Ozark Trail: Eleven Point Section | Day 1
Ozark Trail Through Hike | Eleven Point Section | Day 1
My Ozark Trail Through Hike Gear List
My wife Abby dropped me off at the Eleven Point Terminus, the southern tip of Missouri’s Ozark Trail. As she drove off back to St. Louis, I shouldered my pack and began my 18 day solo through hike of Missouri’s longest trail system.
Eleven Point Section (Miles 28.6 to 12)
Day 1 - October 14, 2024
Western Trailhead to McCormack Lake
Rate: Difficult | Traffic: Low
Distance: 19.5mi | Elevation Gain: 1,696ft
View my route on AllTrails.
Ozark Trail Missouri
The Ozark Trail contains over 430 miles of trail divided into 14 mostly connected sections throughout southeast Missouri. The established thru-hike covers 8 of the connected sections and runs from Onondaga Cave State Park in Leasburg, roughly 84 miles southwest of St. Louis, to the Eleven Point Terminus near Thomasville, 23 miles north of the Arkansas border. Throw in the off-shoot Taum Sauk Section and you have nearly 300 miles of thru-hikeable trail.
My journey started at the Eleven Point Terminus at the southern end of the trail. The Ozark Trail maps are designed for hikers traveling north to south, with the eventual goal of connecting to the Ozark Highlands Trail which traverses northern Arkansas. Because we live in St. Louis, it simply made more sense to me to start at the bottom and hike back home.
Ozark Trail Trailblaze
Eleven Point Section
The Eleven Point Section, named after the Eleven Point River which it parallels, covers 28.6 miles from the Forest Road 3152 (FR-3152) Trailhead to the Western Trailhead or Eleven Point Terminus off FR-4155. I started at the Eleven Point Terminus on FR-4155, but our little Ford Focus couldn’t actually make it down the gravel road to the official trailhead, so we can round this up to a solid 29 miles of trail. Total elevation gain hiking south to north is 3100 feet.
My first day was a big one. I planned on hiking from the Eleven Point Terminus to the McCormack Lake Campground (connector trail at OT Mile 12), roughly 19.5 miles to cover. I had never hiked that many miles in a single day, much less while carrying a full 60 liter backpack. The drive down from St. Louis was 3.5 hours meaning I didn’t start hiking until around 9:30a. It was going to be a full day on the trail and I wasn’t completely confident I would make it to McCormack Lake by sundown.
Looking over McCormack Lake.
The Eleven Point Section of the Ozark Trail is thin and rather sparse in places. Several times I had to pull up AllTrails to ensure I was on the trail. There were, however, plenty of OT trail blazes to help me along the way.
To be honest there wasn’t much to look at along this stretch, a lot of what I would eventually come to call “woods-walking,” hiking under the canopy of Missouri’s mostly oak and hickory forests. I came across one mini overlook framed by the trees, and once spotted the Eleven Point River through the foliage. The main point of interest along this stretch was Bockman Spring.
Bockman Spring
Just west of OT Mile 12 the trail merges with a very overgrown forest road. The double tracks lead to a small clearing with a small trail leading into the woods. You can hear water trickling so you know the spring is close, but the reveal is like something out of a fantasy novel.
Bockman Spring is actually a cave on the side of a bluff. PVC pipes have been installed to direct the water to a small cast iron vat just outside of the cave. The cave itself is tall enough to walk into and goes back a dozen feet or so, but is closed as it’s the home to several endangered species. The overall effect of walking upon Bockman Spring is somewhat eerie. It is, however, a great spot for a break and to fill up on water (which needs to be treated).
McCormack Lake
McCormack Lake
The highlight of the hike is by far McCormack Lake. I reached the mile-long offshoot from the OT to the campground around 5:30p, giving me roughly an hour of daylight to set up camp. There were two RVs present at the campground that had claimed the lakeside spots, but I was close enough for an enjoyable first evening at a traditional campground with a fire ring, picnic table, and vaulted toilet.
My first day on the Ozark Trail was a success. I covered the most amount of miles I’d ever done in a single day and I didn’t get lost. Pretty solid start to my Ozark Trail Through Hike journey.