Get outside
Things to do
One of the largest springs in the country, the Current River, Missouri's wild elk, and the history of a timber boom — all within the county. For outfitters and places to stay, see the business directory.
Ozark National Scenic Riverways
The lower Current River runs through Carter County inside the Riverways, from the accesses north of Van Buren down to Gooseneck at the park’s southern boundary.
Big Spring
One of the largest springs in the United States, and by far the largest in the Ozarks, pouring out an average of 289 million gallons a day from water that travels underground from as far as 45 miles away. It sits about four miles south of Van Buren at the end of Route 103, inside the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Big Spring was a state park from 1924 until 1969, when Missouri gave it to the National Park Service, and the Civilian Conservation Corps built its dining lodge and cabins in the 1930s. The campground takes tents and RVs, with electric hookups in the 200 loop (no water or sewer hookups; there’s a dump station). Sites are by reservation only, through Recreation.gov or (877) 444-6777, up to six months ahead: $20 a night for a standard site and $30 with electric from April 15 to October 15, less in winter. Two picnic shelters, Big Spring Shelter by the spring and Peavine Shelter by the campground, can be reserved the same way. An accessible walkway leads to the spring, the Slough Trail nearby is wheelchair accessible, and rangers give campfire programs on summer weekend evenings. The lodge and CCC cabins are closed for renovation.
Current River
The spring-fed Current River runs right through Van Buren, inside the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which Congress authorized in 1964. Authorized outfitters in town rent canoes, kayaks, rafts, and tubes and shuttle you to and from the river; the lower Current below Van Buren passes Big Spring. The National Park Service’s rough float times: Waymeyer to Van Buren, 3 hours; Van Buren to Big Spring, 2 hours; Big Spring to Cataract, 4 hours; Big Spring to Gooseneck, 6 hours; and Van Buren to Gooseneck, 8 hours, all depending on the water. Private boats float free. Check river levels and closures on the park’s Facebook page before you go, and plan to be off the water before dark.
Waymeyer and Chilton Creek Accesses
The Riverways’ two river accesses on Route M, about 10 to 12 miles north of Van Buren. Waymeyer is a put-in for canoes, kayaks, and other non-motorized boats, with a picnic area, about a 3-hour float above Van Buren. Chilton Creek has a boat ramp for motorized boats only. Flooding has shrunk the Waymeyer gravel bar, so the park has limited who can unload where: in 2021 Waymeyer was for private floaters only, and nearby Pin Oak, a former campground, was a loading area for permitted outfitters on weekends and holidays and open to private floaters Monday through Thursday. Call the park for the current rules.
Big Tree Campground
A small Riverways campground on the Current River below Big Spring, about 20 minutes south of Van Buren, with seven non-electric sites. Like the park’s other backcountry campgrounds, it has picnic tables, fire rings, lantern posts, and vault toilets but no drinking water, and every site must be reserved on Recreation.gov or at (877) 444-6777 ($10 a night for a standard site). Take Highway 60 to Route 103, go about 4 miles southeast, turn south on Highway Z for about 7.5 miles, then east on a half mile of gravel.
Gooseneck
The last stop on the Current River inside the Riverways, at the park’s southern boundary: a river access, picnic area, and campground with eight sites (two of them tent-only), about 30 minutes south of Van Buren. It’s the take-out for long floats from Big Spring (about 6 hours) or Van Buren (about 8). The campground is a backcountry one: vault toilets, no hookups, and reservations required on Recreation.gov ($10 a night for a standard site). Head west from Van Buren on Highway 60 about 5 miles, turn south on Highway C for about 11 miles, then east on Big Barren Creek Road for 1.2 miles of gravel to the end.
Grubb Hollow and Cedar Spring Campgrounds
Two small, out-of-the-way Riverways campgrounds on the same gravel road along the lower Current, about 30 minutes south of Van Buren. Grubb Hollow has five sites across the river from Kelley Bluff; Cedar Spring, one of the park’s smallest, has two more, about a mile farther at the road’s end. Both have vault toilets, picnic tables, and fire rings but no water, and must be reserved on Recreation.gov ($10 a night). Go west from Van Buren on Highway 60 about 5 miles, south on Highway C for 7 miles, left on Highway F at Eastwood for about 5.75 miles, then right on County Road F-227.
Clubhouse Campground
A six-site Riverways campground at the bottom of a hill on the Current River, reached from the Ellsinore side of the county. It has vault toilets, picnic tables, and fire rings but no water, and sites must be reserved on Recreation.gov ($10 a night). From Ellsinore, drive about 6.5 miles west on Highway 60, turn west on Highway ZZ for a mile, then follow County Road 60-221 south about 4.75 miles on gravel, with some steep stretches.
Forests & Wildlife
Missouri’s wild elk and the Mark Twain National Forest, right in town.
Peck Ranch Conservation Area
Nearly 30,000 acres of rugged, forested hills and glades in the county’s northwest corner, and home of Missouri’s wild elk. The Missouri Department of Conservation restored more than 100 elk from Kentucky here in the early 2010s, the state’s first free-ranging elk in about 150 years. A self-guided driving tour runs from sunrise to sunset (closed during some deer hunts and in bad weather); late September through early November is bugling season, and sightings aren’t guaranteed. Stegall Mountain, at 1,348 feet, is the area’s high point. Camping is allowed in designated sites. From Winona, take Route H east 5 miles, then continue east 7 miles on gravel.
Watercress Recreation Area
A Mark Twain National Forest area on the Current River right in Van Buren, with a boat ramp, riverside picnic grounds, and a 17-site first-come campground (check whether it’s open; the Forest Service has listed it as closed). The 1.2-mile Songbird Trail loops to Watercress Spring past Civil War-era earthworks overlooking the river. The group pavilions were damaged in the 2017 flood.
Historical Sites
A cobblestone courthouse and a company town from the timber boom.
Old Carter County Courthouse
Parts of Van Buren’s old courthouse date to 1871; a WPA remodel in 1935–36 gave it its native-stone face, and Missouri Preservation calls it the only cobblestone courthouse still standing in the state. The Current River flooded it about six feet deep in 2017, and county offices moved to a new building on higher ground. A volunteer group, the Friends of the Carter County Courthouse, is working to restore it as a welcome center and community space.
Grandin
The company town of the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, which built it starting around 1888. Around 1900 its mill was the largest sawmill in the country, able to cut 75 million board feet a year, and Grandin grew to 2,500 to 3,000 people. The timber ran out, the mill closed in 1910, and much of it, houses included, moved to West Eminence. Twenty-nine of the company’s buildings from 1888 to 1909 and Toliver Pond were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, six of them as the Sixth Street Historic District. About 226 people live in Grandin today.
Seasonal Events
When to plan a trip.
Elk Bugling Season at Peck Ranch
Late September through early November is the best time to hear bull elk bugle at Peck Ranch. Go right after sunrise or just before sunset, stay on the tour route, and give the elk room. Check the Elk Info Line first: the tour closes for some deer hunts in October through December.
Van Buren Farmer’s Market
Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., May through October, behind the old courthouse downtown, with produce, baked goods, and other local goods.
Pop’s Fall Festival
A fall festival in Van Buren that has grown every year since it started in 2018, with a farmers market, hayrides, and live music. It moved to The Landing on the Current River in 2023. Check locally for this year’s date.
Verify before relying on this. Compiled from the National Park Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the U.S. Forest Service, and each venue’s own site. Hours, fees, and regulations change — check directly before a trip, especially for hunting and fishing seasons and limits.
