Fire Tower Trail

The Fire Tower Trail is the longest Roaring River State Park trail at 3.75 miles. You can get on the trail in three places: near the Nature Center (just off the highway), off of the Dear Leap trail, and at the wild area parking lot. There is also a trail head near campground 3 that you can park near, then walk to the trailhead near the wild area parking.

All three of the access points require you to hike UP a good ways before you get to the flatter areas on top. Check out the Roaring River State Park’s free topographic map to find which access point will be the best one for you. I’ve made a map that shows a pretty good estimate of the trail heads (marked in blue), where it connects with the Deer Leap Trail (red hiker icon), and where the Fire Tower is located (marked with star). Grab a map at the Nature Center and it will help you out along the way. The trail is blazed in brown markers. If you search for the area in Google Maps, you’ll see that someone has apparently spotted Big Foot in the area. Take that into consideration! And get some good video!

This trail is in the Wild Area, with some steep climbs and rugged terrain. As the name suggests, the old fire tower, built in the 1930s, stands on the northeast side of the trail and is worth a visit if you have the time. This trail will take a while, considering the terrain, to get around. Take loads of water and stretch your legs before you go. Missouri State Parks estimates the hiking time of 3 hours and 45 minutes if you take the loop. I’ve done the hike, and it does take time and effort. I would advise going with a friend to stay safe. You don’t want to get dehydrated up there, and the cell phone connections are spotty at best.

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.

Devil’s Kitchen Hiking Trail

This trail surprised me. I began at the trailhead across the bridge from the old CCC Lodge, and went up. And up. And up. It’s a pretty steep hike in my opinion. It’s a one-and-a-half mile hike, so it will take you some time to complete, and, did I mention it’s up hill from the lodge?

To be more precise, the trail head is here on this map at the blue marker. The orange star is the Old Lodge. You can view a map here.

There are some great rock formations up here, including Devil’s Kitchen, which, according to Roaring River State Park information, once “was used as a hideout by Civil War guerrillas.”

That’s fun to tell your kids. My young kids don’t really understand the difference between guerrillas (according to the Webster dictionary, “a person who engages in irregular warfare especially as a member of an independent unit carrying out harassment and sabotage”) from gorillas (large primates).

“Why did gorillas hide out in here, Dad? Were there other monkeys in there? Do you have my iPhone?”

Anyway, Devil’s Kitchen is a nice formation to see, completely enclosed. This picture looks down from the enclosure.

The trail mellows out, going back down later in the hike, so it’s a bit easier on the way out (going from the lodge.) On my most recent hike, a family told me they spotted either a fox or a bobcat on the way, but I didn’t see anything when I went around.

Devil’s Kitchen Hiking Trail Roaring River

This is the trail you see when you are fishing below, and you see people UP in the woods beyond the river. They are navigating the trail and checking out the rock formations.

More trail links below:

Hiking Roaring River Area

Missouri has great hiking in the Ozarks, and Roaring River State Park contributes to the bounty. Take it slow on these trails, and carry plenty of water, snacks, and your camera! Roaring River State Park has seven trails ranging from 1/2 mile to 3 1/2 miles. The trails are open year-round. Since some of these trails run through a bluff area, ask at the lodge which trail is right for you. For more specific information on each trail, click a link below.

Hiking Roaring River State Park