Missouri's riding is in the Ozarks, south of I-44 and mostly east of Springfield. The roads worth planning a trip around are Route 19 below Cuba, where the state officially calls it a scenic highway and it spends the next hundred-odd miles crossing the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and the Mark Twain National Forest; Route 125 from Fair Grove down to the Arkansas line; Route 106 between Summersville and Ellington through Eminence; and the Glade Top Trail near Ava, which is 23 miles of ridge-top gravel and Missouri's only National Forest Scenic Byway. North of the Missouri River the state is farmland and grid. South of it, the plateau has been cut apart by spring-fed rivers, and the roads had to follow.
What the Ozarks actually give you
Not altitude. The Ozark Plateau is a dissected upland rather than a mountain range, so what you get is not a climb to a pass but hundreds of short, sharp changes in direction as the road drops into a hollow, crosses a creek and climbs back out. The corner frequency is high, the sight lines are short, and the elevation change per mile is more than the map suggests. Two rivers do most of the work: the Current and the Jacks Fork, which together make up the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The roads that cross them are the roads worth riding.
The other thing to understand is scale. Route 19 alone is 262.825 miles from New London in the northeast corner all the way south to Thayer on the Arkansas line. Nobody rides all of it. The part that counts starts at Cuba.
Top motorcycle roads in Missouri
| Road | Length | What it is | End to end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Route 19 (south of Cuba) | 262.83 miles total; scenic designation starts at Cuba | State-designated scenic highway through the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and Mark Twain National Forest | New London to Thayer; ride Cuba south |
| Route 125 | 83.56 miles | Two-lane its entire length, into Mark Twain National Forest near Chadwick and south to Arkansas | US 65 at Fair Grove to the Arkansas state line |
| Route 106 | 46.30 miles | Crosses two separate sections of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways; Eminence sits at the middle | Route 17 in Summersville to Route 21 in Ellington |
| Glade Top Trail | 23 miles, gravel | Missouri's only National Forest Scenic Byway; all-weather gravel along narrow ridge tops with seven overlooks | Forest roads south of Ava, Mark Twain National Forest |
Open the scenic run of Route 19 in Google Maps — Cuba south through Winona to Thayer, ready to push to your navigation before you set off.
Route 19 south of Cuba
Route 19 runs the length of the state, but the designation that matters is the one Missouri applies south of Cuba, where the highway officially becomes a scenic route. From the I-44 interchange it runs a short concurrency with Route 8 through Steelville, then heads down into the Ozarks proper.
What follows is the best sustained stretch of road in Missouri. It passes through the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and portions of the Mark Twain National Forest, crossing the Current River country where the springs are. Farther south it overlaps US 60 at Winona and US 160 at Alton before ending at US 63 in Thayer, a mile or so from Arkansas.
North of Cuba the road is different but not worthless. It crosses the Missouri River at Hermann on the Christopher S. Bond Bridge and runs a concurrency with Route 100 through town — Hermann is wine country and worth an overnight if you are coming down from St. Louis rather than up from Springfield. But if you have one day, start at Cuba and point south.
Route 106 and the Eminence loop
Forty-six miles between Summersville and Ellington, with Eminence a little over 19 miles in from the west end. Route 106 crosses two separate sections of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which means it is one of the few roads that puts you in the middle of the river country rather than skirting it.
Six miles west of Eminence, off the highway, is Alley Spring and the big red Alley Mill, built in 1894 and now the most photographed thing in Shannon County. It is a five-minute stop and it is right there. East of Eminence the road climbs back onto the ridges and stays interesting all the way to Ellington.
Eminence is the natural base for this end of the Ozarks. It is small, it is a float-trip town in summer, and in June and July the traffic on Route 106 is canoe trailers. Ride it in May or in October.
Route 125, Fair Grove to Arkansas
Eighty-three and a half miles, two lanes the entire way, from US 65 at Fair Grove northeast of Springfield south to the Arkansas line. The northern end is ordinary — it crosses I-44 near Strafford and US 60 near Rogersville, and overlaps Route 14 through most of Sparta. It gets good near Chadwick, where the road enters the Mark Twain National Forest and stays in it most of the way to Arkansas.
