Route: Whites Creek Trailhead → Blue Spring → Shelf Cave → Current River → Rocky Falls → Klepzig Mill
Distance: 34 miles
Days: 3
Permit: No permit required
Base Weight: 10.8 lbs
Season: Early April
The Ozark Highlands Trail doesn’t get the attention of the Appalachian or Pacific Crest, but for Midwest backpackers it’s a legitimate gem. 350+ miles of trail through the Mark Twain National Forest, across the Ozark Plateau — rugged creek drainages, sandstone bluffs, crystal-clear spring-fed streams, and almost no other hikers.
I’ve done sections of the OHT twice. This spring I linked three days through the Current River corridor.
The Terrain
The Ozarks are emphatically not flat. The trail rolls constantly over chert ridges and drops into creek drainages — you’re rarely on flat ground for more than a quarter mile. The elevation changes are modest (700-1,200 ft ridges) but frequent. Expect more vertical than the numbers suggest.
The water is the defining feature. Every drainage carries clear, cold spring-fed streams — Ozark springs push millions of gallons per day from the limestone aquifer. Water is abundant everywhere, which means light pack weight (you can filter from streams constantly) and easy camp selection.
Day 1: Whites Creek to Blue Spring — 11 miles
Started at 8am on an overcast April morning, temperature in the mid-40s. The first miles follow Whites Creek upstream through a narrow hollow — the trail is well-marked with white blazes and easy to follow.
Blue Spring is the first major landmark: a blue-green pool fed by a spring pushing 90 million gallons per day from a cave system below. The color is striking even on a grey day — a deep Caribbean blue that looks transplanted from somewhere tropical. Worth the trip alone.
Camped on a gravel bar at the confluence of two branches, 11 miles in. Rain overnight — my Copper Spur handled it fine, though the drumming on the fly was loud.
Day 2: Blue Spring to Rocky Falls — 13 miles
The longest day. The trail climbs out of the spring branch drainage and crosses several ridges before dropping back to the Current River corridor.
Shelf Cave at mile 6 is a 100-foot wide sandstone overhang — used as shelter by Osage people for thousands of years and still a dramatic campsite option (I kept moving, but noted it for future trips).
Rocky Falls is a Missouri state treasure — a 40-foot rocky cascade over ancient rhyolite, one of the oldest rock formations in the Midwest. Hit it in late afternoon when the light came through the trees sideways. Camped on the bluff above the falls.
Wildlife: Multiple white-tailed deer, one armadillo (they’re expanding north), and what sounded like a bobcat screaming somewhere on the ridge at 2am.
Day 3: Rocky Falls to Klepzig Mill — 10 miles
Final day through rolling upland forest and back down to Jacks Fork tributary. Klepzig Mill is a historic grist mill site — stone foundations and a millstone remain near a beautiful swimming hole. In early April, the water was too cold to swim but the setting was perfect for lunch.
Shuttle car retrieved, 2pm at the trailhead.
Why the OHT Deserves More Attention
- No permit required — show up and go, any time
- Abundant water — you’re rarely more than a mile from a spring or clear stream
- Shoulder season friendly — April and October are ideal; summers are hot and humid, winters can be cold but manageable
- Low crowds — even on a spring weekend, I saw 4 other backpackers in 34 miles
- Accessible from St. Louis, Kansas City, Memphis — major Midwest population centers within 3-4 hours
Practical Notes
Ticks: Start tick checks daily beginning in March. The Ozarks have significant tick populations — permethrin-treat clothing before the trip.
Water: Abundant but treat everything. The karst geology means agricultural runoff can contaminate springs. Sawyer Squeeze worked perfectly.
Navigation: The white blazes are generally reliable but carry a downloaded Gaia GPS track. A few junctions have faded blazes.
Shuttle logistics: The OHT is a linear trail, which means car shuttles or hitching. The Current River section described here has a reasonable shuttle between trailheads — coordinate in advance.