Highway K Campground

Last summer, my wife and I discovered the US Army Corp of Engineers campgrounds, specifically the Highway K Campground. We have been both charmed and distressed by this small, quirky, beautiful campground. This July, we returned and Highway K treated us to another quirky weekend.

Highway K is the kind of place that if you're not looking for it, you won't find it. "A dot on the map" doesn't begin to describe it...there's no dot. It is situated on the Black River, in an area of the Ozarks, where the most distinctive feature is the road running through the hills. That's it. It's sole claim to fame is the bridge that goes over the river. And while that description is truthful, it doesn't do this little Ozark gem the justice it deserves.

Both the campground and the river are places that time has skipped over. There at Highway K, campers step back to what it was like a lifetime ago. To the modern man's chagrin, there is no cell phone reception. This can put a damper on the kids' electronics and IT professionals, but for the rest of us, its a blessing in disguise. The campground was originally privately owned and operated by the local canoe rental place. Having been handed over to the Corp of Engineers, it has been steadily improved, but relatively unchanged. The campsites have been leveled, paved, graveled, landscaped and electrified, but they are the same small, close together spots that have always been there. Even more amazingly, the campers are the same campers who have been coming here year after year, decade after decade. A visitor can easily see tents, trailers, and RVs dating back to the 1950s...all lovingly cared for by each family.

Most of the campers (if not all) are there because someone else brought them there, often their parents. While local Missourians are the most frequent, I ran into a large group from Mississippi that came because this is where their families have always come. Same with the folks from Arkansas and Texas. What seems to set these Highway K campers apart is their assumptions and attitudes about the place: it is theirs. They own it. They know this deep down. While to Corp of Engineers is the care taker, the real ownership belongs to the generations of campers. This is a distinctly different sort of thing to other places I've been, where campers are just temporary visitors.

And what they own is amazing. The Black River runs cold and clear through the valley. It is so clear that you can watch the sunfish sitting om their nests from over 20 feet away. The water is so cold that, if you splash in the water, you feel like you are the soda sitting in an ice cooler. On our first trip, I spent that Saturday sitting in the river on a lawn chair, half in and half out of the shade from the bridge. I spent the whole day attempting to find that optimal balance point between the hot sun, cold water, cool breeze, and refreshing shade. The trick was that the shade moved with the sun, so I had to keep readjusting. The boys spent the day riding the current, like a ride at the water park. They would run up the gravel bank as far as we would let them, and then splash into the water to float down stream as far as we would let them. Then, they would run back to do it again. The Lazy River at Six Flags has nothing on this place. With a lawn chair, a cooler, and a picnic basket, a camper is set. The family campers tended to stay south of the bridge, and the party campers to the north.  The arrangement seemed to work.

This time around, we again spent time in the water, and so did our dog.  Other places have rules...this place, not so much.  Just find a place on the gravel bar to park, and enjoy the water.  Everyone was hanging out in the shallows, and the few people silly enough to try the 12' deep current, literally got swept off their feet.  Most of the party types got flooded out, and went home early.  The family campers had a mostly quiet place, which was nice for us.

The community among campers can be pretty amazing too. Fellow campers were ready to show off their vintage trailer or RV. A man who can carve will whittle your boy's name into a stick. Marshmallows and S'mores are readily shared with all the kids.

However, the quirk is that ownership mentality...sometimes it comes off wrong. Both times that we've gone to camp there, we've had squatters on our reserved campsite. Now, I'm not the kind of guy who just HAS TO HAVE the campsite I reserved. I'll gladly take a similar one. However, after driving several hours with three boys and a dog on a Friday after work, I'm ready to set up camp. Having squatters is a rude surprise. Even worse, both times, the hosts expected me to move the interlopers. The hosts wouldn't give me another site, and yes, they really expected me to serve the eviction notice. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot people! To be fair, this time, the river was cresting at 12 feet above normal, and the bottom camp loop got flooded. None the less, that is what the hosts are for, to help resettle people properly. I think that the modern online reservation system is in conflict with the heritage system that the loyal campers have. But the situation was fixed up pretty quick. Stupid is as stupid does. The other campers were awesome.

So the Highway K Campground is pretty cool, but quirky. If the Corp of Engineers can fix the host and reservation system on the ground at this camp, it would truly be outstanding. As it is, I like it, but for my wife the weak host system was a drawback.