Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1211133
By Randy Rice McDonald County Directory 2020 MCDONALD COUNTY DIRECTORY | 17 The City of Noel is beautifully situated on the Elk River, and ringed by the timbered Ozark mountains. Noel is centrally located for canoe trips down the Elk River and its tributaries of Big Sugar Creek and Indian Creek. These fast-moving, clear-water streams bisect some of the grandest scenery in the Ozark range. It has been a perennial favorite of vacationers for more than half a century. Among Noel's pleasant surprises—if you are a visitor used to endless tourist traps—is what is not here. You'll find no towering waterslides, no gaudy music emporiums, no sea plane rides, and no amusement parks. Dotted along the banks of the Elk River are lovely, shaded campgrounds and picturesque motels. Outdoorsmen have made Noel the canoe capital of the Ozarks. There are a number of canoe rental outlets that offer various lengths of float trips. In short, Noel is for relaxing. Like the rest of the Ozarks where Noel is located, trees create as spectacular a blaze of color in the fall as the wildflowers do in the spring. But, it's the bluffs overhanging the roads that are the most breathtaking. They provide a panorama of limestone splendor unmatched in the Ozarks. a one-of-a-kind vacation destination Noel: Living up to its name In the late 1940s, radio personality and legendary vocalist Kate Smith began telling the story of the First Noel during her holiday broadcasts. The City of Noel decided to capitalize on its own name and the popularity of the broadcast. Before too long, Christmas cards and letters were being sent to the Noel Post Office during the holiday season just to get the postmark that read: Noel, MO – The Christmas City in the Ozark Vacation Land. Even today, every year at Christmas time the post office in Noel receives tens of thousands of cards and letters in search of the yuletide postmark.