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Big Lake State Park
Big Lake State Park is a 400 acre park located on the northern end of Big Lake. A short drive away is Squaw Creek (now Loess Bluffs), a beautiful wildlife refuge for migratory birds. During the spring and fall migrations, the refuge serves hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese, as well as hundreds of bald eagles. The park experienced flooding several years ago, so the park building and cabins are all freshly renovated.
Location
Big Lake State Park is located on the north end of Big Lake. It is a ten minute drive west from I-29 in Mound City, MO. It is in far-north-west Missouri, just a short drive from the Nebraska border or the Kansas border. Omaha, NE is about an hour away.
Camping at Big Lake State Park
Big Lake State Park has 17 basic campsites, and 58 electric (R.V.) campsites. Showers and facilities are available seasonally. Additionally, there are cabins available for rent for those of us that would prefer a bed to a sleeping bag. Each cabin has a covered deck with a lake view, fire pit and grill.
Big Lake
Big Lake is an oxbow lake, the largest one in Missouri. (Oxbow just means, horseshoe shaped or U-shaped. It means the lake used to be part of a river, but was cut off.) Big Lake is a shallow lake, with a depth of five feet or less in most areas. There is a small stretch where deepest point reaches 30 feet. There is a boat launch on Big Lake, and the park office has canoes and kayaks available to rent. Big Lake’s shallow waters make it a popular fishing spot, with catch including bass, catfish and croppie. The lake’s shallow waters support a marsh ecosystem, which support migratory waterfowl and wetland birds.