Places to Go: Fox Valley Lake Conservation Area

Fox Valley Lake CA

Away from — and in the middle of — it all 

Located in Missouri’s northeasternmost county, Fox Valley Lake Conservation Area (CA) isn’t really on the way to anywhere, but once you’re there, you’re in the middle of a lot.

With three distinct parcels totaling 2,158.5 acres in Clark County, Fox Valley Lake CA has a 108-acre fishing lake, firearms and archery ranges, and nearly 10 miles of service roads for hiking and biking, but another attractive feature is its proximity to other nearby conservation areas, said MDC Wildlife Biologist Matthew Schwend.

“That area is close to other areas, which is nice,” Schwend said. “And it’s close to a town, Kahoka, so you have Charlie Heath to the north, you have Frost Island to the east, and you have Deer Ridge to the south, so you’re not too far from anywhere else.”

In addition to the area’s namesake lake, it also has three smaller fishing ponds, six fishless ponds, and 13 acres of wetlands, which make it attractive to migrating waterfowl, he said.

“You’ll see your snow geese and you’ll see a lot of swans,” he said. “It kind of depends on what our temperatures down south and north of us look like. You’ll have all those migratory birds coming through.

Fox Valley Lake Conservation Area consists of 2,158.5 acres in Clark County. From Kahoka, take Highway 81 north 4.75 miles, then Route NN west 2.5 miles to the area.