Originally I went here to hike the Turkey Pen Hollow Trail but it was closed due to a controlled burn. So I took in some of the other trails and still managed to get in about 6 miles. When coming into the park at the main entrance there is a bathroom at the visitor’s center.
On the Dell Rim Trail you can climb the stairs and see the water tower structure which is the only thing still standing after it was burned. I followed the yellow trail (Colosseum Trail) around and saw the natural bridge and then moved over to the Carriage house and Castle ruins. Then I followed the Quarry trail around until I came to the red trail and followed it back up to the parking area.
Then I drove over and parked by the Post Office. (There is a outhouse style bathroom here). In the shelter there are game boards burned into the table tops.
I followed the Springs trail around and then down to the water and passed the Island Trail. This trail appeared to climb straight up and there were several people on it at this time so I just followed the blue then white trail back up to the parking lot.
Overall it turned out to be a very nice hike/day. There were a few wild flowers but still very few leaves and not much color. The trails varied from easy to moderately hard. There were a few steep spots and stairs but overall a very nice day.
It was a beautiful day to be out hiking in the woods. January 1st is “First Day Hike” and I decided to visit Neosho, Missouri. Although the High Ground Bike Preserve is a designated bike trail, hiking is allowed. I was the only one on the trail today until I was leaving and then others were getting on the trail.
I started at the main trailhead in the park area. I hiked counterclockwise and therefore did the Homestead Loop first. The trails were mostly dirt and smaller rocks. Once in a while, there would be a tree root to watch out for. The trail isn’t really marked but it is well worn and easily followed. I kept coming across, “DO NOT ENTER DOWNHILL AREA” signs and couldn’t figure out where they started so I could travel down. About half way around, I came to a second parking area and that is the trailhead for the Rough Rider Ridge Trail.
I did see many gray squirrels and a couple of deer while on the trail. If you start and go right, not to far down the trail you will see the ruins of a couple of buildings. Keep following the Homestead Trail and eventually you will come upon the ruins and be able to get a closeup view of them. If this was a house at one time, I would have loved to live there. You are up on the top of the ridge and can see a great distance. It would have been a beautiful view each day.
Beginning at the ruins, I started to see candy canes placed along the trail. That was a nice addition to the scenery. At times you will travel through the woods, then you may come to a clearing, or the area may become more bush than tree. It appears that there may have been a fire in the area as many of the trees had burn marks. You can also tell that at some point, there had been wind damage because there were several trees that had fallen and the trail had been cleared. I also found a lawn chair at the bottom of a ravine; in one area there were several tires just randomly placed, which was odd; and then a can just off by itself. Seeing these items in what seemed like random places makes you wonder how they got there because it would not have been an easy task to get them there. There were also old concrete chunks in odd places and a “junk/trash” pile.
After I completed the intended loop and because I was the only one on the trail, I decided to go up one of the DO NOT ENTER areas to see if I could find out there the downhill begins. I went up the La-Z-Boy Downhill and came to the area where it and the Gone Rogue and Wildcat Chase trails begin. I still couldn’t figure out how I missed seeing this area so I followed a trail that led up to them and ended back up on the Homestead Trail. (At the intersection where you can go right and stay on the Homestead Trail or go left on an unmarked trail, follow the unmarked trail and it will take you to the beginning of the downhill trails.)
This wasn’t the most exciting trail but I enjoyed every minute because it is a moderately hard trail and you will get a workout with all the ups and downs.
The Morse Park is rather large and it does seem to have lots of paved trails to walk as I saw several people walking their dogs. There are play areas, a fishing area, a skateboarding area, and several ball parks. I have a feeling that in the summer this park is very busy. I did see restrooms but I do not know if they were open.
Overall, a very nice trail and I will be returning when the ground is too wet to walk the dirt trails and see where the paved trails lead. This was a great way to start the new year.
Today I hiked the Pike Hollow Trail which is rated a moderate trail but I really didn’t find it to be very difficult. It started out in mowed grass, then dirt and some rocks, with very few inclines. The spider webs were HORRIBLE and I felt like a mummy wrapped in webs. It wasn’t the most exciting trail but it was nice to get out and explore another area. I did manage to scare up a wild turkey, racoon, turtle, squirrel, and a deer. There was a small creek crossing a couple of times but it was easy to cross without getting wet. For the most part it was a completely shaded trail. It did have a few outcroppings and an overlook area.
Soon after the trail starts you will see the Pinwoods Trail but keep to the left and follow the Pike Hollow Trail. A little later you will come to a white trail. This is the connector trail and is a very easy dirt trail. I followed the Pike Hollow Trail and about half way around you will come to the white connector trail again. When I reached this point, I did follow the white trail down and back up just to say I had covered it too. Then I continued on the Pike Hollow Trail. Toward the end of it you will connect with the Pinwoods Trail. I kept to the left and followed it to the end. Then I was back at the beginning and walking the gravel Pinwoods Trail.
It was a somewhat eerie feeling when the first sign you see is to be bear aware. Luckily I didn’t see any. The Pike Hollow Trail is about 4.5 miles and the Pinwood Trail is about .6 miles. It took me 3 hours to hike the Pike Hollow Trail and that was mostly due to the fact that quite often I had to stop and remove the cobwebs and spiders from me. The Pinwoods Trail only took about 11 minutes.
On the drive down and back, I did see a couple of deer, a rabbit, racoon, fox, and squirrel.
At the start of the trail there are a couple of picnic tables and a primitive restroom.
I have a few more photos from these trails on the Facebook page
The plan for today was to hike the Turkey Pen Trail, but when I arrived I discovered that there was a little nature trail at the parking lot and the Acorn Trail and the Devin’s Kitchen Trail all were within the circle of the Turkey Pen Hollow Trail so I decided to hike them all. In total that put me at about 10 miles for the day.
It was a beautiful day. The temperature was 30 – 40 while I was out. There was a little breeze once in awhile that was cool but overall, very pleasant temperatures for hiking.
I saw two people at about the 3.5 mile marker and then at about the 6 miles marker I came across a single person on the Turkey Pen Hollow Trail. Other than these encounters, I had the trails to myself. At times you will be far enough away that you won’t hear any traffic. Because of the time of year, I heard very few birds. I did come across a deer on the Acorn Trail and a doe and fawn on the Devin’s Kitchen Trail. A few squirrels were here and there on the trails.
The Turkey Pen Hollow Trail does have controlled burning at times so this was my second time to try and hike it. If it is closed, the parking lot will be marked off so parking is not allowed. If this parking lot is full, there is another parking lot to the right and one to the left that you may be able to use.
There is a visitor’s center at the entrance of the park that has a bathroom. Or at the end of the Devin’s Kitchen Trail there is a primitive bathroom and picnic shelters.
This park is very popular so planning ahead for crowds is advised.
