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Kansas City, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will be replacing the main parking lot serving Maple Leaf Lake Conservation Area in Lafayette County. MDC will close the lot and the access road to vehicle traffic during the project. Work is slated to begin on May 26 and is expected to be completed in June, said Dale Parsons, MDC project engineer.
The current asphalt parking lot is in poor condition. MDC will replace it with a concrete parking lot. The new lot will have the same number of parking spaces, Parsons said. But it will have a smaller footprint, and the grassy area will be increased. The MegaKC company of North Kansas City will install the new parking lot at a cost of $437,191.
Vehicle and boat ramp access to the main parking lot on the lake’s west side will be closed during the project. The boat ramp will not be available for use until completion. The 140-acre lake will remain open for fishing. Anglers will be able to make a quarter-mile walk down the access road and outside the project area to reach the lake to fish from shore or the fishing dock. MDC will notify the public when the parking lot and boat ramp are reopened.
A gravel parking lot on the lake’s east side and another on the west will remain open. Those parking lots also serve as trail heads for a path circling the lake and the conservation area.
For more information on the Maple Leaf Lake Conservation Area, and maps, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZnV. For other fishing sites in western Missouri, try MDC’s free MO Fishing app, https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZJZ.
