Missouri Route Description

The Taum Sauk section of the Ozark Trail lies within Iron and Reynolds County in southeast Missouri.  This section is 33 miles in length and travels through the ancient St. Francois Mountains, an eroded chain of igneous rock over a billion years old.  The trail features Missouri's tallest waterfall, beautiful vistas, hardwood forests interspersed with open rocky glades, and several clear-running streams, one of which sports a flume-like series of short waterfalls known as "shut-ins."

You'll start your trip at the Highway 21 trailhead, about 5-6 miles south of Arcadia Valley, an old iron mining town and the site of a major Civil War battle at Fort Davidson.  The parking lot is on the west side of the road and I believe is marked as the Claybaugh Trailhead.

You'll ascend Taum Sauk Mountain and reach the flat dome after six miles.  The top of Taum Sauk is a State Park and has a three-mile loop trail; stay on the northwest side of the loop to pass through a scenic glade before visiting Mina Sauk Falls.  The descent from Taum Sauk to Taum Sauk Creek is about 700' of elevation.

You'll follow Taum Sauk Creek for about a mile then start an ascent of Proffit Mountain, a winding ridge which you'll take for several miles through many glades.  You then descend to the Black River, and after crossing a foot bridge, you'll find yourself at the parking lot of Johnson Shut-Ins State Park.

Go past the Park Office and look for a trail sign on your right, which takes you through the woods and to bluffs overlooking the Black River.  An alternative path is to walk down to the "Shut-Ins," then follow the boardwalk to the bluffs.  This is more scenic, but technically not part of the trail (although it's the route I normally take!)

From the bluffs you'll take switchbacks down to the Black River, following it for a while before heading west.  You'll travel through some mixed pine & hardwood forests that undergo frequent controlled burns as part of a restoration project before crossing Highway N, where you'll begin your ascent of Goggins Mountain.

After reaching the 1300' elevation level on Goggins, you'll travel three miles through mixed hardwoods and many rhyolyte glades with good views of the rolling Ozark hills to your west.  You then drop down to the spring-fed Padfield Branch, then climb the southwest flank of Bell Mountain, and two miles in you'll enter the Bell Mountain Wilderness.  A few miles (and many glades later) you'll descend to the Ottery Creek valley and the Highway A trailhead.

Driving Directions

Driving directions between trailheads: take Highway 21 south four miles and make a right turn, staying on Highway 21 west (it is marked 21/49/72 for the three highway routes that share this particular stretch of road).  Go about thirteen miles, past Lesterville, and just past the Highway N intersection you'll make a right on Highway 49.  Go about nine miles on Highway 49 and make a right on Highway A (you'll pass Highway J along the way; stay to the right on Highway 49).  The Highway A trailhead is about three miles on the left side of the road.

Another great location to intercept hike is atop of Taum Sauk.  Go about a mile north on Highway 21, then make a left on Highway CC and take it to the end.  Just before the main parking lot, on the right side of the road is a viewing platform which you see the St. Francois Mountains for many miles.  This will give you a good idea of the types of views you'll see from the glades.

Another great opportunity is at Johnson Shut-Ins.  Go back to Highway 21, and start following the route to the Highway A trailhead.  Just before the turn-off to Highway 21 is Highway N.  If you take Highway N north for 3-4 miles, you'll come to the Johnson Shut-Ins State Park entrance.  You should drive to the parking lot by the Park Office, then follow the paved and boardwalked trail to the Shut-Ins.  This is probably the most popular swimming hole in Missouri, and features cascading falls and flumes that have forced their way through the hard rhyolyte rock over the millennia.

When arriving at the Highway A trailhead, if you're up for a half-mile hike, you can ascend the Bell Mountain to the first series of glades.  You could also follow the trail from Taum Sauk to the glades there, or even to the Mina Sauk Falls.

That's about it.