Eagle’s Nest Trail

Eagle’s Nest Trail runs from campground 2, near campsite 94, runs for 2.75 miles with good climbs and scenery. The gps coordinates for the trailhead are 36.57824066, -93.83196969 if you are interested!

The trailhead is here at the red pin:

We haven’t hiked the trail yet, but it’s coming September 2016. According to everything we’ve read, it’s a fun hike, but it goes up to one of the highest points in the park. Thus, the Missouri State Park ranks it “Rugged,” so be prepared. They estimate it will take 2 hours and 45 minutes to hike. It’s blazed with green markers.

The trail closes at 3pm in the winter, as it appears that that’s the time of year the Eagle’s roost.

You can check out the trail map here.

Pibern Trail

Pibern Trail starts from the end (North) of campground 1, to the left of the restroom.

You can find it here:

It runs for 1 mile one way, through some beautiful Ozark bluffs. It does have a couple of steep parts, up some bluffs. The trail is well-maintained, and pretty easy to follow. It’s marked with blue markers. According to the State Park, this trail was developed in the ’30s when the Civilian Conservation Corps were taking resources to use for constructing the park. It’s rated moderate, so make sure you are up to the task before you get started, and bring water for the trek.

It took us about 40 minutes to get from the trailhead to the end of the trail that pops out near the Paradise Valley Resort. (By the way, the Paradise Valley Resort has an excellent cafe on site. Get an ice cream cone or pizza!) We were going at a moderate pace. The trail is nice and shady, with lots of trees, rock formation, and peace. We didn’t see anyone else hiking the trail when we were on it. We did take bottles of water for the trip, and they were needed in the summer heat. We did pack the empty bottles out, by the way. The trail is clean, but we did pick up a few pieces of litter on the way. Since we had drive to the trailhead, it took another 15 minute walk through the campground to get back to the car from the exit point.

Here’s a short video of the trail. The quality isn’t great, but you can get the feel for it.

More trail links below:

River Trail

The river trail runs, well, along the river. This trail is the second shortest trail at the state park at .7 of a mile. It takes about a half an hour to hike. The trail goes from the old CCC Lodge, past the amphitheater, all the way to campground three. It’s great for older kids who don’t have transportation and want some independence. You will encounter some climbing, the trail is well-maintained, and the distance is fairly short. You do, however, have to cross paved highway F (not a problem if very cautious), to get from the lodge to the campground. Here’s a topo map if you are interested.

If you want to get from point A to point B, the trail is good. For scenery, I’d recommend the Deer Leap Trail or Devil’s Kitchen. Carry lots of water, even for shorter hikes like this one.
More trail links below: