Fort Bald - FS 612

Total Miles
4.9

Elevation

407.19 ft

Duration

0.75 Hours

Technical Rating

2

Easy

Best Time

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Trail Overview

Fort Bald FS 612 is a gravel forest service road within the Mark Twain National Forest Ava Unit, as part of the greater Glade Top area. The road is meager in offroad prowess, with the track following up and down the ridge line, featuring mild coarse gravel terrain over mild-moderate graded hills, on which numerous water channeling mounds were installed to mitigate as much erosion as possible, to prevent active deep rutting. In purpose, the road features an abundance of cut-outs and dispersed camps with strong evidence of hunting. At the midway point, on the south side of the track, there is a cutout featuring a beautiful hilltop view looking south / southwest at other balds and hills in the distance. On the southern end of the track, the road crosses a feeder creek that ultimately leads to Beaver Creek just south of the road's end, a very majestic little spot that embodies the Missouri hillbilly vibe in a rough road form.

Photos of Fort Bald - FS 612

Fort Bald - FS 612
Fort Bald - FS 612

Difficulty

Fort Bald FS 612 is simple, yet a rougher gravel road, given a 2/10 base rating, featuring mild erosion throughout the track, especially at the mounds/whoops that channel water off the road, along with a few spots where the gravel fades to dirt creating potential surface mud, and lastly expect moderate graded hills. What earns the 2/10 solely, when documented in December 2024, is the loose cobble rock-based (6-10" rocks) shallow feeder creek crossing (6" splash) on the southern end. Being a feeder creek water obstacle there are times this could have increased depth based on the signs of water erosion around the creek banks, but it could also be completely dry in the hot summer season, effectively changing difficulty based on water levels.

Technical Rating

2

Status Reports

There are no status reports yet for this trail.

Access Description

For the north entry, navigate to Missouri Route 125, head to 36.82608, -92.96421, and turn south to get onto the FS 612. For the south entry, navigate to Missouri Route 76, head to 36.78129, -92.92787, and turn north to get onto the FS 612.

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