Bennett Spring State Park — Attraction in Lebanon

Bennett Springs State Park is a gem of Missouri, offering a variety of activities and attractions for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. The park is centered on the third-largest spring in the state, which produces more than 100 million gallons of clear, cool water every day. The spring branch is a paradise for trout fishing, as it is stocked daily with rainbow trout. You can also enjoy canoeing, kayaking, or floating on the scenic Niangua River, which flows through the park.

The park has a rich history, dating back to the 19th century, when settlers built mills along the spring-fed stream. You can learn more about the park’s past at the nature center, which features exhibits, displays, and programs. You can also see the remnants of the mills and the stone bridge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. The CCC also constructed the dining lodge, cabins, trails, roads, shelters, and the fish hatchery, which you can visit and tour.

The park has something for everyone, whether you are looking for a relaxing getaway or an adventurous experience. You can choose from a range of lodging options, including campsites, cabins, motel rooms, and yurts. You can also explore the park’s natural beauty on 12 miles of hiking trails, which offer stunning views of the spring, the river, the bluffs, and the forest. You can also enjoy a picnic, a barbecue, or a meal at the dining lodge, which serves delicious food and drinks.

Bennett Springs State Park is a place where you can reconnect with nature, have fun, and make memories. I highly recommend visiting this park and discovering its wonders...

Very crowded fishing area, but restocked daily based on number of licenses (trout stamps) sold the day before. Trout are extremely happy in very clean, cold water. Divided into 3 Fishing areas, divided by lure type, seperated by waterfalls. If the 4$ trout stamp is "too pricey", then you can fish the Niangua River, which the spring feeds into. The campground was well taken care of, and all staff were very friendly. General Store and Fishing Tackle store inside the main building, have a huge selection of lures, and man made artificial flies. When Fishing, it's literally shoulder to shoulder with all the people there, especially on weekends. If this isn't the environment for you, the Niangua is a 5 minute drive away, and I was literally the only one Fishing were the Spring feeds into the River. Only downside to fishing there, are all the canoes and kayaks, "day drinking" and loudly floating by every 10 minutes. No kayaks in the Spring, in the park. Highly recommend stopping to at least see the Spring. You can literally drive right up to the actual Spring. Super cool to watch the fish swimming around the current, flowing out of the hole. Absolutely stunning photography opportunities with blue hues of water. The Hatchery is super cool to walk up and see tomorrow's fish stock. Hand down, a "must see", even if you don't want to fish that...

This is a "four stars plus" review. The park is very well run, well maintained, staffed by nice, competent folks. The physical beauty of the place is also evident everywhere (I mean, it's not the Rockies, but it's nice, hilly, wooded Missouri). Bennett Spring is also a destination, to put it mildly, for trout fishermen, and the place is geared toward them. But it's also good for campers in the best "state park" sense: i.e., pitch your tent on (or pull your camper onto) an asphalt slab and enjoy the nearby picnic table and fire pit etc. The bathrooms and showers for campers are convenient and very well maintained. There is also a nice, long (7.1 mile I believe) trail that changes elevation in a moderately challenging kind of way. If you want more privacy while you're camping, and are looking for a more rustic experience, you need to look further west or north a couple of states at least. All that said, I have to add that I saw a mink run right through our camp site with something in its mouth that a group of angry, cawing crows who were chasing it clearly wanted back. I mean, he was literally "high-tailing" it. Pretty cool. (And yes, there are wild minks all over Missouri...