The bottom line is that hiking is great for families, and the more you get young kids on the trail, the better. Before you know it, they’ll be ready to shoulder a load on an overnight trek. Get started planning your trip by exploring our trail offerings or using our Trip Planner tool. I also liked how my head wasn’t directly beside the door, which often occurs for an end-door tent.
Camp at Highway DD trailhead near the section’s start or Harper Spring around the 15 mile-mark. Here’s another AWESOME thing about the Ozark Trail Atka day pack. It’s sized to fit every airline’s carry-on size requirements. My son and daughter each took one of these on a trip through Europe and they carried it on every plane, train, and bus they rode without any problems. It’s also small enough that it wasn’t inconvenient for them to have it with them everyday. Be aware, this is a daypack, intended for lighter loads and shorter distances.
I’m on the Application Trail right now for the last 30 days and am 100% happy so far. Within those first 2 days, I found the brakes, drivetrain, and tires tapped ozark trail chair out on steep ascents and descents that were 50% gravel and 50% golf-to-baseball-sized rocks. This terrain was well beyond the limits of these components.
The set-up was understandably a few steps shorter, which is always nice when setting up in the dark. More than once in the dark I’ve attached a rain fly upside down and we had to restart that particular step. This tent was close to foolproof when it came to the rain fly because it was already connected. While the Ozark Trail doesn’t run directly through any towns, hikers may access options for resupply and services along the way, including the locales below.
Enjoy views of the Ozark landscape as you gain 500 feet of elevation up 2.5 miles to the top of Stegall Mountain. Camp out at the top overnight, catching a glimpse of a full sky of stars if it’s clear. After Middle Fork, head into the 29-mile Karkaghne section, which mixes sweeping wetland prairies and ridge-lined valley views through the Sutton Bluff Recreation Area. Keep an eye out for a short spur trail between Sutton Bluff campground and Highway TT which leads to Grasshopper Hollow, the largest fen (peat-forming wetland) in non-glaciated North America. The only thing I might add is a liner for wet days, like a small plastic trash bag. I can’t imagine loading this up with a lot of bulky, heavy items.