We all love taking the horses out locally, but the best part of owning a horse is the opportunities for adventure. Luckily, the United States is full of horse-friendly outdoor recreation areas perfect for the occasional day trip or longer vacation. We are producing a series to bring you information about the horse-friendly parks, campgrounds, and trails across the United States. 

Meramec Trail Riding Vacations 

Meramec Farm 

208 Thickety Ford Road 

Bourbon, Missouri 65441 

Phone: 1-573-732-4765    

Set on the spring-fed Meramec River in East Central Missouri, Meramec Farm has been in the same family 

since 1811. It’s a working cattle farm surrounded by wild country. Your ride begins at your cabin door! 

Bring Your Own Horse 

Horse owners are invited to join our tours. We provide lodging, picnic lunches, and a guide, stalls or pens 

for your horses. Rates are 40 usd less per day if you bring your own horse. 

Overnight Layovers 

We’re just 9 miles south of I-44. Even if you can’t stay and ride quiet lodgings are available for you and 

your horses. Corrals 10 usd per night. Cabins rent for 75 u.s.d. per night for 2 people. 10. u.s.d. for 

each additional person. 

Royalty Arena, John Gunnett 

9895 Cork Lane 

Carthage, MO 64836 

Tel: 417-548-7722   

Location: I-44, exit 22 county rd 100, 1/2 mile north of interstate. Just 10 min.from Joplin, MO. 

Facilities: 200+ stalls, 15 outdoor pens, 2 arenas indoor/outdoor, 4 holding pens, electric hookups, host 

motel Holiday Inn of Joplin 

Huckleberry Stables And Cabin Rental 

Rick and Mary Bousfield 

HC 60 box 258 

Pineville, MO 64856 

417-223-2343   

Huckleberry Stables sits in the middle of Missouri’s Huckleberry Ridge State Forest. Miles of trails. 

Directions: Joplin, Mo Take Interstate 44 East to US 71 South (Exit 11). Continue about 45 miles on US 

71 through Pineville, MO. Just South of Pineville is the intersection of US 71 and state highway K (on the 

left). Drive four miles East on highway K to Huckleberry Stables. Look for our sign on the right hand side 

of the highway. 

A&T’s Northfork Wilderness Lodge 

Alice and Terry Fitzgerald 

HCR 362   Box 62B 

Pottersville, Missouri 65792 

Phone: 417 275 6081 

They have a small wire corral for guests and five guest rooms. The beauty of the place is that they are the 

only horse lodging facility in the area and they have direct access to the Wilderness Area in Missouri which 

has trails in the Devil’s Backbone area ( 11 miles) and then there is direct access from the wilderness area 

to the Mark Twain National Forest Willow Springs area which has 31 miles of horse multi use trails. 

From West Plains take State Route “K” west 10.4 miles to State Route “KK”, turn right. Take “KK” west 

3.6 miles to county road “HCR362”, turn right. Go 2-tenths of a mile until you spot several mailboxes on 

your right as the road curves to the right. (Do not follow “HCR362” around curve.) At curve go straight 

ahead onto a white rock drive (entrance to drive is located between wood shed on left and fence on right. 

Submitted by Sharon Lesner 

Golden Hills Trail Rides & Resort 

19546 Golden Drive 

Raymondville, MO 65555 

Tel: 800-874-1157     

Location: 90 miles East of Springfield and 160 miles South of St. Louis. Facilities: 5,100 acres, 300 

campsites with electrical and water hookups, 900 horse stalls, restroom/shower facilities, lodging, 

restaurant, gas station, convenient store, western store, exercise facility, tack store, farrier, and brier patch 

gift shop. 

New Liberty Horse Camp 

Nancy & Beau Knight-Tilley 

HC 89 Box 386 

Winona, MO 65588 

Phone: (573) 325-1292  

Come explore the beautiful Mark Twain National Forest with your horse! 

Our family farm is home to the New Liberty Horse Camp: we have electrical hook-ups for up to eight RV’s; 

water; a bath house with separate hot showers and washrooms with flush toilets for “colts” and “fillies”; 

and for the horses we have eight 10×10 box stalls, three paddocks, and hitching posts. A gate in our 

fence opens into the Mark Twain National Forest, which provides approximately 100 miles of trails to 

springs, streams, lakes, and caves! We’d love to meet you and your horse(s), and maybe tell you some 

tales about life in Hawaii, which was our former home.