Echo Bluff State Park is within the Current/Jack’s Fork Watershed Important Bird Area.

Directions: From Salem at the intersection of MO 32 and MO 19, go south on
MO 19 for approximately 28 miles (1.5 miles past the entrance to Current River
SP) to the well-marked main entrance on the left (east) at Echo Bluff Dr. Note
that CR 19-250, about a mile further south on MO 19, is the southern end of
horseshoe-shaped of Echo Bluff Dr., and may be used as a southern entrance to
the park.

From Eminence, go approximately 16 miles north on MO 19 to the well-marked main entrance on the right.

The best map for this park is in the park brochure, available at Betty Lea Lodge. The hiking and mountain bike trail map (Painter Ridge Trail) is available for downloading on the park website.

The park opened in 2016 on the site of Camp Zoe that operated as an all-girls, then co-ed, camp from 1929 through the summer of 1986. The stables and old camp lodge remain as man-made features from the camp era. Echo Bluff and Sinking Creek below it are among the few physical features left unaltered in the development of the park.

Many visitors will find Echo Bluff SP a delightful way to experience the Current River country without forgoing the comforts of home. For others, this park will be like dipping a toe in the clear, spring-fed streams without ever experiencing the delights of an invigorating swim on a hot summer day. Birders can find birds here, especially if able to hike the trails, but a quiet bird walk may be a challenge.

Portions of the moderate to rugged 4.23 mile Painter Ridge Trail (much designed for mountain bike enthusiasts) and/or a section of the rugged Current River Trail give access to dolomite-based forests and the birds that seek the habitat niches within.

The open, concrete dominated areas permit easy access to mostly ridge top, disturbed habitats with a fair number of species such as Barn Swallow, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle.

The short portion of road from the main entrance to the road down to the Bluff Top Pavilion has good woody habitat on the west side. Beware of traffic and pull off completely if you decide to bird it on foot. The road to the pavilion has good potential for woodland species. Take the same precautions if birding it afoot. The lot and area near the pavilion and the trail from there are especially good for passerines, but don’t limit your birding to that area. Just above the pavilion parking lot is a service road off to the right (southwest) leading to an open area with brush piles around it. Watch for sparrows here in winter and summer.

The gravel portion of CR 250 near the southeast corner of the park may provide some good birding with little or no disturbance from autos. Your car can be left at the trailhead parking lot at the junction of this road and Echo Bluff Drive.