Bell Mountain Wilderness - US Forest Service
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 37.62568, -90.91112
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| Highway A Parking Lot |
TRAIL MAP:
Bell Mountain Wilderness Trails - US Forest Service
HIKE DISTANCE: 12.3 miles
THE HIKE:
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| The 390-mile Ozark Trail passes through the parking lot. |
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| In a short distance the trail crosses Highway A ... |
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| ... and heads uphill. |
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| After severe thunderstorms complete with tornado sirens overnight, part of the trail was a flowing creek. |
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| Leaving the Ozark Trail on towards Bell Mountain to the left. |
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| At the Bell Mountain Trail loop we went counter clockwise. |
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| Just after these concrete blocks ... |
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| ... we worked our way around to the right past several campsites to some views. |
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This was the only view we were able to see since the main view was occupied by over a dozen tethered horses and their riders. Talk about hogging an overlook. Very poor trail etiquette. |
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| Even worse was the mess all those horses made. Horses are allowed but over a dozen at one time and after 1-2 inches of rain overnight? The trail was a sloppy mess chunked up by horse hooves. |
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| I was thrilled to see they had come up from a different trailhead as that is the direction the hoof damage went. |
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| Nice smooth trail on the far side of the mountain that apparently not many visit. |
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| There are many, many downed trees but those who had ventured this way had started paths around the blow downs so they were all passable. |
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| The trail descended to creek crossings, mostly rock hoppable even after the rain. |
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| This one crossing looked dicey - wasn't sure I wanted to try that mass of logs and leaves, so I broke out the water shoes and waded over. |
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| Two times I had a hard time finding the trail after a water crossing and that was because of blow-downs but looking beyond those, I was able to regain the trail in both instances. |
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| Ascending back up the mountain. |
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| This was the only marker I saw the entire time. The Bell Mountain Trail is otherwise unmarked. |
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| Finishing the loop and retracing back down. |
Wildflowers seen on the hike:
- Black-and-white Warbler
- Carolina Chickadee
- American Goldfinch
- Northern Parula
- Yellow-throated Vireo
