Rutledge Bluff Overlook Trail

Dogs Leashed

A brochure with a full map and broken down section maps can be picked up at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Stockton Lake Project Office on the dam during normal business hours.

This trail has two main trailheads at Orleans Trail Campground and Hawker Point Campground where a handful of non-electric sites can be found. From there, the trail can be broken into five smaller sections for shorter day trips. The trail travels through fields, bottomlands, woodlands and other habitats typical of Southwestern Missouri.

This trail originally was a horseback-only trail and lack of use by horseback riders has created the change to a multi-use trail where horseback riding, mountain bike riding, and hiking are allowed.

This trail is a natural surface singletrack trail with plenty of obstacles such as rocks, roots, stumps, stream crossings, and stream terrain. Along the way, there is plenty of wildlife to see from deer, turkey, bobcat, coyote, fox, squirrels, rabbits, bald eagles and many others. If you keep your eyes open you may even catch a glimpse of a bald eagle's nest in a large sycamore tree along a portion of the trail. The trail's namesake, the Rutledge Bluff, can be found at approximately the halfway point where a picnic table awaits and a beautiful overlook of Stockton Lake will have you not wanting to leave.