Hiking Trails in Public Areas
Hikers and naturalists will find many opportunities to appreciate the natural environment in Taney County. Countless trails on private property exist. Unless you have special permission from the owners, though, you should stick to the trails for public access. This piece provides directions to and descriptions of some of the more popular trails in glade areas.
"Where to Experience White River Glades"
Story and photos by Phyllis Rossiter
(reprinted from Branson Living April/May 1995: 34-38)
Glades make up about one percent of the total land area in Missouri, but in Taney County they comprised eighteen percent (about 72,000 acres). You can see examples of surviving glades almost everywhere you look in the Branson area, but for unparalleled viewing or to experience protected glades firsthand, I suggest the following locations:
Glade Top Trail
An excellent way to encounter glades is to drive the Glade Top Trail in the Mark Twain National Forest. Recently designated as an official National Forest Scenic Byway, the Glade Top Trail has been a favorite in this area for years. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, the trail is a road for all seasons in every sense. Not only is the gravel road well maintained all year, but the views from the trail change with the seasons, each spectacular in its own way.
Located only a short, scenic drive northeast of Branson, the byway offers ridgetop views of thousands of acres of glades, as well as many places to park the car and visit a glade on foot. The self-guided and well marked trail also winds through extensively forested hills and serendipitously affords unexcelled opportunities to enjoy springtime's blossoming dogwoods closeup.
The state tree of Missouri, dogwood seems especially spectacular in the Ozarks. During much of April (its timing depends largely on the fickle spring weather), the white 9" "blossoms" light the woods like candles. Great numbers of redbud trees are also along the route, although it is somewhat unusual to be treated to the blossoms of the redbud, first to bloom, and the dogwood simultaneously. Since the forest is yet leafless during dogwood time, the long-range viewing is much better than in the fall when the foliage, however colorful, still obscures many panoramas.
Glade Top Trail also boasts good views of the glade-dwelling smoke tree, sometimes called yellowwood. In Civil War times the wood was used to make a yellow dye. Found only in this area in Missouri, the smoke tree is named for the feathery blooms that cover the tree in late spring (usually late May or early June) and resemble bluish smoke from a distance. A special "vista" called the Smoke Tree Scene is maintained by the Forest Service. There large numbers of the tree can be admired.
Several more vistas, where you can park your car and get closer to the glades on foot, are provided along the trail. At most of these turnouts you will t'ind informative placards to enhance your knowledge, and therefore your en joyment, of what you are seeing around you.
The mixture of habitat-forest and glade-also makes for excellent birding along the Glade Top Trail. The best time to see birds is during the nesting season in May and June. And, of course, a springtime excursion offers the bonus of colorful wildflowers. Even if you come early for the redbud or dogwood blossoms, you will still see small wildflowers along the way if you watch for them. In later spring and early summer the glades are vibrant with color. The area is also heavily populated by deer, wild turkeys, and other wildlife.
Not far from the Arkansas View--so named because you can see the neighboring state from there--is the Caney Lookout Tower. Not only a buzzard roost, the fire tower was originally built near McClurg, some three miles north. In 1937, however, it was discovered that the tower had been built on private land. The CCC dismantled the tower and reassembled it on the present site. Once more, thanks to faulty land records, the Forest Service was informed that the tower was squarely in the middle of privately owned land. Since by this time a house and garage for the tower man and his family had already been built, the Forest Service simply purchased the 120-acre tract. A forest technician summed up the situation as "all kinds of confusion from start to finish."
Near the tower is a picnic area where you will find tables, a fire pit, primitive restrooms--and some of the finest views along the trail. Watch also for a faint path from the parking area that leads to a small but interesting cave in the hillside.
Somewhere near the Pinnacle, where local hill folk once gathered for an all-day church service on the first Sunday of every May, is "Mother" Murray's gold mine. According to legend, Mrs. Murray had a vision in which she was instructed to search for gold on the Pinnacle. Though she hired help and dug for years, she never found gold.
Also be on the lookout for Hayden Bald, a State Natural Area; Watershed Divide, the divide between Creek Watershed and the Little North Fork Watershed; and the abandoned schoolhouse at the Skyline Drive junction.
Glade Top Trail is accessible near Longrun (Hwy. 160 east of Branson to Hwy. 95), a pleasant hill-country hamlet (but with no services for travelers). If approaching from the north on Hwy. 5, you can enter the Byway about five miles south of Ava. In either case, watch for the brown Forest Service signs.
