Wappapello Lake's hidden gems

Created in 1941, Wappapello Lake has brought in tourists and vacationers from all over to visit the beautiful getaway.

Wappapello Lake has 288 available campsite stations, 29 boat launch locations and four swimming beaches for public use. Once summertime arrives, these locations fill up quickly with thousands of people.

Outside of water sports, Wappapello Lake offers many other activities for visitors. Some of these include smaller events like music festivals, movie nights, nature walks and family friendly educational seminars about animals native to the area. There are also larger festivities like the Fourth of July event where thousands of people cover the open water and the surrounding land to view a firework show that occurs from the middle of the lake.

Given that massive size of the project, the lake spanning 45,000 acres, park ranger Aaron Winchester explains there are actually some amazing lesser-known sites that people need to see.

"There are many popular locations that are always swarmed with people during the summer time like Mayham Hallow, The Tree, Pine Ridge Trail, Lost Creek Trail and the Johnson Tract," Winchester explains. "With that said, there are some really awesome sites that most people don't know about that make the area stand out."

Goat's herder's shack.Caleb Swallows ~ Daily American Republican

Winchester explained there are four different interesting sites visitors and even locals should see.

The first site he emphasized was the Logan Mountain Shut-Ins, located off of County Road 317 from Highway 67 coming from Poplar Bluff.

"We have our own miniature Johnson's Shut-Ins at the Wappapello Lake Project," Winchester said. "Very few people know about it because of its location, but it is a great location for people to have picnics at and take photos at. When you get close to it, you can hear the water roaring down the creek. Anyone can find this location by looking at our Wappapello Lake maps and it is marked."

The next site emphasized by Winchester is a nature spring that is hidden away near Greenville. The spring is approximately halfway between Yorkville and Greenville on County Road 403, which was the original Highway 67.

"Once you come to the junction where the old community of Taskee is and were the Old Steel Bridge is, you will find the spring," Winchester explained. "Many people drive this road and don't know they are driving directly over a natural spring. With the vegetation usually grown up, it's difficult to see from the road."

Missouri's largest northern red oak tree in the Lake Wappapello Project.Caleb Swallows ~ Daily American Republican

One of the most different sites Winchester emphasized was the Goat Herder's Shack. This is located off of BB Highway, by the power lines. Winchester explains this location is harder to find, but something everyone must see.

"You have to follow the power lines for about a quarter of a mile, then break into the tree line," Winchester explained. "This is something that you'll know it when you see it."

The Goat Herder's Shack is a cave where a hermit lived during the turn of the 20th century. This was near the town of Kime. After the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gained the land, the highway department used the cave to store the dynamite that created access for roads.

The final location emphasized by Winchester was the northern red oak tree.

"The Wappapello Lake Project is actually the home of Missouri's largest northern red oak tree," Winchester said. "It still holds the title and is an amazing site to see."

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com Boulders are seen in the stream Saturday, June 15, 2019, at Logan Mountain Shut-Ins in near Lake Wappapello .

The tree is 17 feet in circumference, 119 feet in height, and its spread is 99 feet. It is located west of Silva.

Winchester explained these sites are amazing to see in person and everyone should take the time to check them out.

"These are some locations that would be great to look at for people visiting the area and even for locals that haven't experienced the sites before," Winchester said.

The location of these sites can be given more specifically from the rangers at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitors Center. If help is needed to find any of these locations, visit or call the visitor center at 573-222-8562.