Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Shawneetown, Missouri

The Cape Girardeau County Roads 521 and 520 form a great scenic gravel road and loop with the main road of the area (US-61, with help from Cape Co 510). The roads were constructed around two creeks in the area, Hughes Creek and Buckeye Creek. It features a natural low-water bridge traversing over be...
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The Lovejoy Creek Road, also known as the Cape Girardeau County Road 532, is one of the last true creek bottom roads in Cape Girardeau County. The road on both ends is maintained with gravel by the County Highway Department, but the center section still travels over the natural creek bed of Lovejoy ...
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Tower Rock Road or Perry County Road 460 is a gravel road that parallels the Mississippi River, leading you to the historic Tower Rock Natural Area. The road has a few steep grades and is amongst the forest. Expect some serious washboarding and gravel mounding due to heavy use. Near the end you cros...
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Snake Road FS 345 or South LaRue Road, is a maintained gravel road in Shawnee National Forest, within the LaRue-Pine Hills/Otter Pond Research Natural Area, a part of the greater Mississippi Bluffs unit. Snake Road gets its name from the local snakes that migrate over the road between the limestone ...
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Muddy Levee Road, not to be confused with Big Muddy Levee Road, is the gravel levee road along the southeast side of Big Muddy River, crossing over Levee District land, and Shawnee National Forest, to enter the LaRue-Pine Hills Natural Research Area. The road is commonly used as the gateway access t...
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LaRue Road FS 345, Scatters Road, or North LaRue Road to differentiate it from the Snake Road, is a maintained gravel road with easement over privately owned Jackson County land and Shawnee National Forest, within the LaRue-Pine Hills/Otter Pond Research Natural Area, a part of the greater Mississip...
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Pine Hills Road SFR 236 within Shawnee National Forest is a very lovely gravel Shawnee National Forest Road with access to hiking trails, scenic overlooks, and a campground all in one. Its biggest obstacles are a few steep grades with lite water washes, mounding loose gravel, and mild washboarding. ...
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Old Plantation Access Road, also named Cape Girardeau County Road 485, is a gravel road in Millersville, Missouri, that also doubles as a Missouri Department of Conservation land access road. The road features beautiful rolling hills and farmland scenery in the bottoms, with two low-water bridges th...
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The Oakwood Bottoms FSR 786, and Turkey Bayou FSR 786R, also know in the forestry maps as Johns Spur Road, is a gravel forestry road through the wetland bottoms in the northwest Mississippi Bluffs sector of Shawnee National Forest. Through there is two separate road names and IDs the road seamlessly...
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The Happy Hollow FSR 787 is a gravel forestry route in the northwest Mississippi Bluffs sector of Shawnee National Forest. The trail specifically goes up into the hills along the Mississippi River north of Grand Tower, IL. It climbs just shy of 300 feet over the first .7 mile of the gravel, which is...
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Rattlesnake Ferry - FS 345 is maintained gravel transforming to a natural forest service road in Shawnee National Forest, north of the LaRue-Pine Hills/Otter Pond Research Natural Area, a part of the greater Mississippi Bluffs unit. The Rattlesnake Ferry features smoother gravel from the higher elev...
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Whitewater Presbyterian Church Road, or the Bo-Co Road 256, is a gravel county road that traverses passed the church and into the valley below. The bottom section of the road features mild rutting, natural rock popping up at the surface, and gravel fading to dirt, potentially muddy with wet conditio...
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The Bollinger Mill Road, also known as Cape Girardeau County Road 360, is a gravel county road that leads to the Bollinger Mill State Historical Site. The gravel road is well maintained but comes full of views and scenery of the farmland neighboring the Mill and Upper Whitewater River, the road come...
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Cut Off or Bollinger County Road 340 is a gravel road that has an edge. The road on either end will shortly give you signs that it is not a typical county road, natural rock shows at the surface, lite water erosion, sections fade to dirt/mud, and potholes are prevalent. Meanwhile, the road climbs an...
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Bollinger County Road 366, known by local residents as BOCO 366, is your typical Bollinger County road. There is a large creek gravel road surface with multiple deep potholes and washouts. Located in approximately the middle of the route, you will come to a low water bridge that typically has 1-3 in...
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Hartle Ford Road consists of Cape County Road 352 and Bollinger County Road 368. It is a gravel road that features rolling hills leading into two separate creek bottoms with really impressive low-water bridges. The Cape Girardeau side is well-maintained gravel, showing signs of being well-kept, and ...
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The Big Muddy River Levee Road is the southern publicly accessible 10-mile-long gravel road following the ridge top of the Levee, along the lower southern section of the Big Muddy River in Jackson County Illinois. Note that the Northern 3.4 mile section of this road has transferred from the public-o...
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The Bollinger County Road 238 is a gravel county road snaking through the country's low land, along the Whitewater River. The road provides great access to the river for fishing and a swimming hole. It also is conveniently placed in between some of the area's main artery roads, Route K to Sedgewickv...
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South Forest Road is the gravel-based southern forest loop within the Illinois Trail of Tears State Forest. It features a one-way track from the western entry to the east exit on the paved State Forest Road. The area features a yearly closure from December 24th to the end of the wild Turkey Season (...
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The Bollinger County Road 376 is a gravel-based road that traverses the northern Bollinger County Hills and parallels the Little Whitewater Creek. The road goes from being well maintained at the ends to mildly rough at the center, in typical Bollinger County fashion. It features a handful of low wat...
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This is a maintained gravel road with an occasional flat natural rock sticking up in the middle of the road. This trail features beautiful tall pines and areas you can see for miles. The road leads up a steep grade that may include washboards and mild washes when the season is wet and conditions are...
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The N Hamburg Hill Spur 266AA, within Shawnee National Forest, is a trail that once was traversable by full-width vehicles, but in its current state should only be trekked by dirt bikes and 4-wheelers, within the first .1 mile there is a turnaround/parking area to unload, but from there on, the trai...
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McCraven SFR 220 is a very scenic nature-viewing gravel road in Shawnee National Forest. It is a very easy trail with a minimal challenge, but there are a few muddy crossings and water collection spots within its medium-grade graveled hills. It also features a couple of branch trails, the SFR 504 an...
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The Slick Ridge FSR 262G is a mildly challenging natural fire road that has the reward of a great view of Shawnee National Forest. It features an off-camber eroded section that will test your articulation and clearances. It runs you through several small mud holes and a small grade with tree roots. ...
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Bollinger County Road 366, known by local residents as BOCO 366, is your typical Bollinger County road. There is a large creek gravel road surface with multiple deep potholes and washouts. Located in approximately the middle of the route, you will come to a low water bridge that typically has 1-3 in...
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Mayfield Road, also known as the Bollinger County Road 356, is a coarse-gravel road traversing the hills of the southeastern Missouri countryside. The road logistically connects Missouri Route 72 on the north end to the village of Mayfield, MO, and Missouri Route JJ on the south end. In typical Boll...
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This is a maintained gravel road with an occasional flat natural rock sticking up in the middle of the road. This trail features beautiful tall pines and areas you can see for miles. The road leads up a steep grade that may include washboards and mild washes when the season is wet and conditions are...
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As a branch of Atwood Road 266, the Hamburg 266A is a bit more of an offroading road and less of a scenic road within Shawnee National Forest. It has an off-camber hill within .2 of the entrance followed by many water collection areas that get muddy, the gravel fades in on the hilltops and out in th...
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