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Trail of the Month Program
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Hikers' Comments on Boardwalk Trail
Big Oak Tree State Park

	Month Hiked	Comments from participants of the 2007 Trail of the Month Program
	October 2007	It was a pleasant and easy walk on a metal boardwalk. Leave the pets and walking sticks at home. The new metal boardwalks are not user-friendly to either one.
	September 2007	The trees are huge! Take plenty of bug spray for late in the day. Careful on loose parts of the boardwalk.
	July 2007	This is a unique trail on a metal boardwalk. This trail takes you past a number of champion trees. Make sure you hike to the end to see them all and the marsh.
	June 2007	This is some of the most unique wild land in Missouri. It's as if you stepped through a porthole into Louisiana. The metal boardwalk is interesting. It allows hikers to walk into a marsh without actually walking in the marsh.
	June 2007	You gotta see these big trees. They are huge! The walk is a terrific walk with a little one in a stroller, as it's elevated above the floor of the forest. We saw lots of snakes sunning themselves in the trees.
	June 2007	Keep an eye out for the snakes lying in the tree branches in the swampy part of the trail. They were really cool. We also saw turtles in the water.
	June 2007	You have to experience the size of the trees for yourself. Words can't describe just how big they really are.
	June 2007	The elevated walkway is a great idea and it provides a fantastic close-up look into this rare Missouri wetland forest. The towering, prize-winning oaks were very impressive. Our two dogs didn't mind the steel walk at all. The giant bamboo and huge stalks of poison ivy show how rich the soil is. Beware: the nearby Bottomland Trail is completely overgrown with poison ivy.
	June 2007	Wow - this is an amazing trail with all the towering tress among the swamp land. We only saw one other person while we were hiking this trail. Be careful if you hike this trail after it's been raining -- the steel walkway gets a little slippery when wet. I had been wanting to visit this park for over a year and the trail program gave us all the more reason to go. It's well worth the long drive to get here.
	June 2007	Walk this trail to the end of the boardwalk, and enjoy the sights and sounds. This is a very interesting area, and you would never know its back there!
	June 2007	Fantastic flora and fauna. Lots of big trees. Best nature boardwalk I've seen (although it's a metal grating). Great place just to sit back and listen. Use insect repellent...giant flies. Take a minute to view the nearby lake.
	May 2007	The trail is on an elevated metal walkway. During your walk, you will see some of the biggest trees in Missouri and end up in a swamp. We saw several tiny frog and four snakes laying on logs in the swamp. I looked them up and I believe they were Mississippi green water snake or yellow-bellied water snake.
	May 2007	It's all flat, so an easy trail. Interesting scenery of the large trees and the swamp that you walk over on the boardwalk.
	May 2007	This was our second time to visit Big Oak Tree Park and the Boardwalk Trail. Both visits were amazing. This tail is very nice and maintained. We saw several snakes along the path lying on the logs in the water. There were also a lot of large frogs, some were sitting and others swimming through the water. This is very relaxing and fun trail.