Trail covers 350 miles of Ozarks' rugged beauty

ALONG THE OZARK TRAIL, Mo. — The Ozark Trail would not be the ideal destination for say, the pampered among us, whose idea of a fab vacation includes shopping, a noisy amusement park or a spa resort with creature comforts.

But for heartier folks who like to unwind with physical activity against a backdrop of magnificent natural beauty, Missouri's Ozark Trail may be just the tonic.

The trail, not nearly as famous or as long as the Appalachian Trail, nonetheless offers 350 miles of rugged, backwoods country through the biologically diverse Ozarks.

The Ozarks' peaks lie at an altitude of just 1,200-1,800 feet, but they constitute the only significant highlands between the Appalachians and the Rockies.

"For Missouri, it's the closest thing to a Colorado experience you can get," said S. Scott Whitaker, president of Gateway Off-Road Cyclists. "It's very secluded, a true wilderness experience with great big hollows and creek bottoms.

"The fall is definitely my favorite time. With fall colors, the vistas become even more extraordinary."

A hike or bike ride along the trail can make you feel pretty insignificant in the Earth's history. While the Appalachian Trail's dolomite rock is a mere 400 million years old, the Ozark Trail's rhyolite rock, formed when volcanic eruptions of hot ash settled and cooled, is 1.5 billion years old.

The Ozark Trail is divided into 13 sections of about 20 to 30 miles in length, each taking its name from a natural feature, except for the Karkaghne, a mythical creature in forest folklore.

While some trail sections that go through wilderness are off-limits to anyone but hikers and backpackers, other parts are also open to off-road bicyclists and equestrians. The trail's 25-mile Middle Fork section, with its contoured cuts through oak and pine hills, provides some of the best single-track mountain bicycling in Missouri.

The opening of the Middle Fork in April created 200 miles of continuous through-trail along the Ozark. Other trail segments not yet connected bring the total to 350 miles in 13 counties.

The Ozark Trail emerged from a vision in the late 1970s to build a scenic and varied route in the Missouri Ozarks, from just outside St. Louis southwest to the Arkansas border, eventually connecting with the Ozark Highlands Trail — creating a 700-mile through-trail.