Ozark Trail (hiking trail)
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The Ozark Trail is a hiking, backpacking, and, in many places, biking and equestrian trail under construction in the Missouri Ozarks in the United States. It is intended to reach from St. Louis to Arkansas. Over 350 miles (560 km) of the trail have been completed as of 2005, and the estimated length when finished will be at least 500 miles (800km). The exact routes for some sections have not been established, so the total length when completed remains undetermined. When joined to the Ozark Highlands Trail in Arkansas, the full hiking distance from end to end will be at least 700 miles (1125 km), not including a large loop through the St. Francois Mountains in Missouri.
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 8 to 40 miles (13 to 64 km), and most are suitable for day hikes as well as for through-hiking. The longest continuous stretch available for hiking in 2005 is 200 miles (322 km). When work is completed on the Courtois section in 2007, a 225-mile (362 km) through-hike will be possible from Onondaga Cave State Park to the Eleven Point River.
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 trailside camping may be restricted in certain environmentally sensitive areas, for example. The Ozark Trail Council publishes brochures that detail the permitted and restricted uses of each section of the trail.
The Ozark Trail had its beginnings in 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 500 to 900 miles (800-1500 km) 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.
The Ozark Trail is not part of the National Trails System. 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 Missouri State Parks Department, the Missouri Conservation Commission, 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 200 miles (322 km) by 1991. In 2005, the milage stands at over 350 (560 km). Progress will likely be slowed at some point by the arduous process of acquiring private land and easements as the extent of contiguous public land along the route is exhausted.
Volunteers formed the Ozark Trail Association in 2001 to work with the Ozark Trail Council to develop and maintain the Ozark Trail.
