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Ozark Overland Adventure Trail (OOAT Matt McClellan
Ozark Overland Adventure Trail
When most people think of epic overlanding routes in the U.S., the Rocky Mountains and desert regions of the Western U.S. are usually the first areas that come mind. An often unknown and overlooked area of the central U.S. called the Ozark National Forest, in Arkansas, is a hidden gem perfect for an overlanding adventure.
The Ozark Overland Adventure Trail is a five-day overlanding route through the Ozark National Forest that was created by Ozark Overland Adventures to introduce people to some of the best trails and scenery the Ozarks have to offer. It has a good mix of scenic and technical trails with camping spots and points of interest highlighted along the route. The journey will bring you on an epic overlanding adventure that is sure to please. Spend time touring historic cabins and schoolhouses, find your way across beautiful rivers and bring home some of our beautiful red Arkansas clay for the carwash. crossings. The water crossings are what separate the Ozarks from other locations and are the most unique and frequent obstacle you will encounter. The crossings can range from almost dry in the summer to impassible in the spring after heavy rains. Walking and scouting water crossings and mud holes is always highly recommended, especially during the rainy season from March to June. If you are uncomfortable with the depth, turn around and find an alternate route. That’s part of the adventure.
The OOAT is best run-in smaller rigs such as Jeep Wranglers, Toyota 4Runners, and mid-size pickups like Tacomas and Colorado ZR2s. Full-size trucks can complete the route, but serious pinstripes are guaranteed.
The route itself was designed to be flexible. If you have a day to run trails, pick the day you like best and run it. If you have three days, pick the three days you want to run.
If you have the time, run all five days. The route file can be found in the Ozark Overland Adventure
Trail Facebook group and contains five days of trails color-coded by day, and numerous campsites and points of interest along the way. You can find videos for each day on the Ozark Overland Adventures YouTube channel. The route file can also be found in the video descriptions. These videos will show you what to expect and help you decide which days you want to run.
Matt McClellan
ozarkoverlandadventures
The Ozarks are filled with a variety of terrain and obstacles including steep hill climbs, rocky ledges, deep mud, tight forest trails, and numerous water
Ozark Overland Adventure Trail
Ozark Overland Adventures
