Anxious to get outdoors

We checked out some books on hiking in the Ozarks from the library. There are so many hiking trails in this area, and many of them are family-friendly. Since we have a toddler, either the trail must accommodate a stroller, or be short enough that he can walk it without getting tired. In a few years, we will be able to tackle many more trails and that will be nice for family outings. Both our kids are nature lovers and get a kick out of hiking adventures.

In "Buffalo River Hiking Trails" by Tim Ernst, they review the Ozark Highlands Trail, which is actually 165 miles long! It starts near Mountainburg and runs across the Ozark National Forest to the Buffalo River near Woolum. A survey of "Backpacker" magazine readers rated the OHT as the number one hiking trail in the United States. Since it is so long, it is necessary to camp along the way, so we will probably have to wait at least eight years before our kids would be up to the whole thing. We could at least do part of it and build up to the rest over the years...