I create fine art photographs to honor and protect the wild horses of Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
I’m an Ozark-based photographer focused on the Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR) and its free-roaming wild horses. My work is place-based, conservation-minded, and handmade from start to finish.
Tips Before You Get Started
Some herds are easier to find than others, and the horses are constantly in motion.
- The terrain can be challenging and often hazardous, so it’s best to start with more accessible locations, such as Shawnee Creek or Round Springs.
- Some locations require 4WD lifted vehicles and crossing of creeks and rivers. If you are not with an experienced person who knows the waters, do not attempt to cross the water.
- Mobile phone (cellular) signal is not available in many locations.
- Federal law clearly states that you cannot get closer than 50 feet to the wild horses, and you cannot feed them. If you break these laws, you are subject to severe fines and possible imprisonment.
In each section below, I provide a difficulty rating to help you gauge the level of difficulty in locating the area and the wild horses. The frequency rating indicates how likely you will see the horses at this location. And I provide directions and a quick tip for each of the sites.
SHAWNEE CREEK HERD
The Shawnee Creek Herd is typically the easiest to find, and your chances of seeing them are pretty good. This is a great location to see the wild horses, especially if you are a first-time visitor.
Difficulty Rating: Easy
Frequency: High, but there can be spells when they can’t be found. This year has been particularly challenging to locate the wild horses in the Shawnee Creek area.
Tips: Great location for first-time visitors, kids, and the elderly.
Directions: Located off of Highway 106 and County Road 106-211. From Eminence on Highway 19, go east on Highway 106 for 2.9 miles until you see a sign for Shawnee Creek Campground. You will turn left at the gravel road (106-211) and follow for 1.7 miles until you see the campground and the river. No special vehicle is required to access this location.
Additional Tips & Helpful Information: Many fields near the campground area border the Jack’s Fork river where the horses frequently graze, so your chances of seeing them are pretty good, especially in the early morning and late evenings.
This location is a good choice for older people and kids too. It is pretty flat and easily accessible. The grasses can be very high in the summertime, so I suggest wearing pants and a long-sleeve shirt to minimize the chigger bites.
Depending on the day and time, you should expect to do a fair amount of walking. There are a few first-come-first-served camping spots along with public restroom facilities (no running water) that you may want to take advantage of. Keep in mind if the river is high, this location can and does flood, especially during the spring and fall.
There are a few parking spots right at the opening to the fields where you can park and start your walk.
You are not allowed to drive in any of the fields with any type of motorized vehicle, only on foot. If you are caught on your ATV or any motorized vehicle, the National Park Service could arrest you and they will most certainly write you a very expensive ticket. I have personally seen people be arrested and receive tickets because they don’t pay attention to the signs that are clearly posted.
If you don’t see the horses in the field, walk down to the left towards the river and follow that along to the woods. You will have to explore this area along the riverbank as well as the interior of the woods at times to find the horses. I’ve seen the horses cross the river in the mornings and evenings, which is a lot of fun to watch. You can also hike the perimeter of the fields along the woods if you don’t see them, and I frequently find them in the woods. Depending on the conditions that day, this can be easy and enjoyable, or it can be pretty challenging due to heat and humidity, mud, standing water, insects, flies, and other annoying factors. I have almost stepped on poisonous snakes multiple times over the years, and I have had tick bites and chiggers so bad that I could barely sleep for a week.
If you don’t see the Shawnee Creek Herd at this location, go back 106-211 to Highway 106 and turn left (east). Turn left on Highway V towards Two Rivers campground and approximately 2.2 miles on the left there are some vegetation fields where the Shawnee Creek herd is frequently seen.
They travel in the woods between these fields on Highway V to Shawnee Creek Campground. I’ve hiked through the woods between the locations and found the horses, but I wouldn’t recommend that unless you know the area and understand the terrain and conditions. You have to wade across water and unless you are an experienced hiker, I would not recommend this to the average person.
