DIFFICULT DESTINATIONS SERIES
The Ozarks - Missouri & Arkansas
How to have up to a 10 day Ozark vacation
The Ozarks are a major travel destination located within two difficult to visit states, Missouri and Arkansas. As a registered visitor Missouri allows you more time – 7 days aggregate per 12 month period – but has several onerous restrictions which I will describe below and which you should assume will apply to you as a visitor.
Arkansas allows you only four days per calendar year, but for reasons I will also explain there are no residency or presence restrictions while you’re visiting. Together with Missouri that’s a total of 11 days, but depending on which state you enter first one of those days may be double-counted, so for this blog entry I’m sticking with 10 days as the total you can count on.
Just remember, if you use up all your days on one trip you can’t come back for a whole year.
From
the 50 State Visitor Guide : Missouri
R.S. Mo. 2019. R.S. Mo. §43.650. R.S. Mo. §566.147 through 566.150. R.S. Mo. §§589.400 through 589.426. AWA Compliant .
Registration
Triggers and Deadlines:
3 days for initial registration and
updates.
"Residence" is defined as
“any place where an offender sleeps for seven or more consecutive or
nonconsecutive days or nights within a twelve-month period” §589.404(5).
Visitors: “Any registered offender from
another state who has a temporary residence in this state and resides more than
seven days in a twelve-month period shall register for the duration of such
person's temporary residency” §589.400.11. However, “temporary residence” is
not defined.
Residency/Presence
and Other Restrictions:
Residence restriction:
offenders may not reside w/in 1,000 ft. of school or child care
center. §566.147.
Presence restriction: offenders cannot be present w/in
500 ft. of school, day care center, park with playground equipment, childrens athletic facility, pool, or Missouri department of conservation nature
or education center.
§§566.147-566.150. Updated Aug.
2022.
Missouri applies Halloween
restrictions to all registrants, including sign posting mandate. §589.426.
Duration
& updates:
15 years to life. Updates: Tier III – 90 days. Tier I & II – every 6 mo. §589.400
Where to “reside” – MO first, then AR
Missouri is a beautiful state, but you’ll have to be pretty darned careful if you travel there. Visitors must register if in the state for more than 7 days in a 12-month period. §589.400.11. However Missouri, unique among states, defines “residence” as “any place where an offender sleeps for seven or more consecutive or nonconsecutive days or nights within a twelve-month period” §589.404(5).
Now consider how this affects you as a visitor. Unlike other states, you don’t need to worry about partial days or whether the “day” starts at midnight. The only thing Missouri counts is the number of times you sleep there. There can be only one “day” attached to each night’s sleep and logically that has to be the day leading up to it, not the day following. Therefore when you wake up on your last morning never to sleep in Missouri again, that day does not count.
This means that if you go to Missouri first on your Ozark vacation, your day leaving MO will not be double-counted as your first (partial) day in AR, whereas if you go to Arkansas first, your last (partial) day in AR will be double-counted as your first day in MO – because you’ll be sleeping there that night.
Now let’s review Missouri’s onerous restrictions that you should assume will apply to you as a visitor:
•
Offenders may not reside (i.e.
sleep) within 1,000 ft. of a school or child care center. §566.147.
Since I am from Florida, where similar restrictions apply, I can tell
you 1000 feet can be a pretty hard standard to meet. Be careful in selecting your motel room.
•
Missouri used to apply Halloween
restrictions to all registrants, including a sign posting mandate.
§589.426. However, recently ACSOL took
the state to court and there’s now a restraining order in place against the state
– although MO’s attorney general is currently appealing that decision. So for now you can be there on Halloween.
• Offenders cannot be present within 500 ft. of school, day care center, park with playground equipment (which is most of them), or swimming pool. §§566.147-150. Recently they added childrens athletic facilities and Missouri Department of Conservation nature or education centers to that list. You may want to think twice, for example, about a motel with a pool – especially if you are reporting this as your “destination” at your own local sheriff’s department. You may say, oh please! Who’s going to check? But my job here is to warn you about any potential problems you may face while traveling.