The southern half is the reason to ride it: forest on both sides, almost no towns, and a short overlap with US 160 at Rueter. If you keep going into Arkansas as Highway 125, the road crosses Bull Shoals Lake on a free ferry in Marion County, which is either a pleasant twenty-minute break or a wait, depending on when you turn up.
Chadwick is also the jumping-off point for a well-known off-road riding area, so expect trucks with trailers on the Chadwick end on weekends.
Glade Top Trail, and the gravel question
The Glade Top Trail is 23 miles of two-lane, all-weather gravel road through the Mark Twain National Forest south of Ava, and it is the only National Forest Scenic Byway in Missouri. It follows narrow ridge tops that rise roughly 500 feet above the rolling country on either side, with seven overlook pull-outs along the way. The views are the best in the state, and the Watershed Divide Overlook is the one worth stopping at.
It is gravel. That is the whole caveat and it is not a small one. On a heavy touring bike with road tires, a packed all-weather gravel ridge road is manageable at low speed in dry conditions and unpleasant after rain, when the surface loosens and the crown throws you toward the outside. Riders on adventure bikes treat it as the highlight of southwest Missouri; riders on baggers should look at the weather first and be honest about their comfort on loose surfaces. There is no shame in riding to an overlook and turning around.
Fuel, season and local hazards
Fuel. This is the practical constraint in the Ozarks. Between Eminence, Winona, Alton and Thayer the towns are small and the pumps keep small-town hours. On Route 125 south of Chadwick, and on Route 19 through the national forest, plan on 100-mile legs and fill when you see an open station rather than when you need one.
Season. April through early November. These roads stay open all winter but they are not priority routes, and shaded valley pavement in the hollows holds ice long after the ridges clear. Late October is the color peak and the best riding of the year.
Float traffic. June through August, the Current and Jacks Fork corridors fill with canoe outfitters, shuttle vans and trailers. Route 106 through Eminence is the worst of it. Weekdays help; May and October help more.
Surface. Expect patched asphalt, chip seal, gravel washed into the inside of corners after storms, and county-line changes in pavement quality. Low-water crossings on the secondary roads can be genuinely wet after rain.
Deer and livestock. Dawn and dusk in the hollows are the high-risk window, and the tree cover means the animal appears at the same moment it enters the road. Open-range fencing is not universal on the back roads either.
Gear notes for Ozark backroads
The two problems down here are navigation and surface. Route numbers change at junctions that are signed once, county lettered routes cross constantly, and cell coverage in the river valleys between Eminence and Ellington is unreliable enough that a streamed map will stall halfway through a turn. Download the region before you leave and run it somewhere you can see it — a bar-mounted riding system keeps your phone in your jacket instead of in a cradle you are staring down at. The surface problem is the one riders underestimate: chip seal and gravel dust are far less forgiving of a soft tire than clean asphalt, and Ozark days swing thirty degrees between a foggy morning valley and a mid-afternoon ridge. Our tire pressure guide covers how much that swing actually moves your numbers, and a valve-cap TPMS sensor tells you as it happens rather than at the next gas stop. The JADO S6 runs both on one screen with front and rear cameras recording. We build these, so factor that in.
FAQ
What is the best motorcycle road in Missouri?
Route 19 south of Cuba. The state designates it a scenic highway from that point, and it runs through both the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and the Mark Twain National Forest on its way to the Arkansas line. Route 106 through Eminence is the better short ride.
Is the Glade Top Trail paved?
No. It is 23 miles of two-lane, all-weather gravel and the only National Forest Scenic Byway in Missouri. It is fine at a sensible pace on most bikes when dry, and considerably less fine after heavy rain.
How long does the Route 19 scenic section take?
Plan a full day from Cuba to Thayer with stops. It is not a road you average highway speeds on, and the reason to be there is the river country you would otherwise ride past.
When is the best time of year to ride the Ozarks?
Late April to early June, and then late September through October. Midsummer brings heat, humidity and float-trip traffic on the river roads; late October brings the color and the quiet.
Where should I base a weekend?
Eminence for the Current and Jacks Fork roads, including Route 106 and the southern half of Route 19. Ava if the Glade Top Trail and Route 125 are the priority. Hermann works as a first-night stop coming from St. Louis.
