When Ford brought the Bronco back to showroom floors last year for the first time in a generation, they were doing more than making a nostalgic tug on boomer heartstrings. The Bronco entered the marketplace to be a true contender to overthrow the Jeep Wrangler as the off-road king of the mountain.
We love it when a plan comes together.
The Ford Bronco was recently named 2022 North American SUV of the Year by automotive journalists in the U.S. and Canada. Now, Broncos are flying out the door at Gary Crossley Ford in Kansas City faster than Ford can build them.
If you’re one of the fortunate few who’ve already taken delivery of your new Bronco, we’re sure you’re getting itchy to get it out and see what it can do on the highways and byways of Missouri, and more importantly, off the highways and byways.
Here are 4 top destinations in Missouri for you to see in your new Ford Bronco.
Potawatomi Off-road Park
Your new Bronco, a tank full of gasoline, and a fistful of dollars are all you need for a full day of good, clean fun at Potawatomi Off-road Park in Fulton, MO. And by good clean fun, we mean getting really, really dirty.
The $5 admission charge gives you access to multiple trails to accommodate any vehicle from straight stock to the baddest of custom-built 4×4 rigs.
Trails at Potawatomi include creek trails, hill climbs, mud pits, rock crawls, and washouts each of which has an easy bypass for all those suckers who don’t have a new Bronco like you.
Glade Top Trail
OK, maybe your insurance agent or your slightly more level-headed significant other has politely suggested that maybe you shouldn’t risk scratching up that beautiful new Bronco until at least a little of the new has worn off.
You can still get out into the wild and enjoy all the natural beauty Missouri has to offer at Glade Top Trails in the Mark Train National Forest near Theodosia, MO.Â
The narrow 23-mile pathway is Missouri’s only National Forest Scenic Byway. The trail offers abundant wildlife, rolling hillsides covered in prairie grass and wildflowers, plus panoramic vistas with views stretching for up to 40 miles.
The Lake of The Ozarks
Everyone at the dealership has been binge watching season 4 of Ozark on Netflix this week so we promise no spoilers. On the show, the Byrdes and their partners in crime are back and forth visiting the Kansas City mob a half dozen times an episode. It must just take them like 20 minutes to get here.
The Ford Bronco can’t get you there that quick, but it can get you to Lake of the Ozarks in a couple of hours or so. You’ll still have plenty of time to explore 1,100 miles of shoreline. It honestly does have more shoreline than the entire coast of California, and with 70,000 vacations homes scattered around, surely you can find one that would look perfect with a new Bronco parked out front.
There’s plenty to do while you’re there – golfing, horseback riding, ziplining. They’ve even got helicopter tours, but your best bet is to strap a couple of jet skis on a trailer behind your Bronco (it can tow up to 3500 pounds). When you get there, just ride around the 84-mile square lake and follow the cool kids to Party Cove, the “oldest established permanent floating bacchanal in the country,” according to the New York Times. Good clean family fun!
Hawley Farm Glamping
That all sounds great. It really does. 4 wheeling. Mud bogs. Ziplines. Bacchanal! But it makes me tired just thinking about it. After a few weeks of adventures like that in your new Bronco, you’re gonna need at least one weekend of R & R, and Hawley Farm, just an hour northeast of KC near Hamilton, MO puts the R in R & R.
Imagine your shiny new Bronco parked beside your own private yurt or safari tent on 210 secluded acres. Each campsite (glampsite?) offers a queen-size bed, a portable air conditioner, and a solar shower, but don’t get the idea that glamping at Hawley Farm is for softies. You still have to make your s’mores yourself (graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars will be supplied).
Share Your Adventure With #MyKCFord
That’s just a few ideas. There’s tons more to do in your new Bronco across the great state of Missouri. The team at Gary Crossley Ford would love to see your Bronco adventures. Tag us on social media with #MyKCFord.
