Welcome to Mark Twain National Forest

Fall Color!

Come check out the Fall Color before it's gone!

Take a Hike or

Take a Drive

The Forest is waiting, come explore!

Encompassing 1.5 million acres of beautiful public land in 29 counties in Missouri, Mark Twain National Forest maintains a healthy, working forest and restores Missouri's natural communities.

Mark Twain National Forest has a wide range of popular recreation opportunities. The forest has over 750 miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and motorized use. Sections of the Ozark Trail wind through the forest. More than 350 miles of perennial streams, suitable for floating canoeing and kayaking, meander through its canopied expanses. Our campgrounds offer visitors a variety of forest experiences, including semi-primitive and wilderness camping for solitude.

  • 2023 - a record-setting year

    Forest Service personnel and partners worked together in 2023 to complete some major projects, overcome obstacles, and reach new goals.

    Stylized forest image with city in background and says 2023 Forest Reflections

Features

Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project

Image of restoration completed, shortleaf pine woods with mature trees in a wide range of sizes.

Leading the way in restoring natural communities through collaboration: From 2012-2022, the forest will collaborate with partners to restore more than 100,000 acres near Doniphan, Winona, Van Buren and Poplar Bluff, Missouri, in a Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project (CFLRP). In 2023, continued monitoring occurred within the boundary, using CHI, and findings demonstrate the effectiveness of work in the area.

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Missouri Outdoor Connections

Missouri Outdoor Connections Logo

Creating opportunities to connect land stewards across the state.

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