Finally. I found the last of the hiking trails at Roaring River State Park last Sunday. The Fire Tower Trail is the longest of the trails in the park, and to make it a loop, an added walk along the river adds another quarter mile to the trail's distance. The trail is blazed in brown, and signage warns hikers of ticks, shifting rocks, and falling tree limbs. The grade is not too steep - certainly not as steep as the shortest trail in the collection - but the length of a consistent climb definitely gets the heart beating faster. I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. | |
I enjoyed my time on the Fire Tower trail, even though it was strenuous at times and bugs kept buzzing in my ears. I highly recommend insect repellent before taking any of the trails through the Ozarks, but I don't always take my own recommendation (and pay the price later). | The Fire Tower trail is aptly named for the tower that stands at about the halfway mark. The tower was built in the 1930s, but no longer peers above the canopy of the forest, so it an no longer be used effectively. Evidence of lightning strikes illustrates the concern for fire safety in the region, but modern responses are different now than they were 90 years ago. |