Bull Shoals Lake
The Bull Shoals Lake area is the perfect playground for water sports, including water skiing, boating, jet skiing, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, snorkeling, scuba diving and swimming. There are many resorts and marinas in the area offering rentals and opportunities for such activities.
Bull Shoals Lake at 45,440 acres is Arkansas's largest lake with waters stretching across North Central Arkansas and across the border into Missouri.
Anglers and water sports enthusiasts are drawn to the lake's clear waters and Ozark scenery, and it's considered one of the finest fishing lakes in Arkansas. It was actually on the top 10 Great Places to Go Bass Fishing in USA Today! Anglers can put their skills to the test fishing for lunker bass, crappie, bream and a variety of other fish species found in this fishing paradise. So if you like to catch largemouth bass, striped bass, rainbow trout, enjoy boating, tubing, wake boarding, hiking, camping, horseback riding, caving, scuba diving or any other outdoor activities, Bull Shoals, Arkansas is the number one destination for your vacation travels.
Fishing & Hunting Licenses:
Such licenses are regulated by the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. They can be purchased online via the AGFC website: https://www.agfc.com/en/resources/licensing/
Lake Access - Swim, Fish, Launch:
Dam Site Park - boat launch and bank fishing
Brown's Beach - boat launch, bank fishing, swimming
Point Return Public Use Area - bank fishing and swimming
Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock - boat launch and services/supplies
Bull Shoals Dam
The site is currently a delight to the area residents as they drive across it daily and witness the beauty of the water, sunsets, sunrises, morning fog over the White River and wildlife around Bull Shoals Dam.
Bull Shoals Dam construction was started in 1947 and was not completed until 1951 due to the delay of WWII with a total taxpayer cost of 76.4 million dollars.
The Bull Shoals Dam was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman on July 2. 1952. At that time, it was the fifth largest structure of that type in the U.S.. and the largest in Arkansas. The procedure used to attain the materials for the dam were nationally recognized as well. To gather the 2.1 million cubic yards of concrete needed, the dam builders built the second longest continuous conveyor belt in the world from Lee's Mountain Quarry to the dam site seven and one-half miles away. You can see an example of the conveyor belt at the James A. Gaston's Visitor Center at the dam.
The Dam has 8 generators that can generate 10 million gallons of water per minute. It spands 2,256 feet in length and is 220 feet wide at the base. It rises 263 feet above the river bed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains the hydroelectric dam. Southwestern Power Administration wholesales the power within a six state region including Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. About 800,000 megawatt hours of power is sold annually.
Attractions, Hiking & Bull Shoals Parks
Attractions
James A. Gaston Visitor Center - Interpretive exhibits, theater showing the history of the dam and the area, observation tower and deck, and gift shop make up the features of this center. It's also perfect for capturing the sunrise over Bull Shoals Lake or the sunset over the White River. - 870-445-3629- 153 Dam Overlook Lane next to Bull Shoals Dam - Visitor Center Details and Directions.
Bull Shoals Theater - "The Bull Shoals Theater of the Arts is a non-profit corporation organized for the purpose of providing a professional environment for the Performing Arts and to establish a live Entertainment Center." Schedule of Events can be found on their Facebook Page.
Bull Shoals Caverns & Mountain Village 1890 - One of the oldest limestone caverns in the Ozarks mountain range, Bull Shoals Caverns has stalactites, stalagmites, drapolites, box work, columns, cave pearls, flow stone and many other formations. Educated guides will take you back in time as you walk the concrete path throughout the cavern...that happens to be under the recreated Ozarks town - Mountain Village 1890, added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 2023.
*Both attractions are open Memorial Day & Labor Day*
Hiking & Trails
James A. Gaston Visitor's Center - Dam Overlook Lane - trail head near the front gardens
Bull Shoals White River State Park - Big Bluff Trail and Oakridge Mountain Bike Trail - trail heads on Powerhouse Rd.
Roy Danuser City Park - Marilyn Avenue - trail head near the playground
Gaston's White River Resort - Across the dam on River Road, off of Powerhouse Rd - trail at entrance with bird exhibits and also at the end of the property past the cottages.
Roy Danuser City Park
This beautiful city park is named after Roy Danuser.
An area lawyer, "he served his community in many ways and was a respected and beloved civic leader, spearheading the effort for a community hospital in Bull Shoals and supporting the development of Baxter Regional Hospital. With his dear friends Rosemary and George Fisher he developed Mountain Village 1890, Bull Shoals Caverns, and Top of the Ozarks tower.
He was deeply devoted to his family, his friends, and his trout fishing, and he was widely known as a great story-teller. He often said that he lived in the most beautiful part of the country." - arkansasgravestones.org
Roy Danuser City Park offers basketball and volleyball courts, hiking trails, baseball diamond, playground and an archery shooting area. We are working on a new disk golf area, coming soon!
The park offers plenty of shade, picnic tables, clean washrooms, large pavilion and a bandstand. Danuser Park is where numerous community activities and festivals take place.
Trails by Arkansas Master Naturalists
Joan McKilip Green Loop Trail - wheelchair - 0.25 miles
Joan McKilip Blue Loop Trail - Easy - 0.5 miles
Red Loop Trail - Difficult - 0.75 miles
State Park Visitor Center - Difficult - 0.75
Archery Range Information
The range is open to the public.
Broad tips are prohibited unless you use your own target.
Please leave the area free of trash.
Dam Site RV Park & Campground - Book Your Stay Online!
Dam Site RV Park is maintained and operated by the City of Bull Shoals. We have 33 sites; each site has either 30 or 50 amp. electrical service, water, picnic table, and a fire pit. The park offers WiFi, clean washrooms with showers, plenty of shade at each site, and a dumping station. A playground, various covered picnic tables and large areas for kicking around a ball, Frisbee, and other yard games are available.
The park is located next to Bull Shoals Lake. The boat launch and shoreline fishing access is within walking distance. The park is open April 15th through October 15th.
To reserve your site at Dam Site Park, call 870-405-9619 or to reserve online - click here.
Site 1: $50.51 - Tax included (Sewer is included on this site)
30 AMP Hook Up is $39.29 - Tax included
50 AMP Hook Up is $44.90 - Tax included
All sites include Water, Electricity, Picnic Table, Fire pit, WI-FI and Firewood
Brown's Beach & Point Return Campground
Brown's Beach
Brown's Beach offers:
- swimming area with a pebble beach
- boat launch with parking
- shoreline fishing access
- plenty of picnic tables
- fire pits
- playground
- restrooms (outhouse style)
- large pavilion for family reunions and parties.
Call Bull Shoals City Hall for rental/reservation information.
Point Return Campground
If you are into primitive camping, Point Return Campground is for you! Located on a hill overlooking Bull Shoals Lake, it presents the beauty and peace you desire. There are 22 sites, each with a picnic table, a fire pit and a lot of shade. Point Return is restricted to tent and pop-up camping only. RV's will be referred to Dam Site Park. Point Return is considered primitive because it has no electrical hook ups, no water hook ups, no showers or flushing toilets. It does have an "out-house" style concrete restroom, nicely paved road/walk/bikeways, convenient lake access with shoreline to investigate, and abundant shade trees.
- Point Return Campground is open April 15th through October 15th.
- Reservations are not needed.
- Dues are deposited in a lock box at the entrance to the campground.