Families were swimming, sunbathing and building sand castles during Memorial Day weekend at Lake Boutin beach's opening days in Trail of Tears State Park.

The beach has been closed off-and-on since 2008 after major flooding damaged its man-made dam. The beach is a free place to swim, and the state government, which maintains it, says the beach has been a popular local attraction.

According to the Missouri State Parks website, 334,236 people visited Trail of Tears last year, a 58 percent increase from 2011. With the opening of Lake Boutin, the park could expect to see another increase in visitors this year.

Steve Schell, park interpreter at Trail of Tears, called the weekend a "success" for the park.

"This has been our most popular Memorial Day weekend in a few years," he said. "The past couple of years we've had droughts and flooding from high river levels, so we couldn't open [the lake], but this year the weather fell right into place. It's been a pretty busy weekend."

Mark and Mary Mays of St. Louis were among Sunday's beachgoers. They have been traveling across Missouri "touring" state parks.

"This is our first time here," Mark Mays said. "So far we've been to seven different Missouri parks. The state is just full of beautiful parks."

"We decided to come to this one because we've never been here before," said his wife Mary Mays.

The couple, along with their six children, have been camping at the park since Friday and said they have managed to stay pretty busy throughout the weekend.

"We've been hiking and going through all the trails, and today we thought we'd hit up the beach," Mark Mays said. "It's pretty convenient that it's right here in the park."

Jan Hicks of Fredericktown, Mo., also was a first-time visitor. She came to the park with her great-niece and great-nephew for an "adventure."

"It's so neat to see everything that's out here, and the kids love it," she said. "I've always wanted to come and check out the whole park. I had no idea there was a beach here."

Hicks said she would like to make future visits to the park.

Earlier in the day, the park hosted an interpretive program, Sunday Snakes, an event that allows visitors of all ages to learn about Missouri's snakes from a park naturalist. It is held every Sunday in the park's visitors center.

The park grounds are open daily, year-round. The Lake Boutin beach will remain open to the public until Sept. 15.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

429 Moccasin Springs, Jackson, Mo.