Hiking Ozarks: A Guide To The Area's Greatest Hiking Adventures

by JD Tanner, Emily Ressler-Tanner

Overview

This guide details 40 of the very best hiking trails throughout the Ozarks. Spanning Oklahoma, Illinois, Arkansas, and Missouri, the guide provides trails for every type of hiker, from easy flat trails to miles-long excursions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762782390
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/06/2014
Series:	Regional Hiking Series
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	232
Sales rank:	512,691
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

JD Tanner and Emily Ressler Tanner met in the Midwest and have spent much of their adulthood traveling back and forth across the United States. Their educational backgrounds are in outdoor recreation and education, and they have over 20 years of combined outdoor education experience. Before becoming authors for Falcon Guides, they spent three years promoting responsible outdoor recreation as part of the educational traveling program known as the Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers. This opportunity gave them the chance to explore all of the lower 48 states and work with a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts. Logging over 700 nights in a tent during that time, they visited almost 50 National Parks as they climbed, hiked, biked, and paddled throughout the United States. They served as revisers for Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante & the Glen Canyon Region and are authors of Best Easy Day Hikes St. Louis, Best Easy Day Hikes Missouri Ozarks, and Hiking Ozarks (all FalconGuides). JD is the Director of Recreation at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico, and Emily is the Physical Education and Outdoor Recreation Instructor at San Juan College. Their shared love of wild places and their commitment to environmental education has provided them with the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life. When the two are not off teaching a course you might find them searching for state highpoints, planning their next big adventure, or hitting the trail for FalconGuides.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Introduction 1

Weather 2

Flora and Fauna 3

Wilderness Restrictions/Regulations 5

Hazards 6

Be Prepared 8

Leave No Trace 8

How to Use this Guide 9

Trail Finder 10

Map Legend 12

The Hikes: Missouri Region 13

1 Weldon Spring Conservation Area: Levis Trail 14

2 Lone Elk County Park: White Bison Trail 18

3 Meramec State Park: Wilderness Trail 23

4 Pomme de Terre State Park; Indian Point Trail 27

5 Ha Ha Tonka State Park: Devil's Kitchen Trail 31

6 Clifty Creek Natural Area and Cliffy Creek Conservation Area: Cliffy Creek Trail 36

7 Taum Sauk Mountain State Park: Mina Sauk Falls Loop Trail/Ozark Trail to Devil's Tollgate 39

8 Ozark Trail: Taum Sauk Mountain State Park to Johnson's Shut-ins State Park 43

9 Washington State Park; Rockywood Tiail 48

10 Sam A. Baker State Park: Mudlick Mountain Trail 52

11 Pickle Springs Natural Area: Trail Through Time 57

12 Hawn State Park:Whispering Pines Trail-North Loop 61

13 Amidon Memorial Conservation Area: Cedar Glade Trail 65

14 Trail of Tears State Park: Sheppard Point Trail 68

15 Blue Spring Natural Area: Blue Springs Trail 72

16 Ozark Trail: Klepzig Mill to Rocky Falls 76

17 Ruth and Paul Helming Conservation Area: Homesteaders Trail 80

18 Roaring River State Park: Fire Tower Trail 84

Honorable Mentions 88

A Chubb Trail 88

B Moaner's Hollow Trail 88

C Devil's Honeycomb Trail 88

D Fire Tower Trail to Long Creek 89

E Lakeside Forest Wilderness Area Trails 1 and 2 89

Arkansas Region 90

19 Devils Den State Park: Yellow Rock Trail 91

20 Devil's Den Stave Park: Devil's Den Trail 91

21 Ozark Highlands Trail: Lake Port Smith State Park to Frog Bayou 101

22 White Rock Mountain Recreation Area: Rim Trail 106

23 Hobbs State Park: Pigeon Roost Trail 110

24 Hobbs State Park: Bash ore Ridge Loop Trail 115

25 Buffalo National River: Lost Valley Trail 119

26 Buffalo National River: Centerpoint Trailhead to Hemmed-In Hollow 123

27 Buffalo National River: Compton Trailhead to Hemmed-In Hollow 128

28 Ozark National Forest: Whitaker Point Trail 133

29 Mount Magazine State Park: Bear Hollow Trail 137

30 Mount Magazine State Park: Highpoint Loop Trails 141

31 Mount Nebo State Park: Bench Road Trail 146

32 Petit Jean State Paik: Cedar Fails Trail 152

33 Petit Jean State Park: Seven Hollows Frail 156

34 Ozark National Forest: Pedestal Rocks Trail 161

35 Buffalo National Rivet: Buffalo River Trail-Spring Creek Section 106

36 Buffalo National River: Indian Rockhouse Trail 170

37 Norfolk Lake Recreation Area: Robinson Point Trail 175

Honorable Mentions 179

F Winthrop P. Rockefeller Boy Scout Trail 179

G Base Trail to East Summit and West Summit Trails 179

H Cecil Cove Loop Trail 179

I Hideout Hollow 180

J Swear Loaf Mountain Nature Trail 180

Oklahoma Region 181

38 Greenleaf State Park: Greenleaf Lake Hiking Trail 182

Honorable Mentions 187

K McGee Creek National Scenic Recreation Area Trail System 187

Illinois Region 188

39 Shawnee National Forest: Little Grand Canyon Trail 189

40 Shawnee National forest: Panther Den Trail 194

Honorable Mentions 198

L Piney Creek Ravine Trail 198

M Giant City Nature Trail 198

The Art of Hiking 199

Hike Index 222

About the Authors 225