North Fork River
North Fork River in the Ozark Mountains starts at the Norfork Dam and flows for 5 scenic miles until it converges with the White River. As result of the Norfork Dam’s construction, Norfork Lake was created. As well as controlling flooding and providing hydroelectric power, the dam itself also serves as a bridge across the river gorge. Many visitors come to enjoy the varied water sports and amenities offered in the vicinity of Norfork Lake.
The lake has excellent boating, water skiing, and swimming during the summer months. It is also considered one of the best American lakes for scuba diving due to the excellent underwater visibility. There are many buried communities to explore beneath the lake, dating back to when the area was originally flooded. In the cooler spring and fall, fishing, hiking, and exploring the trails are very popular activities.
(Description continues after the featured listings, scroll down.)
North Fork River -- Continue
Norfork Lake and North Fork River attracts anglers from miles around. The river is famous for its fishing as the cool waters provide an ideal habitat for trout species including cutthroat, german brown, brook and rainbow. Other species include both large and smallmouth bass, crappie, bream, walleye, and catfish. Fishing is a year round activity as there is no closed fishing season and the lake does not freeze during the winter.
It is a river famous for record breaking fish. The world’s largest brown trout was caught in North Fork River in August 1988. This monster fish weighed in a 38Ib 9oz. The state record for the Brook Trout was also caught on the river in 1997. It is also one of the few rivers in America where anglers can catch up to 4 trout species in the same day.
The land surrounding Norfork Lake is owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers and this means that no buildings can be constructed there, thus preserving the natural habitat for outdoor enthusiasts. These Wildlife Management Areas cover more than 25,000 acres and are carefully managed. The areas are open to the public and offer amateur naturalists a great opportunity to observe the local wildlife.
Not far from Norfolk Lake is the Sylamore District of the Ozark National Forest which offers thousands of acres of wilderness. Wildflower enthusiasts can visit the Cliffty Canyon Special Interest Botanical Area which is a large area of Ozark ecosystem set aside to preserve rare plants and wildflowers. There are also more than 100 caves in the Sylamore National Forest which are open to the public.