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Cedar Grove Campground

 

Cedar Grove Campground is part of the National Park Service. This is not to be confused with the nearby Cedar Grove Conservation Area which can be found off of Highway K. I also see on online maps a Dee Murray Campground in the same area, but I am not sure if they are one in the same or near each other. The cost to camp here is $5 and all sites are on a first come, first serve basis. There are several sites right on the river banks. There are campsites on both sides of the river, so be sure to cross where the old mill used to be and turn left when you reach the choice in the road.

 

To drive here, from Jadwin on Route K, turn onto Highway ZZ. There is an Outpost Grocery Store at this intersection with a primitive gas station. ZZ turns into 651 on the maps online, but you will not realize it while driving. This road runs right into Oak Grove Campground.

The campsite was all sand, which was great in some ways and yet we did get a lot of sand in our tent.

We camped with the day use area in view. It is such a beautiful place. However, on the weekends it is packed with people. We timed it just right because soon after we put up the tent, a big rain and thunder came through chasing away the day use people. The next morning we were alone except the many coming by on the canoes down the Current River, so we waived at them and chatted and found are peace in between groups of floaters.

The morning sun hitting the cold waters cause a lot of mist which was so peaceful and enjoyable.

I took a morning walk around the place and there were many beautiful views and sounds of water.

This field, as were many fields around Dent County, was covered in beautiful wildflowers.

In the morning, we pulled our air mattress from the tent and walked it down to the river where we sat and watched the mist changing on the water while sipping tea and snuggling our dogs.

I loved this patch of grass along the cliffs. However, I did not love it when we discovered that was where the copperheads resided. A floater pointed out the baby copperhead following her canoe. The night before at dusk, when we began to walk the dogs along the shoreline, an extremely large snake came swiftly across the water as if it was going to attack us. I think it thought my 8 lb dog was dinner. We picked up the dogs and walked away from the water and it turned away. I suppose it was disappointed we took its dinner. So the next day when the baby copperhead was spotted, we knew what kind of snake the one the night before. We sat and watched the snakes going in and out of the above grass. We wondered how all the day use people could swim here every day and not be bothered by them.

Oh, the early morning mist on the water was so beautiful to watch!

Visit the Ozark National Scenic Riverways Map and download it for you trip. The above image is a snippet of this map showing the Upper Current River places to visit. Not all of these places are in Dent County as some are in Shannon County, along with the Middle Current River areas. Cedar Grove is just over the county line in Dent County, and partially in Shannon County. Welch begins Shannon County.