The Black River is a crystal clear rock bottom river that is one of Missouri’s cleanest river ways. Whether swimming, floating, snorkeling or just enjoying the sun, the Black River is the perfect spot.
Missouri's Finest River
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Floating
River Wild Life
The Black River is a crystal clear rock bottom river that is one of Missouri’s cleanest river ways. You can spend hours just snorkeling amongst the wildlife that call the river home and never run out of new things to explore – or new amazing creatures to find. Lets dive in and take a look!
Let's Go Snorkeling!
River Wild Life
You can spend hours just snorkeling amongst the wildlife that call the river home and never run out of new things to explore – or new amazing creatures to find. Lets dive in and take a look!
Crayfish
Among the largest and most common invertebrates in Missouri’s lakes, streams, and wetlands, crayfish often appear in densities of around 20 animals per square meter of stream surface area.
Longnose Gar
The longnose gar is a primitive ray-finned fish of the gar family. It is also known as the needlenose gar. I might look scary but am harmless!
Eastern Spiny Soft Shell Turtles
The Soft Shelled turtle is one of North Americas largest fresh water turtles and can be seen sunning on the shoreline or swimming beneath the bridge
Red Ear Sliders
This is one of the most common semi-aquatic turtles in Missouri. The color of the upper shell is olive-brown with numerous black and yellow lines. A distinct red or orange stripe is normally present on each side of the head behind the eye.
Map Turtles
To identify our 3 map turtles, look at the yellow spots near the eye. Ouachita map turtles have a large yellow marking behind each eye that extends, narrowing, on top of the head. False map turtles have a thick yellow line behind each eye that forms a backward L shape.
Bullfrog Tadpoles
While there are several species of tadpoles swimming around the river, the large bull frog tadpole definitely cannot be missed. Kids love to pick them up but please be gently and place them back in their home so they can grow into a frog.