Missouri trails · Council Bluff Trail

Council Bluff Trail

A 11.9-mile loop in Missouri, with 157 ft of climbing. Reaches Chapel Hill Beach and other beach/lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length

11.9 mi

Elevation gain

157 ft

Difficulty

Hard

Max grade

20%

Steepest mile

+130 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

0.5 mi

Shape

loop

Managed by

U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

The climbing leans toward the first third: 49% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 4.0. It gives back about 293 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

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

Reaches

Chapel Hill Beach (beach)
Council Bluff Lake (lake)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Council Bluff Lake Trail Wild Boar Ridge Campground Trailhead. 37.72724, -90.92882 · 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 11.9-mile route takes roughly 4 h 28 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 11:00 a.m. — 8 h 34 min before sunset.

Loop options

COUNCIL BLUFF TRAIL — 11.9 mi loop, 1,340 ft gain