The Chadwick ORV area is a little slice of heaven located southeast of Springfield,Mo. It is 100 miles of trails, crisscrossing 12 square miles of Ozark Forest. The trails range from easy to impassable. There is very little mud, but plenty of rocks. The trails are surrounded by thick Ozark forest. Most trails parallel the ridges and hollows bottoms, with connecting trails crossing side slopes. There are trail markers that identify the difficulty of the trails. There are many full-loop trails to eliminate backtracking. I would recommend going with someone who has been there, to show you around. Click here to view a map of the area.
There are two campgrounds Cobb Ridge and Camp Ridge that you can ride your ATV's from to the trails. Cobb Ridge is the main campground. It has many large campsites for large parties. I've seen riders who use semis to haul there ORV's and camp in. Many sites have electrical hookups. A few have water. There is a vault toilet and showers to come in the future. Camp Ridge is supposedly a day use area, but many people camp here. It has a vault toilet and no power or water hookups. There is no trash service so be prepared to haul trash out. When both campgrounds are full people camp along the Forest Service roads. If the weather is nice expect the campgrounds to be full by Thursday.
With a ride area this nice you can except fees to use it. I think they are fair. $5.00 per day for ATV's and motorcycles. $35.00 for a seasons pass. These can be obtained at Kays Country Store in Chadwick, you can't miss it on your way to the ORV area.
How to get there:
From Chadwick, MO, take Hwy 125 south 1.5 miles to Hwy H; turn west to Camp Ridge Recreation Area or continue to Forest Road 171 to Cobb Ridge Recreation Area.
For more info visit the Forest Services site: Chadwick ORV
Click here to see some pictures at Chadwick