Prison Fence Trail

Total Miles 16.9
Technical Rating
3 Easy
Best Time Spring, Fall
Trail Type Full-Width Road
Accessible By
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Trail Overview

This is an easy scenic trail with various terrain types, including gravel, dirt, mud holes, rock ledges, and shallow water crossings. The elevation varies from around 1100' to just over 2400' as it follows along the Little Mulberry River. This trail runs north and south between Highway 16 and Highway 215 and makes for a great day of easy trail exploring when paired with Beach Grove Road to the West. The first time we traveled down this trail, we met one of the residents in the area with a large garden. He talked about how hard it is to keep the bears out. He built a fence that was probably 10' tall and had a coil of razor wire around the top. When you see this fence, it will be evident as to why I call it the Prison Fence Trail.

Photos of Prison Fence Trail

Difficulty

For the most part, this trail is a very easy drive on a county road with scenic views. However, there are a couple of obstacles that require high clearance, and a couple of areas that stay muddy almost year round. After a heavy rain, or in the spring, you will need 4WD in the muddy areas.

Technical Rating

3

Status Reports

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Tobey Hicks
Jun 14, 2026
Open
Right where it's labeled prison trail my Honda pilot was not able to go up the hill and rock climb to finish up the last Eastern directing part of the trail. So we had to turn around and just head back head down south to 103 to Clarksville but it was sure fun.
Danny Doyle
Mar 28, 2026
Open
Ran north to south. Almost all is a scenic gravel road until you get to the uphill climb. That took some line picking since I only have 30 inch tires and awd. I skipped the wolf ridge overlap.
Russell Stevenson
Dec 26, 2025
Open
We have been trying to mark off all trails in the area without getting into trouble. Wife does not like the sketchy technical stuff. To me there is one pretty technical section that I would rate on the 5/6 scale based on everything else we have seen. Overall, its an easy ride. Our 2025 F250 Tremor handled it very well. We are on 37s, rear Deaver Carli Springs and a moderate shock upgrade. Now I would like to take on Wolf Ridge next.
Alex Richmond
Nov 08, 2025
Open
Drove N to S. The trail begins very casual on a maintained dirt/gravel road. As you get toward the end of the trail where it starts to merge with the Wolf Ridge trail it gets very challenging for vehicles with lower clearance. Needed assistance spotting which my stock LC250 to clear a few spots. The trail does end near ozark cafe for a great lunch spot if you need a break or don’t want to continue onto Wolf Ridge.
Brian C
Sep 20, 2025
Open
Needs to be uprated on difficulty. Went south to north and chose to turn around a couple miles up (before reaching the part shared with Wolf Ridge) - deep mud holes and high-center ruts with tricky lines. Have a new dent in my skid plates. Truck inclinometer showed grades to 10° (20%).
Trey Good
May 09, 2025
Open
First part of 1453 going East can be challenging but doable in a 4x4. Fun trail with some different trails branching off. Anytime it goes from forest to private property odds are there’s a gate.
Stephen Smith
Apr 13, 2025
Open
only one section before the house with the Prison fence Garden that is technical. the little bit of the blue trail from there is easy. mainly mud red dirt road. it all bouncy but that's about it. Great trail
Scott Cronister
Mar 29, 2025
Open
The route is open and mostly easy with the east / west section in the middle being the more technical area that will require high clearance and 4wd. Stock vehicles may require careful tire placement, low range is beneficial but not required. Air down and/or disconnect sway bar for much smoother ride on this section. For a more relaxed and scenic drive, skip the east/west part and just follow the road southward. You won't be disappointed.
Dayna Hancock
Feb 08, 2025
Open
This is a nice trail that’s mostly easy riding. A couple technical areas and some mud puddles. Only 1 or 2 looked deep but had bypasses. The rest were shallow. Lots of downed trees were previously cleared so the trail was open but could be an issue after a heavy storm. Several older rock walls along the trail.
Collin cloer
Dec 29, 2024
Open
pretty rough on the south end of it, some decent rock crawling, did it in a xj with 31s and a tundra on 33s. turns pretty easy and smooth the last half of the trail, good trail to do a bewakdown run on your rig
Jonathan Lee
Jul 08, 2024
Open
Jonny Tsunami
May 26, 2024
Open
If you want some solitude this is one of the “easy” trails that will give you that, we didn’t see anyone for hours. Lots of rough chunky loose rock, a few mud holes with deep ruts but overall not too terrible. Good shakedown trial to make sure all your bolts are tight. It’s a middle of the forest trail, not as much scenery as some of the other trails, but it does have its areas.
Brent W
Apr 05, 2024
Open
I gotta say I was hoping for some scenery here based on descriptions of this trail. It was super boring. Only forest visible. Starts gravel road turns trail. It’s good practice to run your rig through some mud and rock but wasn’t super fun imo.
Ricky Stewart
Oct 22, 2023
Open
Jonathan Lee
Oct 14, 2023
Open

Prison Fence Trail Trail can be accessed by the following ride types:

  • Single Track
  • 50 Inch
  • 60 Inch
  • High Clearance
  • Full Width

Prison Fence Trail Map

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