of water to the river each day. The cool, clear stream is an ideal home for rainbow trout, and the scenic valley is the perfect setting for camping, hiking and other outdoor pursuits.
Anglers descend on Montauk State Park from March 1 to Oct. 31 for the official trout season, and on winter weekends for a catch-and-release season. After a day of fishing, you can tour the park's trout hatchery, managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Early settlers first established Montauk as a self-sufficient community in the early 1800s. A gristmill, built in 1896, is open seasonally for tours.
For visitors wishing to spend a night or more in the park, Montauk offers a wide variety of choices. The large campground, equipped with modern restrooms, hot showers and dump stations, features both basic and electric sites. The park offers rental cabins with kitchens, modern fourplex cabins and motel rooms for guests choosing to spend the night indoors. A modern dining lodge opens daily during the trout season and on weekends during the catch-and-release season.
The Searcy Building is home to the park administrative offices and a spacious meeting room equipped with a kitchen and restroom facility. The meeting room can be reserved at a rate of $65 for groups of one to 30 and $80 for groups of 30 to 50.
To reserve the meeting room for business groups or family gatherings and to arrange catered meals, contact the lodge manager at (573) 548-2434 or 1-800-334-6946.
Montauk State Park Campground Information
All campground loops are open year-round. The campground showerhouses and coin-operated laundries are open seven days a week from Feb. 25 through October.
Campground guests may purchase firewood from the campground woodlot. From Feb. 25 through October, the woodlot is open Sunday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
From November through Feb. 24, the woodlot is closed. During those months, wood is available on weekends from the dining lodge during their business hours.
For reservations, there is a required two-night minimum stay for weekends and major holidays from May 15 through Sept. 15.
Montauk State Park does not have a special-use area for organized groups. Groups can use and reserve individual sites as allowed by current policies.
Lodging
The cabins, dining lodge, motel, store and snack bar are operated by your concession hosts, James and Mary Coffman and Steve Fisher. Laundry facilities are available for the convenience of park visitors in the campground Feb. 28 through October. Let a member of the concession staff make your visit to Montauk State Park more enjoyable. For more information about the concession facilities, please call (573) 548-2434 or visit their Web site at www.missouritrout.com/montauklodge.
Montauk State Park offers one- and two-bedroom housekeeping cabins with kitchens, sleeping cabins and motel rooms. All cabins and motel rooms are air-conditioned and heated. Linens are furnished in all types of lodging. Motel units 1 and 18 and cabins 11, 12 and 26 are accessible to persons with disabilities.
Cabins 9 and 10 and cabins 22 through 33 have tub/shower combinations, all others are equipped with showers only. Queen-size beds are available in cabins 9 through 12 and 22 through 33. All motel rooms as well as cabins 22 through 33 are equipped with televisions (limited reception). Cabin 15 has a wood-burning fireplace. Cabins 26 through 29 have gas fireplaces.
For 2006, cabins range from $81 to $123 per night. Motel rooms range from $58 to $62 per night.
Fishing:
Montauk State Park?s premier attraction is trout fishing, and the Current River contains both rainbow and brown trout. The pristine waters and natural surroundings of the Current River are an excellent background for trout fishing. Trout season opens March 1 and lasts until Oct. 31. In between, there is a catch-and-release program for year-round angling fun at the park. License and daily trout tags are required.
Montauk State Park is located near Salem
The park has two open picnic shelters perfect for large family gatherings or special outings. Both shelters have picnic tables, outdoor grills, a children?s playground and restroom facilities nearby. There is also a playground facility located in the campground.
The ?new? shelter can be reserved for $30 per day, accommodates up to 70 guests and is equipped with electrical outlets. The ?old? shelter can be reserved for $25 per day and accommodates roughly 30 guests.
If not reserved, the shelters are available at no charge on a first-come first-served basis.
Whether you?re out for a leisurely stroll, or ready for a rugged hike through the Ozark hills, Montauk State Park has much to offer! Check the park program posters posted throughout the park for naturalist-guided hikes (offered March-October). Of course, feel free to walk Montauk?s beautiful trails on your own. For more information on Montauk?s hiking opportunities, contact the park naturalist.
Pine Ridge Trail : If your interested in a relatively challenging walk, Pine Ridge Trail is perfect for you. Be sure to wear good hiking shoes with rugged ?grippy? soles. There are two trail heads for this trail: one starts directly behind the old stone picnic shelter and the other is located just beyond the naturalist?s office. The trail does not make a complete loop, so if you decide to park at one end and walk the one and one-half mile trail, you will need to walk another three-tenths of a mile along the road to get back to your car.
