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Woodland Trail -- 6 miles -- hiking and backpacking
Get away to the wild area and hike this moderate trail into the changing world of Patterson Hollow. Where early homesteaders once carved out farms, you can now watch each new season bring quiet beauty as the landscape reclaims itself. This trail passes through a 1,275-acre protected area known as Patterson Hollow Wild Area. The trail is marked in a counter-clockwise direction with blue markers. Two connector trails, marked with white arrows, allow the hiker to choose a two, four or six-mile hike. A primitive backpack camp is located along the trail for overnight hikers. Hikers often spot deer, wild turkey, pileated woodpeckers and American woodcocks. In the spring, flowering dogwoods abound filling the understory with cool pastel color. The canopy of oak-hickory forest displays warm blazes of color during the autumn months. A fen, where cold spring water oozes from a hillside, can also be seen along the trail. Fens provide a cool, moist, constant environment for specialized plants to survive in. The solitude of the wild area can provide a wonderful experience for those interested in observing nature or in seeking the peacefulness of a few quiet hours. The trailhead is located behind the information center on Hwy. 134.
Bluestem Knoll Trail -- .75 mile -- hiking
Grasslands once covered the ridge tops and south slopes of the Osage River Hills. With the help of humans, fire creates this delicate mosaic between the prairies of the west and the forests of the east. This moderate loop trail is marked in a clockwise direction with yellow markers with a second entry across the road from the trail information center. Two white connectors allow this trail to be broken into one-half-mile loops. The tall native grasses and scattered trees resemble the landscape found by settlers arriving in Missouri over two centuries ago. The seas of grasses, known as savannas, were common here, where wildfires started by Native Americans swept over the land. Frequent fires kept the savannas free of brush and young trees, sparing mature trees with their thick bark that provided protection from the scorching heat. Grasses and wildflowers flourished in the sunlight and ash-enriched soil. Bluestem Knoll Savanna is part of an effort by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to restore native landscapes. Bluestem Knoll provides a glimpse into Missouri’s past, and a view of the future. Further restoration efforts in this park plan to restore more of these savannas and the amazing abundance of life found within them. The trailhead for Bluestem Knoll Trail is located on Hwy. 134 just south of the park office.
Trail of Four Winds -- 16.5 miles -- hiking, backpacking, bicycling and equestrian
Take the challenge and view the vistas. Hike, bicycle or ride horseback through some of the most scenic and challenging landscapes in the park. The trailhead for this rugged trail is located on Hwy. 134, 1.2 miles past the trail information center. Equestrian parking is located on one side of the highway while parking for all-terrain bicycles and hikers is on the other. The red outer loop is marked in a clockwise direction with red arrows and blazes and travels 13.0 miles back to the trailhead. Several connectors marked with white arrows and blazes allow the user to choose the distance traveled. After traveling down the first white connector, you have a choice of staying to the left for 3.2 miles or following the split to the right up to the overlook and make the trail six miles back to the trailhead. The second white connector brings the user back across a gravel road to the trailhead for a total of 5.5 miles. If the user were to travel the entire route including all connectors it would be a total of 16.5 miles. Hikers and horseback riders may lengthen their journey by using this trail to connect to the two-mile Squaw’s Revenge Trail marked with green.
This trail winds through oak-hickory forest, open grasslands and bottomland hardwoods. Such diversity provides stunning views of the lake, an old quarry, rock formations and a glimpse of Grand Glaize Marsh. A wooden boardwalk leads to a lookout platform positioned atop a rocky outcrop, providing a scenic view of the forested valley below.
Squaw's Revenge Trail -- 2 miles -- hiking and equestrian
Marked with green arrows and blazes in a clockwise direction, this moderate loop trail takes hikers or horseback riders through forested hills to bluff tops above the lake. The trail is also used for a portion of the Trail of Four Winds, which is marked with red arrows and blazes. Be aware of the signs to keep you on the correct trail. Squaw’s Revenge Trail is used for regularly scheduled horseback rides, so if you meet a group of riders, please move off the trail, stand quietly and let them pass. The trailhead is located behind the Ozark Homestead Riding Stables.
Forest cover and access to the water of the lake makes this area home for a variety of wildlife. Deer and squirrels are often seen from the trail. Turkey vultures and red-tailed hawks circle on the warm air currents rising from the faces of the bluffs along the trail. From these bluffs, the view of the Grand Glaize Arm of the Lake of the Ozarks is breathtaking at any time of the year. This trail passes in the same path as an old Civil War supply road. A group of Confederate soldiers carrying supplies on this road fell to a nighttime Union ambush during the war. The soldiers were buried in a small family cemetery in the Glaize Valley, and the trail now passes by this cemetery. Notice the yucca, or spanish bayonet, planted among the gravestones. This plant is not native to Missouri, but was often used at cemeteries, homesteads and other settlement sites. Even when buildings are long gone, the surviving yucca can reveal the past presence of settlers.
