any good spots in missouri for reptiles

[Redbarren]

I'm a teacher in the st. Louis area, obviously the Ozarks are the best place to look for snakes, lizards, crayfish, salamanders, millipedes, scorpions, tarantulas, etc. but making the trek down there for field trips is... just such an impossible idea. I was wondering if anybody knew of any good spots to show off native wild life. (conservation areas spray pesticides regularly and get vary anxious about groups larger than 5 that aren't a part of a registered program).

 

[StickyStein]

You can go 2 hours north to Mark Twain lake and go searching the trails around there for skinks snakes turtles newts. Lift rocks and your liable to find something quite often. I live around quiver river and I use the same tactics as I did when I lived near mark twain lake and I found hundreds of snakes and lizards compared to just a handful near quiver