Dogwood Trail at Mark Twain State Park: Hiking Missouri
Hiking Dogwood Trail in Missouri’s Mark Twain State Park
Located in the northern half of Missouri next to the small town of Florida, Missouri - the birthplace of Mark Twain (real name: Samuel L. Clemens) - sits Mark Twain State Park. Established in 1924, Mark Twain State Park is Missouri’s third oldest state park. The Dogwood Trail is a roughly 2.5 mile lolli-pop loop trail that runs along the banks of Mark Twain Lake and through the mature oak-hickory woodland of the Missouri outdoors.
Dogwood Trail
Type: Lolli-Pop Loop | Rate: Easy / Moderate | Traffic: Moderate | Distance: 2.5mi | Elevation Gain: 154ft
Hike along the shoreline of Mark Twain Lake and through the beautiful oak-hickory forest of Mark Twain State Park.
View this hike on AllTrails.
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Mark Twain State Park
The Dogwood Trail in Mark Twain State Park begins at the Buzzard’s Roost picnic area and traverses through the southeast portion of the park. The beautiful stonework of the picnic shelter and the overlook of Mark Twain Lake was built in 1942 by Company 1743 of the Civilian Conservation Corp, an African American company. Take note when using the AllTrails hiking app that the Dogwood Trail actually crosses the road at the 1.2 mile mark continuing through the Missouri woods before looping back around.
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Dogwood Trail
Solo hiking the Dogwood Trail in Mark Twain State Park is a relatively short and easy to moderate Missouri hiking trail. The highlight is a point roughly 0.8 miles into the hike that sticks out into Mark Twain Lake offering beautiful views. There happens to be an ideally placed log at this spot which serves as the perfect viewing bench.
Dogwood Trail: Trail Review
Overall I really enjoyed my visit to Mark Twain State Park. It was definitely worth the 2 hour drive from St. Louis. The Dogwood Trail is a lovely Missouri hiking trail, and to be out there hiking on a cold and windy day made for a beautiful Missouri hiking adventure!
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Hiking Gear List
Jacket - Patagonia Nano Puff Hoodie
Beanie - Ope Outdoors Chunky Knit Beanie
Long Sleeve Shirt - REI Co-op Midweight Base Layer
T-Shirt - REI Co-op Sahara T-Shirt
Pants - Wrangler ATG Fleece Lined Pants
Underwear - REI Co-op Everyday Boxer Briefs
Shoes - The North Face VECTIV Fastpack FUTURELIGHT Hiking Shoes
Pack - REI Co-op Flash 22 Pack
Water Bottle - REI Co-op Nalgene 1L
Camera Gear List
Camera - Sony a6400
SD Card - ScanDisk Extreme Pro 128 GB 200 MB/s
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