Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area — Attraction in Ozark

Thia really is a beautiful place but all the trails we were on were full of horse manure as well as trash everywhere all in all it started off a good day we decided to camp here so i called the number on their website the lady told me it was free to camp there no worries so i set up our tent and about 10 mins afterwards a gentleman came up and said he had reserved that campsite for the weekend not a big deal i said we would find another camp spot but he said he would go since we were already set up to another spot so we stayed. Well bright and early the next morning the conservation guy comes out to tell us about it being reserved i said yes i spoke with the man lastnight and i started to tell him how i had called the number and the lady told me it was free and that i wasnt told about a permit i guess you had to have so i didnt know it was a peaceful conversation to this point. He interrupts me while talking and says noone in my office wouldnt tell you about the permit so i dont believe that but im not calling you a liar. Well that rubbed me the wrong way so i responded with thats exactly what you just did was call me a liar but whatever we will pack up and leave. At this point he starts acting like the typical power tripping authorities and says well we can do this another way you can go to jail, i asked for what crime, in which he then asked for my id which by law i didnt have to give him but i did anyway to keep the peace. He was rude loud and just inconsiderate so that ruined our entire weekend we just went home. All in all a horrible experience and ill never go back there. I forgot to mention the party at the next campsite that kept my kids up all night long. Pretty place yes but horribly ran and...

Due to the closures at Andy Dalton and Pleasant Hope gun ranges , it was time to explore further and Busiek fit the bill . We encountered several other groups at the open range and they were friendly and very safety conscious , asking and recieving cease fire while we set targets and vice versa. The concrete benches are firearm ready, with the addition of a ground cloth to protect the rifles finish , the backstop was riddled but serviceable for target mounting ( bring a stapler or Duct tape and targets ) , it was not crowded ( on a Friday before noon ) and it was relatively clean. We didn't find a restroom or portapotty but we didn't look hard for one , we saw horses on the equestrian trail on the way out and several backpackers taking a hike. Not sure what the politics are regarding the other conservation range closures but hopefully Busiek will stay open for awhile . Edit 2-15-2023 since my previous review , the gun range seems to have gone the way of the world : loonies shooting at homemade targets placed fifteen feet from the firing line , rapid fire cowboys shooting with a pistol in each hand , and a tweaker snatching up my brass almost as it hit the dirt. It was a Wednesday at 11:00 am , I can't imagine what a weekend...

Stunning. The trails were clean, no trash or other debris infringing upon the beauty of the place. The trails were very stony and in some places downright treacherous. The orange and purple trails are uphill. Very uphill. Take a walking stick and water. The bicycle riders never let us know they were coming up like they do at the trails run by City of Springfield. There is a shooting range on-site that is pretty loud and apparently causes the wildlife to disappear. We did finally see a single crow and a baby snake (not together. Lol). All in all it was a beautiful day. Oh, and getting back out on the highway was a little tense. There's no where to...