Little Mo Trail — Paved Inner Loop

Little Mo Trail's paved inner loop is a 0.7-mile circuit through river bottom habitat at Juniper Campground in the North Unit. A small creek bridge and numbered nature stops give the short walk plenty to notice. Choose it for a gentle nature walk, not a long badlands hike. Allow 30 to 45 minutes if you stop at the interpretation posts. That time estimate is for Little Mo overall; the park does not split it by loop. The separate outer loop is 1.1 miles on dirt, and this route follows only the paved inner circuit.

Start at the Little Mo trailhead in the Juniper Campground area. The footbridge comes early. At the fork, the longer route continues while the paved path curves back, shortening the full circuit by about 0.4 mile. Follow the paved choice to finish the inner loop at the same trailhead. Pick up the numbered leaflet there; it explains the posts along the way.

The stops point out cottonwoods, Missouri willow, wolfberry and other plants of the floodplain. A Civilian Conservation Corps picnic shelter stands beside the route; CCC workers built it while working in the North Unit from 1934 to 1941. At the river view, the leaflet explains how a bend erodes its outer bank and drops sediment on the inside. Another stop uses beaver-cut trees to show signs of activity, though wildlife is never guaranteed.

Poison ivy and prairie rattlesnakes occur in the underbrush, so stay on the trail. Pets are not allowed on park trails. Juniper Campground has restrooms near the trail access.