Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Missouri / Missouri State Parks

Lake of the Ozarks State Park: Woodland Trail

Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Missouri State Parks (Kaiser)

Lake of the Ozarks State Park has a long list of trails, but backpacking there comes down to one trail and one campsite. The park map says the blue-blazed Woodland Trail “is the only trail in the park where backpacking is allowed,” a 3.4-mile loop through the 1,275-acre Patterson Hollow Wild Area.

It’s a short trip suited to a first night out or a quick overnight, with a single designated backpack camp.

The hike

The park map rates the Woodland Trail moderate and estimates about two and a half hours to hike the 3.40-mile loop. It describes Patterson Hollow Wild Area as native woodland “without any man-made intrusions,” with flowering dogwoods in spring and fall color in autumn. It recommends a topographic map and a compass or GPS, and its trail table lists steep grades over 10 percent, bridges or structural crossings, and water crossings without bridges.

The Outbound’s listing, added by Payton Bartlett, describes the loop as about 3.25 miles with 295 feet of gain from a starting elevation of 850 feet, and about an hour and a half of hiking. The trailhead has a bathroom and a building with trail information, and the guide reminds you to “fill out a registration card at the trail head before starting.” A quarter mile in, the trail splits and the guide goes right; after another quarter mile you enter the wild area, where “no man made structures are allowed to be built.” The backpack camp is 1.75 miles in, with “a campfire pit and some logs for sitting next to it,” though the park now bans campfires (see Camping). The guide warns that “the trail is fairly rough so a sturdy pair of hiking boots is a must.”

The park’s trail page directs visitors to its Park and Site Status Map for temporary closures, and lists tick, firewood, and cave advisories. A park notice for a managed deer hunt on Dec. 7 and 8 (year not stated) closes the main campground, beach shelter, boat ramp, marina, and several other trails, but not the Woodland Trail, and says backcountry camping remains available.

For a longer state-park loop with several designated camps, see the Wilderness Trail at Meramec State Park.

Tips

Camping

Camping is limited to one designated site along the Woodland Trail, and only backpackers may use it, according to the park’s registration page. Backpackers must register before starting. The maximum group at the site is seven. “Campfires are prohibited. Stoves must be used for cooking.” Checkout is 2 p.m. on the day of departure.

Inside Intel: There is only one site, so no camper accounts comparing sites were found. The Outbound describes it, 1.75 miles in, as having a fire pit and log seating.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Your first night in Patterson Hollow:

With one camp less than two miles in, the Woodland Trail is an easy place to find out whether your sleeping bag is warm enough.

Read the full guide →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.