Chapel Hill Beach is the swimming beach at Council Bluff Recreation Area in the Mark Twain National Forest, run by the U.S. Forest Service's Potosi and Fredericktown district. It sits on the north shore of Council Bluff Lake, a 440-acre reservoir formed when the Forest Service dammed the Big River between 1979 and 1981. It is the largest lake on the Mark Twain, with spots as deep as 87 feet. The beach is about 6 miles southwest of Belgrade and roughly 10 miles northwest of Belleview.

From Potosi, the Forest Service directions are to head south about 13 miles on Highway P, turn right on Highway C for a quarter mile, then left on Highway DD and drive about 7 miles to the signed entrance, then follow the paved access road. The beach has its own parking lot at the east end of the recreation area, with a short walkway down to the sand. If you are camping at Wild Boar Ridge Campground, the beach is about a mile away, an easy downhill walk or bike ride going there and an uphill one coming back.

The swim area is a sand beach of about 1.25 acres (54,000 square feet) facing open water, with the forested hills of the national forest all around the lake. Next to the sand are a bathhouse with accessible flush toilets, changing rooms, drinking water and coin-operated hot showers, plus a concession stand, a small playground with a slide and climbing structure, and a picnic shelter. The Forest Service pages do not mention lifeguards, so plan on swimming at your own risk and keep a close eye on kids, since this is a deep reservoir rather than a shallow pond. Boats must stay at no-wake speed, jet skis are banned, and motors are limited to 10 horsepower, so the water off the beach is fairly calm.

Day use at Council Bluff is not free. The concessionaire that runs the site for the Forest Service charges $5 per vehicle, $10 per bus, or $25 for a season pass. The beach itself is seasonal: the Forest Service lists it opening for the season on May 21, and it is closed on Mondays except holiday weekends such as Memorial Day and Labor Day. The wider recreation area is open for day use year-round. Food, glass containers and pets are not allowed on the beach. Picnic pavilions can be reserved through the concessionaire at 573-766-5765.

Check current conditions on the Forest Service page before you go. The water system at Wild Boar Ridge Campground has been out of service, and the Forest Service is sending campers to the beach for water and showers while it is open, so the bathhouse can be busy on summer weekends. Summer also brings heat, biting insects and poison ivy along the shoreline trail, and hunting seasons apply in the surrounding forest in fall.

Beyond swimming, the lake is popular for paddling and fishing, with two boat ramps (Wild Boar Hollow and Enough) and the beach concession has rented canoes and paddle boats in season. Anglers catch largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, crappie and catfish under Missouri Department of Conservation rules. The 12.4-mile Council Bluff Lake Trail loops the whole shoreline for hikers and mountain bikers and passes right by the beach, and the Trace Creek section of the Ozark Trail connects just west of the recreation area. Wild Boar Ridge Campground has single, double, walk-in and group sites from late April through late October.