Ozark Trail (hiking trail)

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 (563 km) of the trail have been completed as of 2008, and the estimated length when finished will be at least 500 miles (805 km). When joined to the Ozark Highlands Trail in Arkansas, the full hiking distance from end to end will be at least 700 miles (1,127 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). The longest continuous stretch available for hiking in as of 2008^[update] is 225 miles (362 km), from Onondaga Cave State Park to the Eleven Point River. 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.

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 500 to 900 miles (805 to 1,448 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.

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