Category: Missouri Federal

Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge
Originally called “Squaw Creek”, the refuge provides “feeding and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. The refuge includes 7,440 acres of wetlands, grasslands, and forests along the eastern edge of the Missouri River floodplain.”  Map   Phone 660-442-3187 Brochure   Here is the Refuge website.   
Mike Callow Memorial Trail is “one-half-mile, out-and-back paved trail…. [which] skirts the edge of the loess hill woodlands and extends to the foothills of the loess hill.  The trail starts at the visitor parking lot.”

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
Mingo NWR encompasses 21,592 acres and lies in a basin formed in an ancient abandoned channel of the Mississippi River in southeast Missouri.
Here is the Refuge website.     Phone 573-222-3589
Swampwalk Nature trail:  described in Wikipedia: ” a one-mile (1.6-km) loop trail through the bottomland hardwood swamp. A self-guided pamphlet of the trail is available at the Boardwalk parking lot. The path is wheelchair accessible.”  The refuge’s website does not state that the boardwalk is wheelchair accessible, but says the trail “… meanders 0.8 miles through the bottomland hardwood forest. Observation decks at the Monopoly Overlook, Rockhouse Marsh, and Red Mill Drive, offer outstanding views of the Mingo Basin and its wildlife.”  You might want to call ahead to be sure of the accessibility.

 

Mark Twain National Forest
Mark Twain NF encompasses 1.5 million acres.  Sections of the Ozark Trail wind through the forest and there are more than 350 miles of perennial streams, suitable for floating canoeing and kayaking.
Here is the Forest website.  Phone 573-364-4621  Call or write for copies of their brochures.  Here is a brochure from 2010.
   Pine Lake Trail  in the Poplar Bluff Ranger District.  The trail “starts within the Pinewoods Lake Recreation Area, and circles Pinewoods Lake. Three-quarters of a mile of this easy 1.3-mile trail has a concrete surface and is barrier-free; the rest of the trail has native surfacing. The entire trail is relatively flat, with no difficult sections. Circling the lake, the trail provides views of the lake, songbirds, and wildlife, and an abundance of wildflowers….”
White Oak Trail is a 1 1/2 mile loop from the Float Camp picnic area’s parking lot.  Very helpful staff member called me back and said that it is probably too steep for a wheelchair user alone, although someone could possibly push a chair around it.  There are some water bars that might be difficult to negotiate.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways  
The Ozark National Scenic Riverways protects the river system which includes the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers as well as hundreds of freshwater springs, caves, trails and historic sites.  Phone 573-323-4236   Trails   Accessibility
Map of Big Spring Trail System     Website    
Lick Log Trail: “1 mile loop trail—easy with no steep grades.  Trailhead is located off Fox Pen Road (County Road 205) about two miles north of Eminence on Route 19. …… This hike offers a wide range of Ozark habitats from an upland forest of oak-pine to dolomite glades, Rhyolite glades, fens (wetlands), and igneous “shut-ins”—each with unique flora and fauna.”
 Welch Spring Trail: 0.8 miles round trip, off Hwy. K north of Akers.  Described as an “easy walk from the trailhead parking area north along a rock/earth impoundment out to Welch Spring—which emits 78.2 million gallons of crystal clear water a day from a cave at the base of a limestone cliff.”   Review by AllTrails
Slough Trail:1.2 miles round trip. “An easy stroll that begins just north of the ‘Big Spring”.  The trail goes through a stand of cane and a riparian forest along the slough.  Described by Waymarking.com