Lake Boutin reopens for swimming

Area residents looking for an escape from the oppressive heat blanketing the region will be able to cool off with a visit to Lake Boutin's renovated beach at Trail of Tears State Park.

The lake reopened Wednesday after being closed to swimmers for more than three years.

Trail of Tears naturalist Betty Vogelsang said visitors can expect an improved beach.

"We've renovated the beach and made additions that make it handicapped-accessible," Vogelsang said. "We built a ramp from the parking lot to the water to improve accessibility. We also built new restrooms, which are large enough to change in, and are also handicap accessible."

In addition to the new facilities, workers renovated the lake's beach, replacing sand and resodding the surrounding area to prepare for visitors, said Denise Dowling, natural resource manager at Trail of Tears.

"We've redefined the swimming parameter so that it's a little bit bigger," Dowling said. "We also added new sand, fixed the slope on the beach and added a picnic area with tables. Construction isn't quite finished yet, but we're about 99 percent done at this point."

The lake was closed to swimmers in 2008 after excessive rainfall caused lake water levels to rapidly rise, putting added pressure on the lake's dam. In order to relieve the pressure, park officials drained more than nine feet of water from the lake, eliminating the swimming area and making the beach's slope unsafe for swimmers. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources safety guidelines dictate that a beach's slope must be gradual. After the lake was drained, its shoreline receded, leaving an unsafe drop-off point.

The lake reopened briefly July 2 but closed again after routine water quality testing indicated elevated levels of E. coli bacteria.

Dowling said the park tests the lake's bacteria levels every Tuesday and the latest closing was part of the park's standard testing procedures.

"The lake has a Category I beach, which requires that we take a water sample each week to test for bacteria," Dowling said. "If samples come back with high E. coli, we're required to close the beach until bacteria drops to a safe level. It's standard procedure, and we retested again yesterday. The water tested safe, so we were able to reopen the lake to swimmers."

Although the lake's beach has been popular among area residents in the past, Dowling said she doesn't expect high attendance until residents are made aware that the lake is open again for swimming.

"Unfortunately, when we had to close the beach in 2008 we received lots of calls from people asking when it was going to reopen," Dowling said. "Those calls dropped off over the past three years because the public became trained to the fact that the lake wasn't reopening. Now that it's open, we have to get that information out and retrain the public."

Vogelsang said attendance should improve now that the lower campground is open and the lake is accessible to the Mississippi River.

"People can swim and go fishing, and they can even take small boats out onto the lake," Vogelsang said. "That's one thing we've noticed a lot more of lately. Now that the lake has access to the river, people are putting their boats on the lake. That's something we're going to start seeing more of."

Dowling said she expects attendance to rise with the temperature.

"So far, I've noticed about a dozen or so swimmers in the lake each of the few days it has been opened this season," Dowling said. "The lake is actually very popular among residents, so turnout will increase as word gets out that the lake is open."

ssemmler@semissourian.com

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Pertinent Address:

Trail of Tears State Park, Jackson, MO