Elk Tours at Peck Ranch CA

• Photos

Collared Missouri Elk Bulls

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Two Missouri Elk Bulls

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To give you a chance to see some of Missouri’s first free-ranging elk in nearly 150 years, we’ve set up a self-guided driving tour at Peck Ranch Conservation Area. The route begins at the Peck Ranch office and is marked along the way. Peck Ranch is located near Winona in Shannon County with entrances off both Route 19 and Route 60. Peck Ranch is open sunrise to sunset seven days a week—except during managed deer hunts, fall firearms deer season and in the event roads are closed due to weather.

Closure Notice

The 12,000-acre Refuge Area at Peck Ranch Conservation Area, where elk tend to congregate, is closed into July as new elk acclimate and cows give birth. MDC will open the area to elk driving tours later this summer.

Your best chances of seeing elk are the hours right after sunrise or right before sunset. We can’t guarantee an elk sighting, but the tour is a beautiful drive though fields, forests and glades where you can also see deer and other wildlife. Feel free to take photographs, and get out of your vehicle if needed for a better view, but please do not disturb elk or other wildlife in any way. Note that the gravel roads on Peck Ranch may not be accessible to vehicles without adequate ground clearance, and some roads may also be impassible at times due to high water at stream crossings.

For more information on elk or other area wildlife, visit our Twin Pines Conservation Education Center located near Peck Ranch one mile east of Winona on Route 60, or call Twin Pines at 573-325-1381. Twin Pines is open Wednesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

Elk Tour Map

Elk are back in Missouri, and you can see them at Peck Ranch Conservation Area. Download and print this map of the 11-mile elk-viewing route.