Author: Cecilia

Taum Sauk Mountain State Park

Taum Sauk Mountain State Park
Taum Sauk Mountain State Park’s 7,500 acres “…include the highest point in the state. Located in the St. Francois Mountains, the park’s wooded areas and rocky glades provide a beautiful, solitary experience for hikers”

Here is the Park website.   Phone 573-546-2450  Map    Trail Map  
Accessibility information
Wheelchair AccessibleHigh Point Trail – a  “paved trail … approximately 1,030 feet long with resting places spaced along the way and no excessive slopes.”      “From the parking area, a short walk along a wheelchair-accessible trail leads to the top of Taum Sauk Mountain and the highest point in the state at 1,772 feet above sea level. Beyond this point, the trail becomes rocky and rugged and is not considered accessible to wheelchairs.”

Mark Twain National Forest

Mark Twain National Forest
Mark Twain NF encompasses 1.5 million acres.  Sections of the Ozark Trail wind through the forest and there are more than 350 miles of perennial streams, suitable for floating canoeing and kayaking.
Here is the Forest website.  Phone 573-364-4621  Call or write for copies of their brochures.  Here is a brochure from 2010.
   Wheelchair AccessiblePine Lake Trail  in the Poplar Bluff Ranger District.  The trail “starts within the Pinewoods Lake Recreation Area, and circles Pinewoods Lake. Three-quarters of a mile of this easy 1.3-mile trail has a concrete surface and is barrier-free; the rest of the trail has native surfacing. The entire trail is relatively flat, with no difficult sections. Circling the lake, the trail provides views of the lake, songbirds, and wildlife, and an abundance of wildflowers….”
HikerwithcaneWhite Oak Trail is a 1 1/2 mile loop from the Float Camp picnic area’s parking lot.  Very helpful staff member called me back and said that it is probably too steep for a wheelchair user alone, although someone could possibly push a chair around it.  There are some water bars that might be difficult to negotiate.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways

Ozark National Scenic Riverways  
The Ozark National Scenic Riverways protects the river system which includes the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers as well as hundreds of freshwater springs, caves, trails and historic sites.  Phone 573-323-4236   Trails   Accessibility
Map of Big Spring Trail System     Website    
HikerwithcaneLick Log Trail: “1 mile loop trail—easy with no steep grades.  Trailhead is located off Fox Pen Road (County Road 205) about two miles north of Eminence on Route 19. …… This hike offers a wide range of Ozark habitats from an upland forest of oak-pine to dolomite glades, Rhyolite glades, fens (wetlands), and igneous “shut-ins”—each with unique flora and fauna.”
Hikerwithcane Welch Spring Trail: 0.8 miles round trip, off Hwy. K north of Akers.  Described as an “easy walk from the trailhead parking area north along a rock/earth impoundment out to Welch Spring—which emits 78.2 million gallons of crystal clear water a day from a cave at the base of a limestone cliff.”   Review by AllTrails
Wheelchair AccessibleSlough Trail:1.2 miles round trip. “An easy stroll that begins just north of the ‘Big Spring”.  The trail goes through a stand of cane and a riparian forest along the slough.  Described by Waymarking.com

Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge

Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge
This refuge consists of 4,199 acres in Grenada and Tallahatchie Counties.  “… the refuge’s largest unit is a patchwork of old fields and small scattered hardwood bottomland forests bisected  by the meandering Tippo Bayou.”  Here is the refuge website.    Phone 662-226-8286   Map
HikerwithcaneThere is a boardwalk north of Highway 8, about one mile down Mabus Road. “This walk takes visitors through a forested wetland and terminates at an observation tower where hikers can look out over a field of grass and see wildlife such as white-tailed deer…… Wood ducks, hooded mergansers, herons and egrets, water snakes, and turtles can often be seen in the wetlands surrounding the wooden walkway.”   Call the Refuge Manager at 662-226-8286 to be sure there are no difficult stairs to access the boardwalk.

Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge

Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge
The Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in extreme southeast Mississippi,  is part of the Gulf Coast Refuge Complex, which includes Grand Bay NWR and Bon Secour NWR. The refuge was established “to protect the critically endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes and their unique, and itself endangered, wet pine savanna habitat. ” “… here, a rich, colorful blend of rare orchids, carnivorous plants and other ground cover thrive under the scattered pines in one of the most species-rich plant communities in North America.
The refuge has two trails.  The folks there were kind enough to reply to my query:  “Both trails would be classified as easy hikes due to length (both under one mile) and gain in elevation. Both trails also have benches located along the route, so visitors may stop and rest during their walk. Unfortunately, the trails are not accessible for wheelchairs, though we have had school groups with students in wheelchairs (both motorized and non motorized) complete the C.L. Dees trail with assistance from their instructors. ”   The refuge reviewed on Trip Advisor   Here is the Refuge website.   Phone 228-497-6322
HikerwithcaneC. L. Dees Nature Trail   Map

HikerwithcaneFontainebleau Trail    Reviewed on AllTrails

Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge
The Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge has an accessible trail and an easy birding trail.  The refuge lies in both Mississippi and Alabama and is part of the Gulf Coast Complex.   Here is the refuge’s website.
HikerwithcaneThe Oak Grove Birding Trail is just off Bayou Heron Road, south of the headquarters building.  Here is a description and photographs from MathProfHiker’s Hiking Blog, which states the trail is  “0.5 miles flat and easy miles.”    The   Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve’s website  describes the habitat as “maritime, mixed hardwood forest intermingled with pines that slope down towards the marshes that border the upper reaches of Bayou Heron. ”
Wheelchair AccessibleThe Escatawpa Trail system is part boardwalk and part gravel. 3 options are available, including a boardwalk/gravel loop that is “fully accessible for visitors”. Several benches are available along the trail as well as an overlook at the Escatawpa River.  Mathprofhiker’s Hiking Blog suggests you hike it in the dry season lest you end up wading as he did. Here is a description from Travels with Emma, another useful blog.
Brochure & Map  Phone 228-475-0765

Know more about Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge?
Have you visited this location and know of more accessible or easy trails?  Is any of the information given here incorrect?  If so, please contact me using the form to the left and let me know what should be changed or added so I can update this post.

Gulf Islands National Seashore FL & MS

Gulf Islands National Seashore.
The hurricanes of 2017 may have done considerable damage to these areas.  Call before going. Phone 850-934-2600
The islands  in the northern Gulf of Mexico offer white sandy beaches and  aquamarine waters.  Come for boating, camping exploring an old fort or to fish.
“Visitors can plan their trip to either the Florida District or to the Mississippi District. Each district provides recreation, barrier islands, salt marshes, historic structures and wildlife along the Gulf of Mexico.”   Accessibility         Loaner wheelchairs are available in both districts.  Here is their website. 
Florida:
Wheelchair Accessible“Perdido Key Discovery Trail and six beach cross-over boardwalks (two to sound; four to Gulf) are wheelchair accessible.”  call 850-934-2600 for more information.  Fort Pickens fishing pier is accessible.
Wheelchair AccessibleNaval Live Oaks   The first loop of the 0.8 mile Breckenridge Trail is an “accessible boardwalk with tactile waysides.”
Mississippi:
HikerwithcaneThe Davis Bayou Trail takes visitors through a coastal forest and over two local bayous. The trail is approximately two miles long. AllTrails describes it as “good for all skill levels.”
Wheelchair AccessibleThe short boardwalk over Stark Bayou is the only part of the trail that is wheelchair accessible.
“Boardwalk trails, campsites and fishing pier are accessible.”  For information call Davis Bayou Visitor center at 228-875-9057.

Hillside National Wildlife Refuge

Hillside National Wildlife Refuge
Hillside NWR ‘diverse habitats support hundreds of wildlife species. The  dominant habitats are hardwood forest bottomlands with oaks and cottonwood trees in the higher elevations, and willow, bald cypress and tupelo sloughs or “brakes” in lower elevations.
Here is the Refuge website .   Phone 662-235-4989   Map
Wheelchair AccessibleThe Alligator Slough Nature Trail is a 0.6 mile accessible nature trail that  “meanders through a bottomland hardwood forest with a bald cypress and water tupelo slough accessed from the South Levee Road. “