Newbies in Southwest MO!

[owings385]

We are new to the forum. My husband and I live around Springfield, MO and have a Polaris Xplorer 4x4 and 2011 Polaris Ranger 400 (my favorite toy. He has other 4 wheelers but I am digging the Ranger so I don't really pay much attention to the others lol! He likes to ride several places around MO: Deepwater, Farmington, etc... We have a membership at Cloud 9 Ranch in Caulfield, MO (near West Plains) and we LOVE it! 6000 acres of land, 300 miles of trails (all difficulty levels), camping, rivers, swimming, even a restaurant and a store....you name it, they have it there! It is like it's own little town! It is our home away from home! We just bought our membership in June of this year and have spent most of our summer down there. We plan on doing a lot of fall riding as well. The place is a blast! It is also a fun place for the kiddos. Our 3 year old son and 8 year old nephew absolutely love it! There is plenty for kids to do, as well as lots of 'adults only' stuff I highly recommend anyone from this area check it out! You won't be disappointed! Is anyone else here a member?

[ELK_HUN10]

Sounds like a neat place to ride! If you have time, someday, come to Owyhee County in southwest Idaho, They have 7,700 square miles of high desert that is ATV/UTV friendly and they do not have any width restriction. Along the outside perimeter, you can occasionlly find restaurants and gas stations but it is usually a good idea to take food, water and gas with you. There is now 5 new wilderness areas in the Owyhees but they only take up about 10 to 20 thousand acres each and you can ride around them. Most of them have roads or trails that enter them where riding is OK as long as you stay on the road. A good map program with the highest magnification will show most of the named roads with the most common name "unknown name" road. There is a few gravel roads, and lot of dirt roads. Most of the dirt roads are two track roads that turn into cattle paths. This is open range country and the cows have the right-of-way. You will get to see range cows by the thousands, antelope, deer, quail, birds of prey, coyotes and a whole lot of rabbits. It is a family orientated area, the only adult entertainment is what you bring with you. The closest gas stations are 40 to 100 miles away and may not be in the direction that you want to go. No cell phone service is normal except for a very few hot spots. The number of roads and trails is unbelievable and getting lost is a possiblity if you do not have a good sense of direction. They have signs at the entrance that say if you get lost, and search & rescue is called out, you have to pay their expenses. I don"t consider this area back country but a lot of people do. If you happen to pass another vehicle, they will wave at you and if you stop, they will talk to you. I used to think that was the way every one did it.
Any way, if I ever get over to your neck of the country I will try out your reccomended riding area. It sounds fun.

[Dallas]

I ride mine all around lake of the Ozarks and on some private areas here as well on some of the logging roads in Mark Twain national forest. Carried some nice deer out of the woods this season. Mounted gun racks on the back but usually carry g rods on them.

[atc210]

Hello all, just found this fourm and interested in what it has to offer. OWINGS385 I am interested in the Cloud 9 Ranch in Caulfield, MO that you talked about. Can you tell some more about it or provide a link, I am interested in the cost of the anual membership or what the fees are involved with trying it out.

Thanks, Adam

[wildbill23c]

Originally Posted by ELK_HUN10

Sounds like a neat place to ride! If you have time, someday, come to Owyhee County in southwest Idaho, They have 7,700 square miles of high desert that is ATV/UTV friendly and they do not have any width restriction. Along the outside perimeter, you can occasionlly find restaurants and gas stations but it is usually a good idea to take food, water and gas with you. There is now 5 new wilderness areas in the Owyhees but they only take up about 10 to 20 thousand acres each and you can ride around them. Most of them have roads or trails that enter them where riding is OK as long as you stay on the road. A good map program with the highest magnification will show most of the named roads with the most common name "unknown name" road. There is a few gravel roads, and lot of dirt roads. Most of the dirt roads are two track roads that turn into cattle paths. This is open range country and the cows have the right-of-way. You will get to see range cows by the thousands, antelope, deer, quail, birds of prey, coyotes and a whole lot of rabbits. It is a family orientated area, the only adult entertainment is what you bring with you. The closest gas stations are 40 to 100 miles away and may not be in the direction that you want to go. No cell phone service is normal except for a very few hot spots. The number of roads and trails is unbelievable and getting lost is a possiblity if you do not have a good sense of direction. They have signs at the entrance that say if you get lost, and search & rescue is called out, you have to pay their expenses. I don"t consider this area back country but a lot of people do. If you happen to pass another vehicle, they will wave at you and if you stop, they will talk to you. I used to think that was the way every one did it.
Any way, if I ever get over to your neck of the country I will try out your reccomended riding area. It sounds fun.

I live in Emmett, Can't afford to go anywhere really and losing my Yamaha Rhino do to job loss. So its going to be quite a while before I can even think of buying a new Ranger. I'm looking at the Ranger xp 800 or the HD 800. Mainly for camping, utility use around the property, and for hauling firewood in the hills. I've heard a lot of people that goto the Owyhee's for recreation, but just never felt the need to drive that far when there are so many trails here in Emmett that work just fine for me. I don't plan to do much trail riding once I get the Ranger so the size isn't going to be a concern for me, but how are those trails in Owyhee county for larger vehicles in case I get the urge to explore? Are they wide enough for a full size Ranger?