At the V highway fields, there are no clearly defined parking places at these fields, but you will see where people pull off to the side of the road and park.
Once again, be prepared to do a lot of walking. I’ve walked as much as 5 miles or more in a single visit in order to find and follow the horses at these locations. Sometimes they are in the middle of the fields, and very little walking is required, and other times, you have to be patient and wait for them or do a lot of walking along the river or in the woods to find them. I always wear boots and you should expect to get a decent workout.
I want to make sure you are prepared to have a good experience and understand the range of possibilities. Just because you don’t see them in the middle of a field doesn’t mean they are not in the area. These are the times when you need to do more walking, and also you can increase your chances by going first thing in the morning or the late evenings before sunset.
All images and text on timlaytonfineart.com are the © of Timothy P. Layton and Tim Layton & Associates, LLC 2000-2025. Please review the copyright notice if you would like to use any of the images or text.
THE BROADFOOT HERD
The Broadfoot herd is the third easiest to find, and your chances of seeing them have been pretty good until recently. There have been major disruptions in the herds this year and Broadfoot has been very elusive recently.
After a recent capture event, the remaining horses, except for an old mare, fled the area. Captures occur due to herd management requirements, which the nonprofit Missouri Wild Horse League administers.
The Missouri Wild Horse League cares for the captured horses and manages the adoption process to find them loving and good homes.
The horses returned after about a month only to leave again after the fields were mowed and baled. They will return, so be sure to visit this location during your visit.
This location is a great place to ride your own horses as well as camp. The horses here are not quite as friendly as the Shawnee Creek herd and they are a little more difficult to see. I can find them here several days in a row and then nothing for weeks or sometimes even months.
They are very aware of humans in their space and they typically will either slowly move to another area in the fields if they see you or quickly exit the area and find cover in the woods or out of sight somewhere. You can drive the main loop around the fields in your car, so this location is kid and elderly-friendly.
Difficulty Rating: Easy
Frequency: Medium to Low
Tips: Peaceful location with an easy-loop road, but the 4.4 miles to get there can be a little challenging in the rain or snow.
Directions: Located off of Highway 19 and Country Road 19-205 follow the gravel road, always staying to the left at forks until you reach the Broadfoot campgrounds in about 4.4 miles from the intersection of 19 and 19-205. While on 19-205 at 3.0 miles you will fork to the left and then again 3.2 miles and then continue to you arrive at Broadfoot.
Additional Tips & Helpful Information: During some seasons, you will want a 4WD vehicle to be able to fully explore this location, and if this is not an option, a regular 2WD automobile will allow some access to the dirt road around the main field.
The gravel and dirt roads to get to Broadfoot can be decent, but it can also be very difficult and feel like you may lose a kidney before you get there because the roads can be very rough. I travel this road in the winter and when there is ice and snow, it can be dangerous because you could very easily slide off the road and in some places, this could mean a very serious drop to the bottom of a valley. Unless you are experienced and have the right vehicle, keep these things in mind before heading out in difficult weather conditions.
During the seasons when the loop road has deep ruts, be careful about driving through the seemingly innocent looking mud puddles because some are much deeper than you probably expect. I’ve seen one person in a regular car get stuck, and water got inside their car because of how deep it was.
The location can be confusing to find on your first visit, but after you get it figured out, it is easy. From the turn off at highway 19 and 19-205, keep veering left until you reach Broadfoot in 4.4 miles.
The location itself is wonderful because you can drive around in a loop on the main field, and there are public restrooms, and a few campsites are available. The herd here is much wilder than the group over at Shawnee Creek, and you probably won’t get very close to them. Also, keep in mind that during the spring, summer, and fall seasons, people frequently ride their horses along the roads to get to Broadfoot, so this can be challenging, and you should always be alert when driving these backroads.
If you want to photograph the wild horses at this location, you will want a long telephoto lens because of the distance between you and the horses and the vastness of this location. The horses will look very small in the frame without a telephoto lens. I use my 600mm F4 and 800mm F5.6 lenses frequently at this location.