The trail begins by leading you through Montauk?s Upland Forest Natural Area. This was designated in 1979 as a premier example of one of Missouri?s special native ecosystems. The natural area is made up of approximately 40 acres of dry upland oak and pine forest. As you approach the top of the hill, you will start to notice more and more huge shortleaf pine, Missouri?s only native pine tree.
A prominent highlight of the trail is reached toward the hatchery end. Just before descending down a hillside to the end of the trail, you will be treated to one of the most beautiful views in Montauk State Park. The trees open up to a breathtaking view of Bluff Spring and Montauk Lake below, and Jack Pond Ridge across the valley. Look for great blue herons near the water, or (in the winter season) bald eagles soaring above.
Montauk Lake Walk : Although not yet an officially designated trail, this is one of the most popular places to walk in the park. This hike is great for visitors wanting an easier stroll. You don?t need hiking shoes, but we do recommend something more than sandals, since the road surface is gravel. It?s excellent for small children and strollers. The hike starts at the naturalist?s office, near the hatchery office. Just follow the gravel road that begins at the north end of the public parking area. Feel free to walk or ride your bicycles in this area, but no motorized vehicles.
This walk is approximately one-fourth of a mile, and makes a loop. There are other foot trails along the way if you want to extend your hike a little.
You will see a wide variety of sights within a very short distance. Montauk Lake is actually an artificial wetland area created as a result of an old hatchery impoundment.
A highlight on this hike is Bluff Spring, one of many spring outlets within the park. This particular spring provides all the water for the lake area rearing pools, the hatchery building and the spring branch. Look for the active beaver lodge, located in the middle of the large central wetland (look for a large mound of sticks and mud). Other highlights to look for, especially in late summer and early fall, are the variety of colorful berries produced by trees, shrubs and vines, such as blackberries, raccoon grape, wild grape, greenbrier, spicebush, flowering dogwood, hackberry and Carolina buckthorn. Also, notice the beautiful large pink blooms of the rose mallow, a native wetland wildflower.
From March through October, park naturalists offer a variety of interpretive programs, including nature walks, live animal demonstrations, evening programs, nature games, nature crafts, storytelling and mill tours.
Program schedules are posted on bulletin boards in the campground, picnic areas, the lodge, mill and naturalist?s office. Programs are one hour or less (unless otherwise noted), free of charge and do not require reservations. Parents should accompany children to programs.
During the winter season, the park naturalist will travel upon arrangement to surrounding communities to provide programs for civic groups and assist school teachers with science and natural history lessons.
The Mill
The mill at Montauk State Park is over 100 years old. This historic site was a vital part of the Montauk Community into the 1920s. Built in 1896, the "Old Mill" had elaborate milling machinery. Much of it is still located there. Free guided tours of the mill are given on weekends. Hours vary, depending on demand and scheduled group tours. New schedules are posted each week showing times and dates for available public tours. For information regarding tours or to schedule a special group tour, contact the park naturalist at (573) 548-2225.
The mill at Montauk State Park is over 100 years old. This historic site was a vital part of the Montauk Community into the 1920s. Built in 1896, the ?Old Mill? had elaborate milling machinery. Much of it is still located there. Free guided tours of the mill are given on weekends. Hours vary, depending on demand and scheduled group tours. New schedules are posted each week showing times and dates for available public tours. For information regarding tours or to schedule a special group tour, contact the park naturalist at (573) 548-2225.
The Rose Holland Trout Derby is held at Montauk State Park each year during the first full weekend in October. Various smaller trout derbies are held during the remainder of the trout season.
The Missouri Department of Conservation sponsors tours of the trout hatcheries. For information on a schedule of tours, contact the hatchery personnel at (573) 548-2585.
From St. Louis : Montauk State Park is 140 miles from St. Louis. Travel west on I-44 to Rolla. Exit onto U.S. Hwy. 63 south. At Licking, turn left onto Hwy. 137 and follow it through town for three miles. Turn left onto Route VV and travel 10 miles to Hwy. 119. Turn right and enter the state park.
From Salem : Montauk State Park is 22 miles from Salem. Travel west on Hwy. 32 to Hwy. 119. Turn left onto Hwy. 119 and continue for 10 miles to the state park.
From Springfield : Montauk State Park is 110 miles from Springfield. Travel east on U.S. Hwy. 60 to Cabool. Turn left/north onto U.S. Hwy. 63. Ten miles north of Houston, turn right onto Route P and travel one mile to Hwy. 137. At Hwy. 137, turn left and travel three miles to Route VV. Turn right onto Route VV and continue 10 miles to Hwy. 119. Turn right and enter the state park.
I went from a beginner fly person to a successful fly fisher in the natural fly area.Spin casting is a sport fly fishing is a art....
Cabin 20 overrun by ladybugs which dropped on me at night. Bath sink cracked, dirty. Bath moldy, spattered, wood rot. No TV, internet, coffee pot. Grounds beautiful.
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