Lakeside Forest Wilderness Area is located in the heart of downtown Branson Missouri. Situated just north of Lake Taneycomo, the 140 acre park offers 5.3 miles of hiking trails that can be enjoyed by locals and visitors to Branson Missouri.

Table Rock State Park in Branson, Missouri bills itself as Branson’s Natural Getaway. I’m hiking the Red Trail which is a 2.9 mile loop hike in the White River Valley Trail System through out the Missouri State Park.

Designated a National Natural Landscape in 1974, the Trail Through Time in Pickle Springs Natural Area might be Missouri’s most scenic 2 mile hiking trail.

My trio of Kansas City hikes concludes with a trip to Fleming Park beside Lake Jacomo to hike the Rock Ledges Loop Trails, two trails that form a 3.1 mile hike atop and below a ledge of lovely rock formations.

Wudchuck Run Trail is a 5 mile loop trail past limestone bluffs and through the gently rolling Missouri woods in Kansas City’s Swope Park, the crown jewel in KC’s park system.

Old Kate and White Tail Loop trail circle throughout Parkville Nature Sanctuary past a waterfall, across a boardwalk standing tall over Alloe Creek, and up to the highest point in the sanctuary. This short 2.6 mile combination loop trail takes hikers past all the nature, wildlife, and history Parkville Nature Sanctuary has to offer.

I’m back hiking Rocky Falls Shut-Ins to Klepzig Mill, and this time I completed the hike! It’s rare for a Missouri hiking trail to have three very distinct points of interest throughout the hike, but Rocky Falls to Klepzig Mill lives up to the challenge.

Greer Spring is Missouri’s second largest spring pumping out 220 million gallons of water per day from Greer Spring Cave. The spring is a short 0.8 mile hike down into a ravine from the Greer Spring Trailhead, for a total out and back hike of 1.7 miles.

Probably one of the most visually stunning continuous sections of trail in Missouri, the hike from Millstream Gardens to Silver Mines Recreation Area offers breathtaking views of Tiemann Shut-Ins along the St. Francis River and the beautiful granite and felsite rock formations of Silver Mines.

Closing out my trip to Rock Bridge Memorial State Park I'm hiking Deer Run Trail, which is a 3.8 mile loop trail along the northern boarder of the park. The highlight of Deer Run Trail is the section that runs along side Little Bonne Femme Creek about half way into the hike.

High Ridge Trail is a beautiful trail along one of the highest ridge lines of Rock Bridge Memorial State Park in Columbia, Missouri. The trail winds through native grasslands offering scenic views of the surrounding hills.

I set out on one of the coldest winter days of the year to hike Rocky Falls to Klepzig Mill. Unfortunately I didn't complete the hike. I did however experience a frozen Rocky Falls, one of the best waterfalls in Missouri.

Devil’s Icebox and Sinkhole Trail leads hikers through the park's most prominent features: Devil’s Icebox, Connor’s Cave, the many sinkholes that dot the park, and ultimately the namesake Rock Bridge. It’s not often a trail features two subterranean sections, but this trail does.

I'm still at Mark Twain State Park in Missouri, but this time I'm hiking Post Oak Trail and White Oak Trail which is a 2.7 mile loop trail that runs along the shoreline of Mark Twain Lake.

The Dogwood Trail is a roughly 2.5 mile lolli-pop loop hiking trail that runs along the banks of Mark Twain Lake and through the mature oak-hickory woodland of Mark Twain State Park in Missouri.

I head to Ha Ha Tonka State Park in Central Missouri to hike to the ruins of a 20th century Castle and get treated to classic Missouri glades and a beautiful bluff view of the Lake of the Ozarks on the Castle and Quarry Loop Trail.

Hike to Missouri’s tallest mountain, Missouri’s tallest waterfall, and the Devil’s Toll Gate all in one 5 mile hike. If there was one hike to showcase all the beauty the Missouri outdoors has to offer, Mina Sauk Falls to Devil’s Toll Gate is probably it.

The fun, but tongue-twisty task of speaking “Cuivre River” won’t be the only enjoyment on this 7.4 mile hike as the Cuivre River South Loop Trail offers unobstructed bluff views and a rugged Ozark mountain feel that’s rare in the predominantly agricultural landscape of northern Missouri.

This week I head to Sam A. Baker State Park in Missouri to hike the Shut-Ins Trail to the top of Mudlick Mountain (1,313 feet). It’s the end of October and the Missouri fall colors were in full effect on this midwest hiking trail. Along the trail there is one beautiful Missouri bluff view, three historic stone camping shelters, and an active fire tower atop Mudlick Mountain.

Today I’m hiking Swimming Deer Trail at St. Francois State Park just outside of Bonne Terre, Missouri about an hour south of St. Louis. Swimming Deer Trail may not offer the best bluff views in Missouri, but it is a Missouri hiking trail that offers several unobscured bluff views of the Big River.