The Ozark Trail is a

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

, and, in many places,

biking Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

and

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

under construction in the

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

in the United States. It is intended to reach from

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. Over of the trail have been completed as of 2008, and the estimated length when finished will be at least . When joined to the Ozark Highlands Trail in Arkansas, the full hiking distance from end to end will be at least , not including a large loop through the

St. Francois Mountains The St. Francois Mountains in southeast Missouri are a mountain range of Precambrian igneous mountains rising over the Ozark Plateau. This range is one of the oldest exposures of igneous rock in North America. The name of the range is spelled out ...

in Missouri.

Description

The trail is currently composed of thirteen sections, most of which are joined to other sections, though some gaps exist. The sections vary in length from . The longest continuous stretch available for hiking in is , from Onondaga Cave State Park to the

Eleven Point River The Eleven Point River is a river in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, United States. It originates near Willow Springs, Missouri. It more than doubles in flow when Greer Spring Branch runs into it, adding over of water per day to the ri ...

. The exact routes for incomplete sections have not been established, so the total length of the trail when completed remains undetermined. Some sections have restrictions on their use in order to be compatible with the goals and purposes of the various public and private landholders whose property the trail crosses. Horseback riding, mountain biking, or trail side camping may be restricted in certain environmentally sensitive areas.

Development

The Ozark Trail had its beginnings in the 1970s when a group of public land managers, land owners, and trail users met to discuss the concept of a long-distance hiking trail. A comprehensive state outdoor recreation plan prepared by the state of Missouri in 1975 showed a need for an addition of of hiking trails. It was determined that a trail spanning the Ozarks from suburban St. Louis southwest to Arkansas could be routed over mostly existing public lands with a minimum amount of right-of-way needing to be obtained from private landowners. A first meeting in 1976 at Meramec State Park lead to the first draft of the trails proposal in February 1977 and in 1981 the first sections of the trail were under construction. Devils Tollgate on the Ozark Trail

The general route of the Ozark Trail is determined by the Ozark Trail Council, which was formed by seven governmental agencies including the

National Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

, the Missouri State Parks Department, the

Missouri Conservation Commission The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Commission were created by Article IV Sections 40-42 of the Missouri Constitution, which were adopted by the voters of the state in 1936 as Amendment 4 to the constitution ...

, ''et al.'', plus several environmental groups and a private landowner with significant holdings. The land manager for each parcel held by these constituents is responsible for the trail within its holdings. This unique decentralized arrangement is conducive to work progressing on many fronts at once and is partly responsible for the rapid initial progress in building the trail — 170 (275 km) miles within the first decade and over by 1991. In 2008, the mileage stands at over . As the route over contiguous public lands is completed further progress will likely be slowed by the arduous process of acquiring private land and

easement An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...

s. Volunteers formed the Ozark Trail Association in 2002 to work with the Ozark Trail Council to develop and maintain the Ozark Trail. The Ozark Trail was designated a

National Recreation Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

in 2008National Recreation Trails Database Ozark Trail

American Trails
2008-12-18. Retrieved 2009-09-13.

Damage

Taum Sauk reservoir failure

The upper reservoir of the

Taum Sauk pumped storage plant The Taum Sauk pumped storage plant is a power station in the St. Francois Mountains, St. Francois mountain region of Missouri, United States about south of St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis near Lesterville, Missouri, in Reynolds County, Missouri, ...

failed in December 2005, causing a flood that devastated Johnson's Shut-ins State Park and destroyed a part of the Taum Sauk section of the Ozark Trail at the shut-ins. The Ozark Trail Association and the

Missouri Department of Natural Resources The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) of the government of the U.S. state of Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied fo ...

mapped out a new route to replace the damaged section, which was completed in mid-2009.

May 2009 storms

An unusually strong May 2009 windstorm devastated 44 miles of the trail within the Mark Twain National Forest, and all or parts of several sections of the Ozark Trail were closed because of downed trees. Within months several sections were repaired and reopened through the work of both volunteer and paid forest service crews. All access was eventually restored, though as of May, 2013, conditions on some sections of trail may be of concern to bikers or to those on horseback.

Notes

External links

Ozark Trail AssociationMissouri Department of Natural ResourcesMark Twain National Forest trails
including the Ozark Trail. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozark Trail (Hiking Trail)

Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...