Hiking
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Hiking on March 14th, 2011
In the middle of Branson and on the banks of Roark Creek lies the 62-acre Stockstill Park. The Park features a ½-mile figure 8 walking path that loops around softball fields and children’s playgrounds. There is a small walking bridge over the creek that offers a good view of Roark Creek. The path connects to an extension trail that meanders along the creek bottom land east towards Skaggs Hospital for about a mile.
Posted in
Hiking on March 14th, 2011
The Piney Creek Wilderness is an 8,142-acre Wilderness located west of Branson in southwestern Missouri’s Barry and Stone Counties in the Cassville Ranger District.
History buffs find this area especially fascinating and for good reason. During the late 1800s, the area was heavily logged by railroad barons seeking timber to build trestles and tracks in the East. Homesteaders and cattlemen soon trekked into the region and began growing strawberries and tomatoes along the ridges. Cattle found good grazing on the native grasses. However, few people found fortune in the wooded hills and hollows and the population diminished quickly after the late 1930s. By 1960 there were no permanent human residents left in what is now designated Piney Creek Wilderness.
Today, the area is a hiker/nature lover’s paradise with wooded ridges rising more than 400 feet above the deep, shadowed hollows. Piney Creek, fed clean, cold water from its many small springs, is the principal stream for the five-mile-long watershed that lies within the Wilderness. The stream finally empties its fish-laden (smallmouth bass tops the list) waters into the James River arm of Table Rock Lake.
Oak and hickory trees dominate the upland slopes and ridges, but visitors can also view small patches of majestic native shortleaf pine on some of the steep side slopes and narrow ridge tops. Stately shortleaf pine, which grow tall and straight, were the main target of the railroad lumber crews, but not all fell to the lumberman’s ax.
In the lower portions of the side drainages and bottomland, hikers can explore the small glade openings and old fields in the bottomlands that hold forests of other hard woods such as sycamore, ash, elm, buckeye and walnuts. Eastern red cedar favors the lower slopes and the glades.
The usual collection of Ozark wildlife can be found here: whitetail deer, gray squirrels, opossums and raccoons are poplar game abide here in large numbers.. Piney Creek Wilderness also provides a good home and hideout for coyotes, red and gray foxes, bobcats, striped skunks and armadillos. There is also a variety of reptiles in the area, including copperheads as well as the western pigmy and eastern timber rattlesnakes. Be cautious but don’t let their presence keep you from enjoying this spectacular region. It’s also a grand site for birdwatchers, with many species of nongame birds to enjoy. Patient birdwatchers have good opportunity to see bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, great horned owls turkey vultures, great blue herons, pileated woodpeckers, crows, blue jays, titmouse, and various species of songbirds that will ensure a memorable journey. Expect also to see some of the flocks of wild turkeys that thrive here.
Five maintained trails totaling 13.1 miles traverse the Wilderness with portions rambling along old forest roads and others being newly constructed. Piney Creek is accessible from several directions. Travel west from Branson about 32 miles or east from Cassville about 20 miles and follow Lake Road 76-6 to reach the Pine view Tower Trailhead from the north. Highway 39 and Lake Road 39-1 will lead you to the southern boundary of the Wilderness.
Posted in
Hiking on March 14th, 2011
The Hercules Glade Wilderness-which some claim is Missouri’s finest wilderness area-is a 12,315-acre area east of Branson that features huge glades and a beautiful creek with many small waterfalls. Located in the eastern section of Taney County, Hercules Glade also offers a combination of open grassland, forested knobs, steep rocky hillsides, and narrow drainages that delight nature lovers and solitude seekers from around the world. Hiking, camping and horseback riding is allowed.
The terrain is characterized by shallow droughty soils and limestone rock outcroppings, with stately oak and Eastern red cedar trees standing guard over open glades of waving prairie grasses.
A variety of wildlife species call the Glades their home, including whitetail deer, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, quail, numerous songbirds, small lizards and snakes. (Copperheads and rattlesnakes may be encountered, so it’s wise to be on the lookout.) You’ll also be offered the chance to see roadrunners, collared lizards and tarantulas (non-poisonous variety) to add to the adventure.
Hercules Glades has long been recognized for its special qualities. The elevation range exceeds 600 feet between the high points, such as Pilot Knob and Coy Bald and the bottom of Long Creek. The Glade’s Long and Cane Creeks contain water only portions of the year. It was designated a Wilderness in Public Law 94-557, October 1976, and is managed under the provisions of the Wilderness Act of 1964. It is one of eight designated wildernesses in Missouri, seven of which are part of the
Posted in
Hiking on March 14th, 2011
The enormous 1.5 million-acres Mark Twain National Forest that’s scattered over 29 counties in southern and central Missouri does grand justice to its famed namesake.
Clear spring-fed rivers and streams, rocky bluffs, pastoral views and trails shaded by massive oak and hickory trees beckon visitors to explore and enjoy the beauty of the renowned Ozarks. Springtime and early summer offers special treats of blooming dogwood, redbud, serviceberry along with one of the largest collection of plants and wildflowers to be found anywhere in the United States. Autumn brings forth the vivid foliage of maples, smoke trees, oaks and hickories.
There are many choices of scenery and adventure for travelers in the Mark Twain National Forest as it sprawls from the wooded hills and hollows of the St. Francois Mountains in the southeast to dry rocky glades in the southwest. From the north it stretches from the fertile prairie lands along the Missouri River to bald-knobbed mountains in the south that are among the nation’s oldest.
Two especially scenic sections of the national forest—Piney Creek Wilderness and Hercules Glades Wilderness—lie within an easy drive from Branson. Both have excellent trails that meander through some of the most dramatic scenery to be found in Ozark Mountain Country. www.Mark Twain National Forest.com for regulations and permit requirements.
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| Phone: 1-800-768-3892 · Address: 1294 State Hwy 248 Branson, MO. 65616 |
