Twin Lakes area ready for visitors

Bull Shoals Lake and Lake Norfork are ready for visitors despite the flooding and high water experienced in the spring, said Jeff Pipkin, CEO and economic director of the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce.

“Yes, we had some high waters during the flooding in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, but all of the resorts and all of our marinas and all of our hospitality industry are open for business,” Pipkin said.

The northcentral Arkansas lakes are popular for the outdoor recreation opportunities they provide.

“Norfork was the worst hit,” Pipkin said. “The lakes are dropping, and the water clarity is getting clearer every day.”

He added that the majority of debris floating in the lakes during the rains and flooding has been cleaned up.

“The only negative we see right now is some campsites by the Corps of Engineers are under water or in need of being repaired from flooding,” he said.

Boating, wakeboarding, water skiing, tubing, fishing, scuba diving and swimming are all extremely popular on the lakes. Marinas have boats and water sport equipment for rent. Fishing guides are plentiful.

Bull Shoals Lake and the White River below its dam are popular fishing spots. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project, located on the Missouri-Arkansas state line, enjoys a wide reputation for lunker bass fishing along with Lake Norfork, just to the east.

Norfork Lake has more than 550 miles of shoreline and covers some 22,000 acres. Bull Shoals Dam was completed by the corps in 1951. It is the fifth largest concrete dam in the United States. Including the portion located in Missouri, the lake totals some 45,500 surface acres.