Fawn's Ridge Trail -- 2 miles -- hiking 
Walk, watch and listen as you take a stroll through wildlife road. This easy trail, marked with yellow arrows and blazes, consists of a .5 mile point to point portion designed to be accessible to people with disabilities or families with small children in strollers. The remainder is a 1.5-mile loop trail beginning near the picnic area trailhead and has a natural surface. Trailheads are located along Hwy. 34 across from the picnic area and next to the campground gatehouse. This trail winds along the side of a wooded ridge and circles a hilltop. It crosses small draws, where water flows on its way to the lake during heavy rains. The treetops are alive with songbirds in the early morning. Throughout the day, the forest floor rustles with the scurrying of broadhead skinks, five-lined skinks and fence lizards. Fallen logs along the trail provide hiding places for salamanders, snakes and other small animals. On dewy mornings, the moisture reveals the invisible threads of spider webs in the vegetation. As the name suggests, white-tailed deer are common here. During the daytime, deer often bed down in just such an area. By resting in the middle of a slope, deer are able to see and smell in all directions.
For those looking for an easy hike, the loop setup of Fawn’s Ridge provides several options. For those desiring a longer hike, this trail connects to Lake View Bend trail near the gatehouse trailhead. Watch carefully for trail markers.
Lake View Bend Trail -- 1.5 miles -- hiking
Towering limestone bluffs and steep rocky slopes, now serving as your handrail, were once etched by the Grand Glaize Creek and today, contain a reservoir teaming with life. This 1.5-mile moderate loop hiking trail, marked with blue arrows and blazes, provides access to the amphitheater, beach and campgrounds 3 and 4. The trailhead is located at the campground gatehouse with entries into campgrounds 3 and 4.
The first portion of the loop passes along the base of steep cliffs near the lake and offers the best views of the water. These bluffs were formed not by the lake, but by the erosive action of the Grand Glaize Creek before the lake was created. Despite the rockiness of the soil, in the springtime a wealth of wildflower species decorates the ground here. From March through May, this trail offers some of the best wildflower viewing in the park. Through the trees, hikers may catch a glimpse of a great blue heron fishing, or ducks feeding near the shore. Sunlight flooding the steep slope and an abundance of basking rocks make this a popular spot for reptiles as well. Dozens of lizards dart along the trail’s edge. Snakes find this area suitable as well; if you are quiet you may see the flash of an eastern yellowbelly racer speeding off through the leaves. Campers and anglers, who find the access to the shore very profitable, enjoy this trail. If you wish to make your hike longer, this trail also connects to Fawn’s Ridge Trail near the gatehouse.
Rocky Top Trail -- 3 miles -- hiking
Imagine why we call it Ozark Highlands while clamoring across the layers of dolomite that formed Rocky Top Glade. This moderate hiking trail, marked with yellow arrows and blazes, is a figure eight, beginning at the Grand Glaize Beach recreation area, with each loop being 1.5 miles long. The first loop carries you through the most diverse glade in the park and along savanna and dry woodland slopes and back along a cove of the lake. The second loop carries you through a rich north-facing slope out to the lake overlook atop a towering bluff, then back across one of the many ridge tops characteristic of the Osage River Hills. Wildlife such as six-lined racerunners (a typical glade lizard), field sparrows, indigo buntings and possibly the harmless Missouri tarantula can be seen along the trail.
Honey Run Trail -- 2.5 miles -- hiking
This 2.5-mile, rugged loop trail, marked in yellow, begins and ends just north of the service area between Ozark Caverns and McCubbins Point. This trail is marked in a counter-clockwise direction, leading the visitor along the dry forested slopes and into Honey Run valley. With drenching rains, these same rocky slopes will carry water into the valley making its way to the Lake of the Ozarks.
Coakley Hollow Trail -- 1 mile -- hiking and interpretive
This one-mile, self-guiding interpretive trail begins and ends at Ozark Caverns. A boardwalk provides access to Coakley Hollow Fen, a designated Missouri Natural Area. Also featured along this moderate trail is a natural glade and a dam and mill site. Self-guiding trail booklets are available at the Ozark Caverns visitor center and trailhead.
Shady Ridge Trail -- 1 mile -- hiking
This moderate trail, marked in a counter-clockwise direction with red arrows and blazes, winds along the lakeshore below a small glade and connects with an old road at the fishing access. The trail provides a connection from the Grand Glaize Beach area to the Pa He Tsi area. Users can choose to take the .75 mile loop trail, which carries them back across the oak-hickory ridge to the trailhead, which is located at the Grand Glaize Beach boat launch.
Lake Trail -- 1 mile -- hiking
This one-mile, easy loop trail, marked with green arrows and blazes, provides the camper cabin user with a short hike along the shoreline and back across the gravel road. The trailhead is located near the Outpost cabins.
Aquatic Trail -- interpretive
A self-guided aquatic trail, marked with buoys, has been developed on the Grand Glaize Arm of the lake. This trail is designed for boaters interested in learning about features along the shoreline. The self-guiding booklet for this trail is available in the park office.
If you have any questions concerning the trails or wild area, please contact park staff at 573-348-2694. To receive a copy of the park's trail brochure, e-mail us your mailing address.
