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Canoes on the Current River under a bluff, or the pasture at golden hour

Things To Do

Stay here. Go see the Ozarks.

Twenty-six rivers, parks, caves and towns inside two hours. Then come back to your own fire on 277 acres.

Mark Twain National Forest picks up on three sides of us

26 placesAll within two hours
Three riversCurrent, Black, Jack's Fork
7+ milesTrail straight from your site
Bortle Class 2About as dark as it gets

Before You Go Anywhere

There's plenty right here.

All 277 acres are open to you while you're staying, at no extra charge.

Clear water over gravel in the creek on the property
The creekSpring fed and clear, and most days shallow enough to wade. It rises fast after rain. Nets and buckets live at the bathhouse.
Riders on the single track through the timber
The trailsSingle track and a 4.5 mile loop through the timber. Ride out of camp and into the national forest without loading up.
The Milky Way over the ranch
The skyNo town glow in any direction. The Milky Way shows up as soon as your eyes adjust.
Pasture, the lone tree, and the timber ridge behind
The landPasture, timber, ridge line, and three horses. Wildflowers turn over from spring into fall.
See the glamping tents → See the RV sites → Primitive camping →

Trail Map · Free

Our trails on your phone, before you lose signal.

We put the ranch's routes on a shared onX map. It's free, and if we change a route, your copy updates.

Cell service out here is thin. Take five minutes at home or on wifi and the map works on the ranch with no bars.

Sinking Creek Ranch routes in the onX Offroad app, drawn over satellite imagery, with the bathhouse and trailhead marked
  • Dirt bike single track
  • Side by side trails
  • Pasture path, 3.5 miles. Walk all of it or any piece, or ride it slow
Tap any route in the app for its type, distance and elevation.
  1. Get the app.Install onX Offroad and make a free account.App StoreGoogle Play
  2. Open our map.Tap the button and accept the invite. It comes from Gabriel Monroy, one of the owners.Open the trail map
  3. Save it offline.In the app, zoom to the ranch and save it as an offline map. The free plan includes one.

On a computer? Accept the invite there, then sign in to the same account in the app on your phone. The map shows where routes run. It does not tell you a route is passable or safe on a given day, and any boundary on it is approximate.

Worth the Drive

Twenty-six places, all inside two hours.

Rivers, shut-ins, caves, a flooded lead mine, and the best trout water in the state. Park the rig once and go see the Ozarks. Drive times, where we list them, are from our gate.

On the water 10
Canoes on the Current River, bluffs behind

Current River

Float it by canoe, kayak, raft, or tube. The reason most people come to this part of the state.
36 minSinking Creek below the bluff at Echo Bluff

Echo Bluff State Park

Swimming on Sinking Creek under a 200 foot bluff, plus trails and a lodge.
Round Spring, turquoise water in forest

Round Spring

A turquoise spring on the Current River. Short walk in, cave tours in summer.
1 hr 5 minThe red Alley Mill on blue-green water

Alley Spring & Mill

The red mill on turquoise water. The most photographed spot in the Ozarks.
Stone hospital ruins beside the spring

Welch Spring Hospital Ruins

Cold water rushing out of a cave, with the ruins of a 1913 stone hospital beside it. Float or hike in.
Looking down into Devil’s Well

Devil’s Well & Cave Spring

Missouri’s largest underground lake, seen down a staircase. Cave Spring next door you can paddle into.
Falls on the Current River at Montauk

Montauk State Park

Headwaters of the Current River and some of the best trout fishing in the state.
58 minCouncil Bluff Lake from the shoreline trail

Council Bluff Lake

Swimming beach and a 12 mile trail all the way around the water.
Logger’s Lake, still water and pines

Logger’s Lake

Quiet swimming, fishing, and a short loop trail. You can ride the backroads to it from here.
The old quarry and beach at Fugitive Beach

Fugitive Beach

An old quarry turned swim park near Rolla. Slides, cliff jumps, sandy beach.

Floating the Current, Black, and Jack’s Fork is the local pastime. Ask us and we’ll point you at the right outfitter for the water that week.

Trails and parks 8
57 minSwimmers in the shut-ins chutes on the Black River

Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park

Natural water chutes carved through a billion year old volcanic rock. Best swimming hole in Missouri.
1 hr 12 minGranite boulders on the Elephant Rocks trail

Elephant Rocks State Park

Pink granite boulders the size of houses, with a paved trail that loops through them.
47 minThe Black River running under Sutton Bluff

Sutton Bluff Recreation Area

Over 20 miles of ATV and motorcycle trail in the national forest, on the Black River.
Blair Creek running over its gravel bar

Blair Creek

Miles of forest road and trail for side by sides, quads, and horseback.
Ozark Trail blaze on a tree at Mina Sauk

The Ozark Trail

Hundreds of miles of hiking and backpacking across the state, with trailheads close by.
Rider dropping in at Shepherd Mountain

Shepherd Mountain Bike Park

Downhill mountain biking in Ironton, built for every level, with a shuttle.
57 minBluffs standing over the Jacks Fork

Eminence

The horseback riding capital of Missouri, and the jumping off point for Jack’s Fork floats.
At the fenceWinter timber in the Mark Twain National Forest

Mark Twain National Forest

Over a million acres of Ozark backcountry. It borders us on three sides, so you ride into it from your site.
Caves and history 4
Lit formations inside Onondaga Cave

Onondaga Cave State Park

Guided tours through one of the best cave systems in the country, with a river running through it.
Lit formations inside Meramec Caverns

Meramec Caverns

Big chambers, colored mineral formations, and a Jesse James hideout story.
1 hr 44 minA lit passage above the water inside the mine

The Mine at Bonne Terre

Boat tours and scuba diving through a flooded lead mine. Genuinely strange and worth the drive.
48 minDillard Mill above its dam and millpond

Dillard Mill State Historic Site

One of the best preserved working water mills in Missouri, on Huzzah Creek.
Towns worth a stop 4
30 minThe Dent County courthouse in Salem

Salem

Our closest town. Restaurants, antique shops, a museum, and the grocery run.
The post office on Columbia Street, Farmington

Downtown Farmington

Walkable downtown with boutiques, coffee, live music, and seasonal festivals.
Vineyard rows in Missouri wine country

St. James Winery

Tastings, a restaurant, and the gardens. An easy afternoon.
The old mercantile storefront in Caledonia

Old Village Mercantile

A restored 1909 general store in Caledonia. Fudge, antiques, and vintage toys.

Where To Eat

Six places we actually send people. Bunker is the closest town to the gate, Salem is where you will end up for the grocery run.

Bunker

  • La FeyitaMexican on Main Street, and the closest sit-down meal to the gate.

Salem

  • JB Malone’s Bar & GrillBurgers, steaks, and live music Friday and Saturday nights.
  • Burnt Offerings BBQBrisket and burnt ends off the smoker. Closed weekends, so catch it on the way in.
  • The Local on 4thWings, tacos, and a patio. Dogs welcome.

Eminence

  • The Dairy ShackBurgers, curly fries, and ice cream out the same window since 1968.

Echo Bluff

  • Creekside GrillInside the lodge with the bluff out the window. Breakfast through dinner.
Fire going, tent glowing behind, full dark

Stay a few days. You still won’t see it all.

Tents, RV sites, and primitive camping, all on the same 277 acres

Glamping Tents RV Sites