Although Glade Top Trail is well off the beaten path, at one point along the route you will be only eight miles from Bull Shoals Lake, 27 miles from Lake Taneycomo and 37 miles from Branson, the Shepherd of the Hills country, Silver Dollar City and Table Rock Lake. To traverse the entire Glade Top Trail, however, requires at least half a day. Although its length is only about 25 miles, you will drive slowly and stop often. The hills and curves that make it scenic also make for slow going. Take along your camera, binoculars, drinking water and a picnic.
For a shorter outing that also atfords exceptional dogwood viewing, choose Skyline Drive (Forest Road 149), which travels generally southwest and returns you to Hwy. 125 via Route W in Taney County. From that junction you can turn south (left) back to Hwy. 160 or turn north (right) for about six miles to Hercules Glades Wilderness along paved-but-curvy Hwy. 125.
Hercules Glades Wilderness
If you have a yen to visit Coy Bald or Pilot Knob, or just get an up-close and personal look at a wilderness glade area, visit the Hercules Glades Wilderness in Taney County north of Hwy. 160 on Hwy. 125. Some of this land, though once farmed or lumbered, was abandoned and has reverted to wilderness. A great deal of the rougher country was never settled. The combination of glades, forested knobs, steep rocky hillsides, and narrow hollows offers some of the most scenic and unique country in the Ozarks, as well as a measure of solitude within easy reach of visitors.
Designated an official wilderness in 1976, where "man himself is a visitor who does not remain," the area offers twelve miles of trails for hikers and equestrians. Since the wilderness is relatively small--about 12,000 acres--comfortable day trips are possible. Or you can park your car at the Hercules Lookout Tower just off Hwy. 125 and take a brief walk into the glades without committing to an extended hike.
The elevation of the wilderness area ranges from 700 feet on Long Creek to 1,382 feet at the site of the lookout tower. On Long Creek is a series of waterfalls that flow only in the spring and during periods of wet weather. Throughout the area small springs provide habitat for mosses, flowering plants and ferns. Many species of wildlife take advantage of the protected wilderness, including deer, racoons, rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, quail, as well as lizards and snakes. In the winter you might catch a glimpse of a bald eagle that winters on nearby Bull Shoals Lake.
True to its name, the wilderness provides a true glade experience. Some of the glades are quite large. A long-time resident of the Hercules community, the late Emmett Adams, once remembered that in 1928 his school's team met Forsyth's to play a basketball game in the latter's new gym. "The members of my team had never stood on a gym floor," he said. "We played on a glade on a large flat rock."
Access to Hercules Glades Wilderness is at the Hercules Lookout Tower about six miles south of Bradleyville and eleven miles north of Rueter on Hwy. 125. Both overnight and day visitors are requested to register; group size is limited to ten persons or less. Be sure to bring your own water and remember that no motorized vehicles or mechanical equipment are allowed.
White River Balds Natural Area
Even closer to Branson-right in the heart of the beautiful country made famous by Harold Bell Wright's The Shepherd of the Hills is the Ruth and Paul Henning State Forest. A parking area is located on the north side of Hwy. 76 about four miles northwest of Branson.
Within the state forest is the dramatic White River Balds Natural Area. Here, on 362 acres almost unbelievably near the traffic and the bustle of Hwy. 76, the visitor can experience the glades with little investment of effort. The overlook affords a good view. For those who wish to walk up the side of Dewey Bald (a locale from Wright's novel) or get closer to the uncommon smoke trees, Ashe junipers, and wildflowers, two easy trails begin there.
Although the glades dominate the landscape, other important features occur in the area. An interesting headwaters creek winds toward Roark Creek and drains Dewey Cove Hollow, the bottom of which is forested with oaks, cedars and other species of trees. More forest occurs on the high knobs above the glades.
Because of its particularly easy access, a visit to the White River Balds Natural Area is especially appropriate on a rainy or chilly day or any other time a prolonged wilderness experience doesn't appeal. Fans of The Shepherd of the Hills will gain a new understanding of that novel from a study of the landscape on which it is set. But one doesn't need to read the book to enjoy the surviving locale.
Remember that all these special glade areas are protected, but hiking, photography and observation are encouraged. For more information, including applicable regulations for use, on Glade Top Trail or Hercules Glades Wilderness, write to the District Ranger of Ava Ranger District, Mark Twain National Forest, Ava, MO 65608, or call (417) 683-4428.
For details on the White River Balds Natural Area or Ruth and Paul Henning State Forest, contact the Missouri Department of Conservation, P. O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102.
Images of glade maps and article courtesy of Gaye Lisby, Branson Living Magazine
Image of hiker from http://www/arttoday.com, member page, July 1999.
Photograph of Mark Twain Forest sign taken by Phyllis Rossiter, courtesy of Gaye Lisby, Branson Living Magazine
