Driving DirectionsNorth of Catawissa on Route N, then east on Frisco Drive. HighlightsThis property provides boat and bank fishing access to the several small manmade lakes as well as seasonal boat access to the Meramec River during periods of elevated water levels on the river. About This AreaCatawissa Conservation Area is in eastern Franklin County between Pacific and Catawissa. The area was originally acquired in 1978 and was an old gravel mining operation in the floodplain of the Meramec River.The goal of the area was originally to provide year round access to the Meramec River. Due to sediment deposition by Meramec River flooding, the access has since changed to a seasonal access that is accessible when the river is high enough to connect the gravel pit lake where the boat ramp is located with the river. The area is mostly forested with early successional bottomland species that have grown up since the area was initially acquired and also has about 53 acres of manmade lakes that used to be gravel mining pits in which the water level is controlled by the Meramec River.