Swimming Beaches Open in MO State Parks

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Visitors looking to beat the heat during Memorial Day Weekend can find a welcome respite at 17 designated swimming beaches in Missouri’s state parks.

Eight additional Missouri State Parks’ swimming beaches will open May 25 and welcome visitors this weekend. The beaches at Finger Lakes, two beaches at Lake of the Ozarks, Thousand Hills, two beaches at Harry S Truman, Wakonda and Watkins Woolen Mill state parks will open for the first time the recreational season this weekend.

The beaches at Lewis and Clark State Park remains closed due to damage from flooding in 2011, and Trail of Tears State Park remains closed for work on the lake’s dam. Visit mostateparks.com for additional information.

Visitors to Missouri State Parks are able to sign up to receive free electronic notices about the status of state park beaches by visiting the department’s website at http://bit.ly/HlSnaG. In addition, visitors may continue to check the state park beach status on the department’s website at http://bit.ly/MoStateParksBeachStatus as well as mostateparks.com.

The department samples the water at all designated beaches in the state park system weekly during the recreational season to determine suitability for swimming. Beaches will be closed for high bacteria when a single E. coli sample exceeds 235 cfu/100ml or when the geometric mean – a 30-day rolling average – exceeds 126 cfu/100 ml. The sample test results indicate a snap shot of the water quality taken at the beaches at a specific time; however, a single sample does not provide an overall sense of the water quality in the lake where the beach is located.

Missouri's state parks and historic sites offer something to suit everyone's taste - outdoor adventure, great scenery and a bit of history. With Missouri's 86 state parks and historic sites, the possibilities are boundless. For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites and swimming beaches, visit mostateparks.com.