After the main parking lot and access road at the Maple Leaf Lake Conservation Area in Lafayette was closed during a project to allowing for improvements to the site, the Missouri Department of Conservation has announced the area has been re-opened.

Completion of the project also gives anglers and boaters access to the boat launch ramp and the fishing docks.

MDC revamped the parking lot by replacing asphalt, that was in poor condition, with concrete. The new lot has almost the same number of spaces but a smaller footprint. There is also an additional overflow parking area and four van accessible ADA parking spaces. Construction work for the $437,191 project was done by MegaKC company of North Kansas City.

The centerpiece of the Maple Leaf Conservation Area is a 140-acre lake popular with anglers. A fishing dock accessible to all is also reached via the main parking lot. The area also has a gravel parking lot on the lake’s east side and another off the west entrance road. A hiking trail circles the lake.

For more information on the Maple Leaf Lake Conservation Area, and maps, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZnV. MDC offers a variety of public fishing accesses and lakes throughout western Missouri. To find them, try MDC’s free MO Fishing app, https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZJZ.