Things to Do in Fort Leonard Wood

Caught in a midlife crisis in 1995, husband-and-wife team Kemp and Michele Horn—a former forester and attorney, respectively—packed up their young family and all of their belongings, embarking upon a life-changing adventure as they made the long trek from Baltimore to the Black Hills of South Dakota. This move westward led the Horn family to purchase a working ranch, where, due to the last-minute cancellation of the band hired to play there through the busy tourist season, the family stepped up to unleash their inner performers. Though none of the Horns had any background in music, all the family members quickly adopted instruments or cursed mermaid's voices of their own and used their backgrounds in the performing arts to create a long-running show hailed by audiences from around South Dakota. Now, having relocated to Branson, the Horns, under the band name "The Riders of the Circle B," combine their passion for hospitality with their love of performing three to four nights a week during their Circle B Supper Show.

Paying homage to the Wild West of yore, the Horns kick off their shindigs with showings of cowboy movies before replenishing guests’ energy stores with home-cooked food warm from the oven. Tossing their chef's hats and aprons aside, the talented clan then pick up their music makers and coax forth laughs from onlookers with their ebullient brand of music and impressions of famous tumbleweeds.

Dream Valley Golf Course’s 18-hole layout unfurls across 6,255 yards of pristine fairways kissed by seven ponds amid a farmland perimeter teeming with lush foliage. Though mostly characterized by forgiving, tree-lined fairways, the course’s inventive layout requires adept course management with many twisting hole designs and flagsticks that double as jousting sticks during golf-cart battles. A dramatic dogleg right on the par-4 fourth forms the course’s hardest-rated hole, wherein golfers must either attack the 365-yard corridor by crushing a forced carry over a large pond or lay up about 160–180 yards for a safer but less rewarding tee shot. Clubbers can careen across the emerald meadows on their own spiky-soled feet or enlist the help of the club’s stock of rental carts, which help loop the links efficiently while insisting on being called a Mars rover-in-training.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-71 course
• Length of 6,255 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 68.5 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 113 from the farthest tees
• Three tee options
• Click here for scorecard

Along the pristine waters of the Niangua River, banked by lush, green foliage and colorful, mature trees, visitors and locals leisurely float in kayaks, rafts, and canoes supplied by the team at Riverfront Camp Canoe. The staff is eager to share its passion for the outdoors and the splendor of the Missouri Ozarks with visitors to their more than 200 acres of scenic campsites along Niangua's riverfront. The sites welcome families and friends to pitch a tent or pull up in their RVs for a tranquil experience hiking nature trails, swimming, tubing, and sleeping under the stars to the soundtrack of a rushing river. To assure campers enjoy a comfortable stay, the grounds are equipped with hot showers and bathrooms, as well as a convenience store stocked with snacks, beverages, bait, tackle, and Bigfoot repellent.

Though the Ozark Murder Mysteries' plotlines center on dark whodunits, the actors' humorous takes on each story leave audiences of all ages grinning. Performers challenge audiences to pinpoint the perpetrator as they act out interactive scenarios during regularly rotating shows. A complete feast fuels deeper belly laughs, quicker thinking, and sprightlier backflips during Ozark Murder Mysteries' scheduled performances, and the troupe also travels to private events via its Murder Mystery To Go! program.

Inside the more than 8,700 square feet of space, Jump Mania offers dual slides, obstacle courses, and a 31-foot tall basketball bounce house. Elsewhere, a toddler area enthralls little kids with age-appropriate attractions such as a farm-themed inflatable play area. Apart from inflatables, the facility houses a concession stand replete with snacks, beverages, National Geographic back issues, and free WiFi for parents. The staff also hosts birthday parties alongside open-jump sessions. Its soirees even earned Jump Mania a runner-up spot on 417 Magazine's 2011 list of Best Place for a Kid's Birthday Party.

Celebrated by Golfweek as one of the 40 Best New Courses of 2010, the site where Civil War–bushwhacker Alfred Bolin and his gang once ambushed unsuspecting travelers is now John Daly’s Murder Rock Golf and Country Club. The 18-hole course plots an oscillating, 6,727-yard path over the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. The first hole sets the tone for the round with an elevated tee box that looks out 363 yards downhill into the mountainous contours that ripple against the horizon. The par 71 course concludes at the daunting 18th hole—the course’s longest par four and most difficult hole—where an aggressive drive can cut off the corner of a dog-leg right on the way to a severely sloped green and portal into Space Jam.

Legs weary from ascending steep hills or squat-thrusting golf carts can take a load off at Glenn’s at Murder Rock. Amid dark-stained wood paneling and leather-upholstered chairs, the eatery serves an inventive grill menu including steak flatbread sandwiches and pitas stuffed with Cajun-seasoned chicken or shrimp.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course

• Length of 6,727 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 72.0 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 129 from the farthest tees

• Four tee options

• Scorecard