Missouri’s restriction against being present at or within 500 feet of a “park with playground equipment” is especially problematic for vacationers. If you think about that wording – it could be a 1000 acre state park and yet if it had just one playground anywhere, you can’t go anywhere in that park. It makes no sense, but it means most state or local parks are OUT. For all these reasons I have to give Missouri a travel rating of 4 thumb screws.
Missouri’s Ozarks – Sept. 2025
Yes, the Ozarks are Missouri’s main vacation destination, and for the registered traveler there’s a bit of good news. Many of the attractions there are either federal (like Ozark National Riverway and Mark Twain National Forest) or privately owned attractions (which I will describe below), so you can avoid the whole state-park-with-a-playground problem. On the other hand, because it’s such a big tourist area get ready to pay through the nose.
In part because Missouri is such a park-camping desert for registered citizens, I have sought the oasis of Ozark Riverways several times over the years, including September 2025, and visited some of its attractions like Round Spring (which also has a cave), Blue Spring, Alley Mill and Two Rivers. And because it’s a riverway, all manner of rafting and canoeing are ready for you.
Since I was coming from Iowa, I had to go through Missouri in both directions on my way to Arkansas. I slept one night in MO each way so that counted as two days toward my rolling 12 month total there. In most other states that would have been a total of four days, all partials. On MO Day 1 (southbound) I visited Ozark Riverways and camped at a Mark Twain Nat. Forest recreation area. When I left Missouri the next morning that day didn’t count against my MO total, but it did count as my first (partial) day in Arkansas.
Here I’d like to point out that if you really dislike the idea of having a long distance move in the middle of your Ozark vacation, one option is the twin towns of Thayer, MO and Mammoth Springs, AR. Both are tourist towns with plenty of lodging options, and this way you only have to move a short way.
In Sept. 2025 my Day 2 in Missouri came when I left Arkansas four days later. But please note: This time my day’s drive from the AR Ozarks to the MO Ozarks was counted by both states – a partial day in AR and one sleeping night in MO.
All this counting isn’t trivial for me because I have in fact previously slept in Missouri within the past 12 months. In April and May 2025 I slept two more nights – while coming and going on my Louisiana and Texas trip. That means I have three MO sleeps left between now and next April.
Entering from Oklahoma in early May 2025, the Ozarks don’t start right away, but the westernmost tract of Mark Twain NF is between Cassville and Branson. That’s where I found a very nice Army Corps of Engineers campground. In a restrictive state like Missouri registered travelers should be on the lookout for Army Corps recreational facilities. Anywhere the Army Corps has built a dam they own the land around that lake and there’s a pretty good chance they’ve set up boat ramps and campgrounds.
The next morning on my way to Branson I stopped at Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, a private attraction on State Road 86. Looks nice but unfortunately it was closed on account of rain. While there I picked up some brochures that explained that this would be one of four attractions that I would go to but not go to that day, all owned by Jimmy Norris, founder of Bass Sporting Goods. The other three are all at Top of the Rock, which is a big gated mega-development where you have pay $10 just to get in.
Then you come to Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail AND Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum. You can’t buy the tickets separately, only together, it’s about $100 per adult and it’ll take about four hours altogether. I hadn’t planned on that amount of time but maybe next time I’ll know what to expect. And that day the nature trail golf cart checkout stand was closed because even though it had stopped raining the 3 mile long trail was still slippery. PS the “world class” golf course is the fourth attraction.
There is yet a fifth Jimmy Norris attraction, Wonders of Life National Museum and Aquarium, in Springfield. I stopped there on MO Day 2 of my Sept. 2025 Ozarks trip. I didn’t like it. It’s expensive and not that great, and instead of a museum gift shop, all doors lead to the World’s Largest Bass Pro Shop and Corporate Headquarters. Fact: You can’t get out of that building without going through all that – I tried!
In May 2025 I also opted for a cave tour at Fantastic Caverns, just north of Springfield. The unique thing about this one is they put you in an open trailer and drive you through the tour. Then a short 10 minute walk takes you to the waterfall where all the cave water pours into the river.
From the 50 State Visitor Guide : Arkansas
A.C.A. 2019 §§ 5-14-128 through 5-14-134, §9-27-356, §§ 12-12-901 through
12-12-926, §12-12-1513, 004 00 C.A.R.R. 002, 172 00 C.A.R.R. 014.
