Songbird Trail
A half-mile Forest Service loop inside Watercress Recreation Area: past Watercress Spring, up a hillside to Civil War earthworks overlooking the Current River, and by a small cave in a rocky bank.
Watercress Recreation Area
The Forest Service's in-town Current River access: a double-lane concrete boat launch, five picnic sites, and concrete stair entries down to a river beach, a half mile from downtown Van Buren.
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Watercress is where Van Buren keeps its working river access. The Forest Service runs this compact area inside the town limits, next door to the Ozark National Scenic Riverways headquarters: a double-lane concrete boat launch on the Current River, five picnic sites with a group picnic point, and parking, all between Watercress Drive and the water.
South of the ramp, a pair of concrete stairways drops to the river beach, and a boardwalk by the ramp crosses the Watercress Spring branch on the way to the sand. This is the day-use heart of the place: launch a boat, fish the Current, or take the stairs down to the beach. Go carefully. The Forest Service warns that the water is immediately deep at one stair entry, and that flood damage left trees, root wads, and stringers in the river as hazards.
A primitive campground spreads through the area, and the Songbird Trail starts between two of its campsites, but do not count on a site without checking first. The 2017 flood damaged the pavilion, day-use area, and campground; the Forest Service repaired them and cleaned up again after flooding in late 2024, and no official source states whether the campground is open for the current season. The boat ramp, picnic sites, and beach are the reliable offer here.
Good to know before you go
- Fees
- No fee is stated by the Forest Service or Recreation.gov for this area (recorded as unknown).
- Hours and seasons
- Recreation.gov states that day use and the boat ramp are open year-round, and the Forest Service describes the launch as busy year-round. No daily hours are stated. The campground's current-season status is not stated by any official source for 2025-26 and is recorded as unknown: Recreation.gov carries both a May 1 to October 1 campground season and a notice that only the boat ramp is open because of 2017 flood damage, while Forest Service reports document repairs through 2024 and renewed cleanup after flooding that fall.
- Parking
- Parking at the recreation area in Van Buren: from Main Street (Business 60) turn onto Watercress Drive and follow it past the Riverways headquarters; the entrance is about a half mile from the turn. The Forest Service lists four day-use parking lots, one designated for boat and trailer parking only.
- Accessibility
- No accessibility statement is published for this area.
- Nearest town
- Van Buren, Missouri
- Coordinates
- 37.00194, -91.01861
- Access type
- Double-lane concrete boat launch
What you can do there
- Double-lane concrete boat launch on the Current River
- Beach access with two concrete stair entries south of the ramp
- Boardwalk by the boat ramp to the beach access
- 5 picnic sites and a group picnic area
- Fishing on the Current River
- Primitive campground on site (current-season status not published; see Hours and seasons)
- Songbird Trail begins between campsites #11 and #12
Best for
Filed under
Nearby places
Carter County Courthouse
Missouri's only cobblestone-covered courthouse, built in 1871 and reclad by the WPA in 1936, stands vacant on its Main Street square in Van Buren, still the town's gathering ground for tree lightings and the Festival of Lights.
Van Buren Riverfront Park
Van Buren's own river park at the foot of Main Street: a concrete boat ramp and canoe launch on the Current River, a picnic shelter, and swimming areas on one acre, open 4 AM to 10 PM.
Big Spring Campground
The Park Service's main campground in the Big Spring area: 123 reservable sites on the Current River, a boat ramp, electric hookups in one loop, and Big Spring itself within walking distance.