The sites of spring: 10 places to enjoy the season

This is the time of the year that outdoors enthusiasts daydream about in the dead of winter.

Spring, in all its glory, has arrived. That means there aren’t enough hours in the day for those who love the outdoors.

From turkey hunting to searching for morels; from canoeing to hiking on trails flanked by wildflowers; from crappies to big bass to paddlefish; this is the time to be outside.

Here are some places in Missouri and Kansas where you’ll find spring in full display.

Bass fishing at Lake of the Ozarks

This giant reservoir in central Missouri shows its mild side in the spring.

Long before Lake of the Ozarks is packed with pleasure boats and people, it is a peaceful place to fish.

In April, fishermen can pull into the back of gravel-bottom coves and cuts and, if the water is clear enough, they can see big bass cruising in the shallows or hovering over the nests they have faned out.

It’s an exciting type of fishing, watching a bass dart up to take your lure. And there are plenty of big ones out there. The lake yielded a 10-pound, 11-ounce bass already this year.

Crappie fishing at Melvern Lake

Melvern, a 7,000-acre reservoir in east-central Kansas, is a popular place in late April and early May.

That’s when the crappies move to the shallows to spawn, igniting an epidemic of spring fever among fishermen.

It’s not just at Melvern. Perry, Clinton, Hillsdale, and a host of other Kansas reservoirs produce great spring fishing.

But Melvern offers several advantages. It has an abundance of gravel and rock spawning banks, its crappies are big and there are plenty of them.

Turkey hunting at Truman Lake

The gobble of the wild turkeys is the sound track of spring.

Nothing fires up a hunter more than the sounds of a big gobbler sounding off in search of a hen. And that sound is common in the woods surrounding Truman Lake in west-central Missouri.

There are almost 100,000 acres of public hunting land at Truman, one of the largest blocks in Missouri, and it holds a good population of turkeys.

It also attracts a crowd of hunters in the spring, so it often pays to get away from the crowds. Some accomplish that by scouting in advance of the season and hiking in a ways. Others use boats to go back into secluded coves and listen for the gobbles of toms, then getting out and getting as close to those calls as they can without being detected by the birds.

The morel of the story

For many, nothing signals the arrival of spring more than the days when tasty morel mushrooms start popping up in the forests.

Morel hunting has become a sport unto itself. Some hunters have patches of woods that have produced for years, and they protect those locations with secrecy.

The morels thrive in warm, moist conditions and can pop up overnight in the right conditions. The key is finding them when they are still fresh and perfect for table fare.

They are considered a delicacy by many, who look forward to spring days when they can fry up a a mess of crappie fillets and morels.

Canoeing on the Current River

The beautiful Current River in southeast Missouri can be a party animal in summer, with crowds of canoeists, especially on the weekends.

But it can be a completely different creature in the spring before Memorial Day arrives.

Canoeists can paddle in an idyllic setting, taking time to enjoy the beauty of the towering bluffs, flowering redbud and dogwood trees, clear water and gurgling riffles.

There are plenty of canoe-rental businesses on both the upper and lower river. Van Buren, Eminence and Akers are among the towns that put good numbers of canoes on the water.

Paddlefish snagging at Table Rock Lake

Another sure sign of spring: when the James River arm of Table Rock Lake is jammed with boats full of paddlefish snaggers.

As the water warms and a few good rains create a flow, the big paddlefish begin to migrate upstream for their annual spawning run. That brings the fishermen seeking some of Missouri’s biggest fish out of hibernation.

Table Rock holds some monsters. The Missouri state record — a 140-pound, 9-ounce fish — was caught there in 2015. Fishermen already have taken some 50-pound-plus fish at Table Rock this spring, but the best is still to come. As the water temperature continues to climb, the big females should move up, say fisheries biologists with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Spring on the prairie

Spring bursts out in living color on two sections of prairie preserved by the Nature Conservancy.

At Dunn Ranch Prairie in northwest Missouri and Konza Praire near Manhattan, Kan., beautiful displays of wildflowers are a sure sign of spring.

Those wildflowers can be seen from hiking trails at both locations. The colors often reach their peak the last two weeks of April and the first two weeks of May at Dunn Ranch and the last two weeks of May and the first two weeks of June at Konza.

At both locations, visitors also can sign up for guided tours to view another spring-time phenomenon: the prairie chickens on their booming grounds.

The chickens return to traditional breeding grounds each year and the males put on a courtship show, strutting, dancing and making a booming sound to impress the women. Visitors can view those courtship rituals from blinds. To reserve a spot, call (816) 271-3100 for Dunn Ranch and (785) 587-0381 at Konza Prairie.

Bird watching at Cheyenne Bottoms

This huge wetlands complex in central Kansas is a national destination for bird watchers in the spring.

When the spring migration begins, thousands of waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds use the scenic marshes and have many cameras, binoculars and spotting scopes pointed their way.

Cheyenne Bottoms currently has good numbers of ducks in their breeding plumage, providing a colorful spectacle. But the much-awaited show is still to come. From late April to early May, the wetlands often attract huge numbers of migrating shorebirds.

Hiking at Hawn State Park

This state park, located south of St. Louis, is considered one of Missouri’s gems.

It features clear streams with shut-ins, wild areas full of wildflowers, and breath-taking vistas.

A 15-mile trail system provides a great way for visitors to hike into spring. The trails meander through a mixed hardwood and pine forest, dip along Pickle Creek, past a waterfall, over ridges and through unique rock formations.

Camping at Kanopolis State Park

Campers can relax in the beauty of an outdoors setting at this state park in central Kansas.

Two major campgrounds provide 133 campsites with utilities and 200 primitive sites. Those camping areas aren’t far from the rugged landscape of Horsethief Canyon, known for its sandstone rock formations.

There are 35 miles of trails in the state park, offering paths to hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers. The state park centers on Kanopolis Lake, the oldest reservoir in the state but still a productive fishing spot.

This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 3:59 PM with the headline "The sites of spring: 10 places to enjoy the season."