Places to Go: Prairie Home CA

Prairie Home Conservation Area

Of bucks and bikes

As are many conservation areas in November, Prairie Home Conservation Area (CA) is a destination for hunters looking to bag a big buck, but it’s also a place where the rubber meets the trail for off-road bicyclists.

With slightly more than 1,460 acres in Cooper and Moniteau counties in central Missouri, Prairie Home CA also draws anglers to its three fishing ponds and rabbit hunters to its mixed fields, said Wildlife Biologist Travis Henry.

While its upland fields and woods attract the hunters, its nearly 6 miles of multiuse trail challenges both horseback and bicycle riders, Henry said.

“We cleaned up the old horse trail and turned it into a multiuse trail for bicycles,” he said. “It’s going to be a very primitive trail. You’re going to have a couple of little creek crossings in it. And that was designed for the off-road enthusiast.

“It’s not going to be like out walking on one of our mowed field trails,” he said. “It’s going to be a rough trail. You’re going to sweat doing it.”

Because of the area’s irregular shape — think of a lopsided, inverted horseshoe with private property in the center — Henry suggests paying extra attention to boundary signs, as not all the area is fenced.