Mark Twain National Forest

The 7,060-acre Paddy Creek Wilderness is located in northwestern Texas County. It is named after Sylvester Paddy, who began logging the area in the early 1800s. Timber was transported by river to St. Louis to build that city. Until the 1930s this land was homesteaded and grazed as open range. Big Paddy and Little Paddy Creeks join forces here, with steep cliffs and rock outcrops along their drainages. Paddy Creek, after the merger, flows into the Big Piney River outside the wilderness boundary.The wilderness is mostly forested with black, white, and post oaks, as well as hickories and shortleaf pines. On the sandstone ledges of upper bluffs, tall stands of these evergreen pines perch magnificently. In the bottomland, boxelder, maple, sycamore, ash, elm, and river birch decorate the water's edge. Trumpet creeper climb on these trees; sassafras and flowering dogwood grow in their shade. In wet soils, you can find arrowhead (a plant) and wild rye.

Throughout the area, wildlife typical of the Missouri Ozarks is present. White-tailed deer, wild turkey, squirrel, rabbit, fox, coyote, and bobcat are common. You can hear waterfowls frolic in the stream or a distant grouse rumble in the woods. Along the banks, black dragonflies cruise over the grassy vegetation. If you don't happen to run into a beaver in the flesh, numerous beaver pools along the creeks evidence their plentiful existence. Green heron and kingfisher fish around these pools. Smallmouth bass, bluegill, and crayfish are their food. Mink has been spotted on rare occasions.

Queen Anne's lace and black-eyed Susans dot the edges of the roads and trails. Prairie rose bushes are not as abundant, but stand out wherever they are found. The yellow St. John's wort and white soapwort are found in the woods. Among them, you may also discover some fleabane daisies; their petals are mostly white, dinged with a pinch of purple. The purple flowers of everlasting pea are showy; they are not native to this area. Other species include tick trefoil, jewelweed, white avens, coralberry, horsemint, and deptford pink. Along gravel roads in the area, day lilies sometimes grow.

Big Piney Trail

Big Piney Trail traverses a variety of Ozark landscapes as it runs across the Wilderness. Several scenic overlooks show off rock outcroppings and hollow bottoms. The trail is 17 miles long, leaving and returning to the trailhead near Roby Lake.

Roby Lake Recreation Area, Paddy Creek Campground, and Big Piney Trail Camp are conveniently located on or near the trail.

• Roby Lake has one of three trailheads for the Big Piney Trail. Facilities include a picnic area, a toilet, and year-round drinking water. The road to Roby Lake is 1 mile north of Roby on Hwy. 17, then 0.6 miles southeast on Forest Road 274. There is a large parking lot for hikers, as well as parking spaces for boat and horse trailers. The lake covers five acres and has a carry-down launch for non-motorized boats.
• Paddy Creek Campground is located on the northeast portion of the trail and can be accessed by Forest Road 220. The campground has 23 camping units, each with a table and fireplace. The adjacent picnic facilities include picnic tables, grills, and a toilet building. The campground is closed from December 1 to March 15. During this period, you can camp in the picnic area.
• Facilities at the Big Piney Trail Camp include picnic tables, fireplaces, hitching posts, a toilet building, and a stock water pond. It is designed primarily for campers with horses. The camp is located at the northeastern corner of the Big Piney Trail.

Paddy Creek Trail

Paddy Creek Trail is a one-mile-long trail that begins at the Paddy Creek Picnic Area. It runs southwest along Paddy Creek, climbing the steep bluffs on the south side of the creek. These bluffs provide a scenic overlook above the creek. Afterwards, the trail descends the hillside and crosses the creek. Through the woods, it turns northeast and back to the picnic area.

Slabtown Bluff Trail

Slabtown River Access has a picnic ground, a tent camping area, a toilet building, and a boat ramp. It is located on Highway AF approximately 12 miles northwest of Licking. It lies outside Paddy Creek Wilderness.

Slabtown Bluff Trail is approximately two miles long. It begins near the boat ramp on the east bank of the Big Piney River. It runs south along the river, winding below some picturesque bluffs. Eventually the trail climbs to the top of the bluffs and returns to Slabtown River Access.