Top Backpacking Trails in Missouri

Backpacking in Missouri happens mostly in the Ozarks, and the trips on this site fall into three groups: sections of the Ozark Trail, wilderness areas in the Mark Twain National Forest, and a handful of state parks with backcountry camps. Expect forested ridges and hollows cut by creeks and springs, with rocky glades, bluffs, and, in the St. Francois Mountains, old igneous knobs such as Taum Sauk Mountain, the state’s highest point. Trips range from the 3.4-mile Woodland Trail at Lake of the Ozarks State Park to the 48-mile Courtois Section, with loops like the Bell Mountain Wilderness Loop and the Whites Creek Trail in the Irish Wilderness in between.

Camping rules vary by managing agency. The Forest Service allows dispersed camping without a permit, Missouri State Parks requires every backpacker to register and often limits camping to designated sites, and the National Park Service lets Ozark Trail hikers camp in Ozark National Scenic Riverways without a fee or reservation. Several state parks ban campfires.

Several sources behind these pages point to spring, fall, and winter. Summer brings heat, ticks, and chiggers, and creeks and waterfalls such as Long Creek Falls can run dry. Unbridged creek crossings rise quickly after rain. Deer seasons run from September into January, and the Missouri Department of Conservation says black bears live mainly in the southern Ozarks. In 2026, tornado damage still closes the southern end of the Ozark Trail’s Current River Section, so check alerts before you go.