Veterans can fish for free at Roaring River State Park all day Saturday, September 17, 2022.

Rain or shine, the event for veterans to fish for free is still on and fishing hours are 7:30 a.m.-7:15 pm. There’s a limit of four fish. Visit the park store to pick up your free tag and free hats (while supplies last for the hats).

Roaring River State Park is beloved for its trout fishing but named for its preternaturally turquoise spring. At the viewing platform, its shadowy mouth is hauntingly beautiful, dappled with light and shadows from hanging ferns. On average, the spring produces an unfathomable 20.4 million gallons of water per day, making it a premier trout fishing place, but there are also hiking trails, camping, dining, and lodging facilities, and the deepest cave springs in the country. You can take your catch to the park’s cleaning and fillet station at the end of Campground 3.

If you have any questions about how veterans can fish for free at Roaring River, you can call the park office (417-847-2539), MDC hatchery (417-847-2430), or the park store (417-847-4971). Missouri State Parks and the Missouri Department of Conservation are putting on this fourth annual event.

You can read more about Roaring River State Park in our March/April 2022 issue of Missouri Life magazine or here.