As with the other locations, the early morning and late evenings provide the best opportunity to see the horses. The river runs along the backside of the fields, and this area can flood, and the insects can be maddening during the summertime, so keep that in mind.
THE ROUND SPRING HERD
The Round Spring Herd is the second easiest to find, and your chances of seeing them are hit or miss.
Difficulty Rating: Easy
Frequency: Medium
Tips: Keep coming back, and you will eventually find them.
Directions: Located directly off of Highway 19 at the Round Spring campground north of Eminence, this is the easiest location to find and look for wild horses.
Additional Tips & Helpful Information: If you are camping at Echo Bluff or Current River State Park, this is an easy location to check every morning and evening during your visit. Just head back south on Highway 19, and you will see Round Spring on your left. You don’t need a 4WD vehicle or special equipment to access this location; most of the time, you will not even need to get out of your car.
The horses have been seen more frequently inside Echo Bluff over the last year, so don’t forget to drive all the roads within the park and look for them.
The two regular areas to find the Round Spring herd are down along the river by the group campground area, which is just past the main entrance for Round Spring, and the second-best opportunity is right off of Highway 19, just past the bridge heading north. The horses will tend to gather in these two areas from time to time. You can also look at the Sinking Creek campground area, which is just down the road.
The Round Spring area seems to either be hot or cold, meaning you will see them fairly frequently or nothing at all for a while. It is a very easy location to check, so just enjoy the ride, and hopefully, you will get a chance to see and enjoy them.
THE ROCKY CREEK HERD
The Rocky Creek Herd is the most elusive, and your chances of spotting them are relatively low unless you are a local who visits frequently.
Difficulty Rating: Very Difficult
Frequency: Low
Tips: Need 4WD and Lots of Patience
Directions: Located near Klepzig Mill off of highway NN and Highway H.
From Eminence, take Highway 106 east to Highway H and go south to H-522 on your left. You will need a lifted 4WD vehicle for most of this route. I don’t recommend this route unless you know what you are doing because you have to pass several creeks that can be dangerous and some of the terrains can damage your vehicle. There is zero mobile phone coverage in this area, and it is very remote and isolated. If you get stuck, injured, or lost, it is very likely there will be no one around to help you, so keep that in mind. This is a remote area and I have seen many poisonous snakes during my hunts for the wild horses, especially in the summer months. Avoid walking or sitting on down trees/logs and picking up rocks.
Additional Tips & Helpful Information: There are several vegetation fields along this route where the horses have been seen before. I want to make sure you understand that it is highly unlikely that you will see this herd and the risk of either injury or damage to your vehicle is the highest of all the locations. If you get stuck or injured out here, there isn’t a lot of traffic to help. I have a satellite SOS device that I keep with me when I go here and I am fully prepared in the event of injury.
If you are brave enough and can make your way via this route, you will end up at Klepzig Mill (four creek crossings later) and dump out at Highway NN, which will take you to Highway H. If you go left, you will go to Winona. If you go right, you will go towards Highway 106 and Eminence.
From Winona, take High H off of Highway 19 to the signs for Rocky Falls (Highway NN). Follow NN past Rocky Falls and turn left on the gravel road towards Kelpzig Mill. This route can be partially accessible to regular trucks and 4WD vehicles up until you pass the mill and get to the first creek, which is very deep and swift. During the 1.1-mile drive from the turn until you reach Klepzig Mill on your right, you will see some vegetation fields on your right. The horses are sometimes seen in these fields and even on the gravel road too.
The horses could be seen just about anywhere in this region, and since a lot of the terrain is so rugged and difficult to navigate, I don’t recommend this for first-time visitors unless you are with an experienced guide. There are much easier and safer locations listed above that will provide a much stronger chance of seeing the wild horses.
All images and text on timlaytonfineart.com are the © of Timothy P. Layton and Tim Layton & Associates, LLC 2000-2025. Please review the copyright notice if you would like to use any of the images or text.
