I’ve lived in Kansas City, MO for a year now and I’ve had the itch to discover the nature in this neck of the woods. Last weekend, I made the long trek (5.5 hours in a car) to the Ozark National Forest in the Ozark Mountains.
Here it is! Whitacker Point in Arkansas. The hike itself was very easy and should only take an hour or so (if you’re not taking tons of photos). It was the drive to the trailhead that I was unprepared for. If you’re visiting, try to take a car that can handle bumpy dirt roads. My car was not happy winding its way through the forest. 
Are you familiar with the Midwest? Where should I go hiking next?
for the love of nike 
Nice photos! It looks like it was a good day!
Thank you!!! it was!
Just beautiful! Nice pictures and lovely nature 🙂
why thank you!
Nice post. I’m from the Midwest – entire life. I’ve been around the southern parts of Missouri a fair amount and really love that area. My opinion is, you can’t really go wrong with Missouri/Arkansas area for great Midwest nature experiences. I live in Illinois and there are some great places here, however, much of it is very flat for crops. I enjoyed this post – Happy exploring.
oh thank you for stopping by! Do you know of any areas that are very hilly or mountainous? or waterfalls maybe? I moved here from Chicago last year, and I wish I’d done more exploring while I was in Illinois. I guess I was relying too much on the city to keep me busy.
If you never made it down to Starved Rock or Matthiessen State Parks near Utica Illinois, you should definitely try to do that. Rock Cut state park up in Rockford is pretty good. Southern Illinois is much like what you saw in southern Missouri and Arkansas.
So good to know! Thank you for the recommendations!!
Arkansas is a beautiful state! Especially the mountainous Quachita area.
oh really?! I just looked that up–it’s a little further south than where I was that day–but I’d love to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!
You are welcome.