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
“Residency” includes 5 or more aggregate days in a calendar year. §12-12-903(10) & state policy. If
relocating within state, register 10 days before or 3 business days after an
eviction or natural disaster. Homeless
registrants report every 30 days. §§12-12-904, 12-12-909.
Sexually Violent
Offenders report every 3 mo. All others report every 6 mo. §§12-12-909, 12-12-919.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Residence
restriction: L3 &
L4 offenders: 2,000
ft. of elementary or secondary school, public park, day care center, youth
center, also 2,000 ft. of victim.
L4 offenders: 2,000 ft. of a church.
Presence restriction: L3 & L4 offenders: may not knowingly
enter a swimming area, water park, or playground in a state park.
§15-14-134. May not enter schools in
certain circumstances. §§5-14-132 through 5-14-134.
NOTE: Per Arkansas SOR office, visitors aren’t bound by these restrictions
until required to register – because that’s when they will assign an offense
level.
NOTE: Visiting Registrants once placed on state’s
registry ARE NOT REMOVED. (per Rolfe Survey and confirmed by state SOR office).
$250 one time registry fee.
Duration & updates:
Life. Petition after 15 yrs. except SVP
Arkansas’s Ozarks – Sept. 2025
Arkansas, home of the Ozarks, Hot Springs and many historic sites, has much to recommend it as a travel and vacation destination. However, as a registered person you’ll need to be careful about planning your trip there because you only get five days aggregate per calendar year before you have to register. Furthermore, if you re-read the language above you’ll see that it says “‘residency’ includes 5 or more aggregate days in a calendar year.” In other words, the 5th day triggers the registration requirement, so you really only get four days. And as always, one should always assume that partial days will count toward the total.
Last but certainly not least, Arkansas is one of about 15 U.S. states where, according to the Rolfe survey and confirmed for me by the very friendly lady at the state SOR office, if you screw up and wind up on their registry, YOU ARE NEVER REMOVED when you leave. And like most of those 15 states, Arkansas is a LIFETIME registry state no matter your offense or tier level. So please plan your trip to Arkansas very carefully.
The silver lining is that, because Arkansas’ onerous presence and residency requirements apply only to “Level 3 & 4” registrants, and because these tier levels are only assigned after registration, they can’t very well apply them to you as a short term (four days or less) visitor, now can they? This was also confirmed for me by the nice lady at the SOR office.
In September 2025 my first stop upon entering AR from MO was Mammoth Springs State Park, which is really quite nice and you can go there because it’s in Arkansas – even though it’s right on the MO state line. After that my plan was no more complicated than to wander around the AR Ozarks for four days (including partials) just to relax and show that it can be done.
Just as MO has Ozarks National Riverway, Arkansas has Buffalo National River. It’s big and has campgrounds and recreation areas and lots of canoeing and kayaking and tubing outfitters for you to choose from. Therefore if river recreation is what you want, the fact that you need to change states in the middle of your outdoor adventure isn’t a problem at all. In fact it adds variety.
Other attractions include:
Ozark Folk Center, Mountain View – Your wife will love it! (and you
won’t have such a bad time either).
Natural Bridge of Arkansas, Clinton – Impressive enough, not expensive
and not a long walk from the parking lot.
Cave Tours – The Ozarks are also cave country. When you’re at a welcome center be on the
lookout for a brochure called “Caves of Arkansas & Missouri.” However – Hurricane River Cave no longer
exists and Blanchard Springs Caverns is seasonal.
Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, Springdale
Eureka Springs – a tourist town
Grand Canyon of Arkansas – Unfortunately you will not see this on any tourist map. However, if you drive south from the town of Jasper on AR 7 you will come to three poorly maintained scenic overlooks – first at a souvenir shop about five miles south, then at the Cliff House Inn a couple of miles later, and finally at a public overlook further south.
On AR Day 4 around lunch time I left Arkansas, returning to Missouri for one more sleep on my way home to Iowa.
Small Town
Notes:
Mountain
Home – Despite the small-towny name,
it’s not small. It’s a touristy mess
along US 62.
Harrison – Also too big to be a small town
Jasper – An small
town that has successfully embraced an Ozark Hokey image. Neighborhoods look okay too.
St. Joe – No. See
photo.
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