As a college student in St. Louis, Missouri, I stayed close to campus. Who knew that on the other part of the state, the Ozarks offer an outdoor paradise? Not only that, outdoor adventures like horseback riding, fly fishing and hiking at Dogwood Canyon Nature Park are open year-round. And you can ‘rough it’ luxury style, glamping at Camp Long Creek.
Editor’s Note: The writer was hosted.
Dogwood Canyon Intro
The Ozark outdoor adventures are part of The Johnny Morris Conservation Foundation. For more information on the foundation and its attractions, visit www.theozarks.com
A great way to get an overview of Dogwood Canyon is through a Canyon Discovery Tour. There are trams and private ATV tours. We took the ATV Tour, a two-hour tour where we saw waterfalls, caves, bison and elk. The vast nature park crosses the border into Arkansas, too.
Are you ready to explore off the beaten path? Let us inspire you!
On the Fly
After lunch, we had a Guided Trout Fishing Adventure. We were back in ATVs, stopping at various fishing spots to catch (and release) rainbow trout. We learned how to cast, make our flies dance and reel in a fish.
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If you already know how to fly fish, less expensive self-guided fishing is available, along with rod rentals. But with a guide, you never have to touch a fish, which is the way to go for us city slickers. I mean, I had a manicure to protect!
Guided Horseback Ride
The next day, we saddled up for a two-hour horseback ride. This part of Dogwood Canyon is only open to horseback riders, so you are truly out in the wild, crossing streams, following old logging roads and seeing an un-manicured part of the Ozarks.
Our ride included a lunch stop, where our pre-ordered sandwiches were stowed in a cooler. Magic! We also had cookies, chips, water and apples. After eating our apples, we fed them to our horses.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Bring a water bottle, which you can stow in the saddle bag.
Hiking and Biking
For a fee, rent a one-speed cruiser bike and see more of the waterfalls, ridges and hollows of Dogwood Canyon. You can also walk the paths, but there are around 7 miles total. You can cover a lot more ground by bike.
We took the bikes to different hiking trails scattered throughout the canyon. The longest is Pine Ridge Pass, which takes you near the otherwise inaccessible horseback riding area. I also ran up and down Hickory Ridge Trail, near the entrance. Box Canyon Trail, further into the park, is another out-and-back trail.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Pay attention to walking/biking paths (vs. roads for driving). If you stray onto the driving path, you have to walk through water or double back to the correct path. The signs are there for a reason.
Top of the Rock Ozarks
I had dinner at Osage Restaurant. This is part of the Top of the Rock Heritage Preserve, which has a self-guided golf cart tour of the land. You can make a day of it, taking an afternoon tour to see the waterfalls, rock formations, and nature trails and timing your dinner to see the sunset.
SheBuys Travel Tip: If you are just going to the restaurant and want to see the sunset, be sure to factor in time for the shuttle from the parking lot to the restaurant. The ride is short, but we had to wait over 5 minutes for the shuttle.
Under the Big Tent
For my first time glamping, Camp Long Creek offered an easy entry. The large tents have front patios, with fire pits (stocked with wood) and a soaking tub. Out back, the deck overlooks the woods and has several chairs.
To get into the tent itself, you unzip both a thick canvas ‘door’ (the whole tent is made of this material) and a bug screen. And then you quickly zip both back up, unless you want bugs inside.
But that’s the biggest difference between this and a traditional hotel room.
Under the Flaps
Inside, the tent had a bath at the entry, with a toilet room and a shower enclosure open to the sky (with a bug screen). There was plenty of hot water, plus thick towels and plush robes. And a double sink.
The bedroom had a comfy king-sized bed, a flat-screen TV, a mini fridge and a coffee maker. There was even an ironing board! There were plenty of lights – including a chandelier – and outlets, but very weak WiFi. On the other hand, I was supposed to be enjoying the outdoors. I relaxed on my front patio – which had a lock and a key card entry, reading recent and not-so-recent issues of The New Yorker.
Indoor/Outdoor Adventures
The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium, aka WOW, within the largest Bass Pro Store, has thousands of fish in giant tanks. WOW also has hundreds of taxidermied animals, with signage identifying who they were ‘taken’ by. I’d never seen that euphemism for hunting.
Bass Pro Store has all the gear needed for an Ozark adventure, from hiking shoes to colorful flies to the ATV for exploring the Ozarks on your own. It also has plenty of exhibits recreating outdoor adventures. Definitely spend some time here.
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