visit a fish hatchery and aquarium, and explore quiet trails. The 800-acre Goat Island development, near Vermillion, provides unparalleled backcountry recreational opportunities. HISTORICAL POINTS OF INTEREST The MNRR region can serve as a microcosm of the Lewis & Clark expedition. It is in this region they recorded their first impressions and descriptions of Plains Indians tribes. Their council with the Yankton Sioux demonstrated their diplomatic efforts. Clark drew maps of this part of the river. Joseph Fields killed the party's first bison near today's Burbank, SD. And the only death on the expedition occurred near present day North Sioux City. The Lewis & Clark Visitor Center, built on a bluff overlooking the river and the Gavins Point Dam, is a great place to learn more about the expedition, the tribes they encountered and the Missouri River itself. The Meridian Bridge, now a pedestrian bridge, is notable as the first permanent river crossing in the Yankton vicinity and as one of the final links in the Meridian Highway, an early north-south route from Winnipeg, Canada, to Mexico City, Mexico. Chief Standing Bear Memorial Bridge spans the Missouri at Spring-field. The bridge is named for the Ponca chief who, in a landmark court case, proved that Indians were "persons" under the law, free to enjoy the rights of any other person in the land. Learn more about Missouri National Recreational River online at www.southeastsouthdakota.com/what-to-do/attractions/yankton/mnrr/ CAMPING The MNRR area offers numerous opportunities for camping. Camp-grounds include Lewis and Clark Recreation Area -near Yankton, Springfield Recreation Area -near Springfield, and Clay County Park, near Vermillion. These campgrounds provide sites with electricity, camping cabins, showers, picnic shelters, trails and more. For a remote backcountry experience, Goat Island (located between Myron Grove River Access and Clay County Park, near Vermillion) and Green Island (located on the south side of the Missouri National Recre-ational River, adjacent to the Corps of Discovery Bridge at Yankton) both have primitive campgrounds, meandering trails, and river views. They offer a wonderful opportunity to experience this won-derful stretch of the Missouri River. Both are accessible only by watercraft. FISHING AND HUNTING Walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, and catfish are popular catches. In season hunters take goose, duck, quail, turkey, pheasant and deer. Licenses are required. SoutheastSouthDakota.com // 233 SOUTHEAST REGION
South Dakota Vacation Guide 2021 South Dakota Vacation Guide: Page 233
