Missouri trails · Bell Mountain

Bell Mountain

A 8.1-mile out-and-back in Missouri, with 669 ft of climbing. Reaches Bell Mountain. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length

8.1 mi

Elevation gain

669 ft

Difficulty

Hard

Max grade

20%

Steepest mile

+408 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

1.2 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Managed by

U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 747 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Bell Mountain (summit)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

BELL MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS TH — parking nearby. 37.66617, -90.85176 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:05 a.m., the sun rises at 6:32 a.m. and sets at 7:34 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:01 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 02 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 16.2-mile round trip takes roughly 6 h 40 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 1:12 p.m. — 6 h 22 min before sunset.