Rivers in Taney County
While the White River is the most important and biggest river to the region, there are other smaller rivers in the area that provide canoeing, fishing, swimming, and camping to the people of Taney County. Three of these are Creek, Bull Creek, and Swan Creek.
Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek is known for its good fishing opportunities. Beaver Creek provides almost twenty miles of floatable water. The best accesses to Beaver Creek are at the MO 76 bridge in Bradleyville and the Kissee Mills Access at MO 160 bridge (Rafferty 52).
An early put in place on Beaver Creek is located at the state Hwy. 76 bridge eight miles southwest of Ava. One of the last take outs is at the state Hwy. 160 bridge at Kissee Mills.
Other accesses occur at Jackson Mill Hollow one-half mile southwest of the Hwy. 76 by county road, at the bridge and road mill dam at Rome, at the state Hwy. 76 bridge at Brownbranch, at the state Hwy. 76-125 bridge at Bradleyville, and at the bridge on county road six miles east of Taneyville (Hawksley 86).
Bull Creek
Bull Creek is another popular river of Taney County. Bull Creek starts in Eureka Springs and flows into Lake Taneycomo above Forsyth. This creek is known for good fishing, although very little of it is consistently floatable.
One of the first put in places for Bull Creek is at the low water bridge at the mouth of Goodnight Hollow. This is reached by county road from Hwy. 176 about 3.5 miles north of Walnut Shade. One of the last take outs is at state Hwy. 76 bridge. Another access is located at state Hwy. 148 bridge at Walnut Shade (Hawksley 84).
Swan Creek
Swan Creek is a favorite with canoeists of the area. Swan Creek also provides very good white bass fishing in the spring of the year.
Accesses to Swan are at MO 125 bridge at Garrison, MO, AA bridge, and US 160 bridge at Forsyth (Rafferty 55). One of the last take outs is at the Hwy. 76 bridge at the confluence of Swan Creek and the White River.
Other accesses occur at Hwy. AA Swan Bridge and at the public campsite between Swan Creek and Hwy. 76 (Hawksley 84).
Works Cited
Hawksley, Oz. Missouri Ozark Waterways. Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Conservation Commission, 1965, pp. 84-86.
Photographs of Peete house, Beaver Creek, and Swan Creek taken by Aaron Dalton
Photograph of canoeing, courtesy of Gaye Lisby, Branson Living Magazine
Rafferty, Milton. The Ozarks Outdoors: A Guide for Fisherman, Hunters, and Tourists. Norman, OK: U of Oklahoma P, 1985, pp. 39, 52-55.
