OHT: Section 2 —White Rock Mountain to Cherry Bend / Hwy 23

Dogs Unknown

Features Birding · Commonly Backpacked · Fall Colors · Historical Significance · River/Creek · Spring · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

• Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT)

Check with the Forest service for fall hunting season & wear orange!
Free camping along the trail (Please practice LNT!)

Following the official naming of segments, number two starts at the very popular White Rock Mountain campground and roller-coasters up and down the mountain ridges.

About 6 mi in at OHT mile 23.5 you enter Spirits Creek and follow the bench beside it for a mile or two. There are tons of wildflowers in the spring and waterfalls year round. The bluffs weep water as you walk under them, around moss covered rocks, and dreamy pools. During wet periods, there are lots and lots of waterfalls; during the winter you'll find big ice flows too. A truly moving experience and a great area to spend time! Tim Ernst says in his guidebook "As you look around, you are looking at some of the most rugged country in the Ozarks. There are ferns, giant trees, lush mosses, and lots of waterfalls during the wet season. I've been told that it's places like this where God hangs out".

After leaving the creek and around mile 26, you'll follow the Combs to Cass spur of a historical old railroad bed (c 1900) that ran from Fayetteville to St. Paul and hauled timber out of the area. You might spy the trestle pilings even today.

At the end of this section, the trail passes by the historical rockhouse shelter that was built at the turn of the century and inhabited by various logging families.

Fall colors on this trail are astounding. Best time is mid to late November. Ferns & wildflowers of all sorts, white oak, black gum, sweet gum elms, oaks, black jacks, and beeches among many others.

Deer, squirrels, birds (notably eagles, hawks, and owls), black bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and even wolves are present along the entire trail