The Ozark Trail: A Guide to Hiking Missouri’s Mountains

Many of the creeks and streams look crystal clear, but it’s still smart to make sure any impurities are removed with pumps or tablets before drinking. The Ozark Trail (OT) is one of America’s premier distance hiking trails. Mostly divided into linked sections, the trail winds through 390 miles of rolling hills, stone bluffs and cool streams in central and southern Missouri. I don’t make it a habit of buying my gear from Walmart, but this was a excellent purchase. I use this pack on a daily basis to carry my office clothes while I ride my bike to work and to carry light loads while out Geocaching. I priced other internal frame daypacks before my trip and this was by far the cheapest.

Both come with storage sacks that you sling over one shoulder. Measuring 10 by 10 feet, the Sundome covers an area larger than that of our family-tent top pick though its lower roof leaves it with less headroom. The Wireless 6’s drawbacks have mainly to do with material quality. These can be as strong, or even more so, than aluminum poles (especially cheap ones), but they’re always bulkier, heavier, and not as nice to handle. However, the Wireless 6’s poles were the best fiberglass ones we tested—they left no splinters, unlike those on the Camp Creek 6 or the Copper Canyon LX 6. We also wanted self-standing tents, which can stay up on their own.

There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Join Outside+ to get access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. Cassandra is our Senior Content ozark trail chair Manager with over 10 years’ experience. She spent the majority of her professional career in Human Resources before starting her blogging journey in 2012. Not the best choice for long trips or hikers who need to carry a large amount of gear.

The shepherd’s hook design, in contrast, held lines secure. Throughout all our testing, we wanted to know how it felt to be inside the tents for long periods of time. If we had to spend a day in the tent during a storm, would it be comfortable? After first removing the models that failed the structural tests, we slept, watched the stars, and ate our meals in all of the tents, as well as planned hikes from them.

Keep an eye out for a short spur trail between Sutton Bluff campground and Highway TT which leads to Grasshopper Hollow, the largest fen (peat-forming wetland) in non-glaciated North America. If you’re searching east of the Rockies for stunning scenery, technical terrain, and a long hike option sans the AT crowds, this is your pick. Along the way you’ll cross paths with fewer people than you can count on two hands—just keep an eye out for mountain bikers and horseback riders who frequent the multi-use sections of the trail.