Dogwood Canyon: 10,000 Acres With Bison

Twenty minutes south of Branson, across the Arkansas border. 10,000 acres of Ozark canyon, creek, and meadow owned by the Bass Pro founder, open to the public with the funding that turns a nature park into a nature experience. The canyon is real — limestone walls, clear cold creek. The infrastructure is polished in a way wild places rarely are.

The tram tour crosses stone bridges, passes waterfalls, and stops at a bison herd in a meadow so pretty it looks staged. The bison are not staged. They are large, indifferent to cameras, and impressive the way ton-weight animals are when they stand still. The trout fishing is catch-and-release in stocked creek with water so clear every fish sees you — harder and more humbling than a stocked park should be.

Reservations required for most activities. Entrance fee covers the tram; fishing, horseback rides, and cave tours are additional. The canyon restaurant serves elk burgers and trout caught that morning. Eating a fish from the creek you just failed to catch is the Ozarks' gentlest irony.