Officially, there is only one section of Ozark Trail called Trace Creek. GORC divides this into North and South sections, mainly for maintenance purposes. The demarcation point is the junction of Trace Creek with the Telleck Branch Connector from Council Bluff Lake. Everything south of this point is South Trace.
This section begins by winding its way along several creeks, with a few sections of moderate climbing as you head towards the high point at the Hwy. 32 crossing. After the junction with the Middle Fork section, there is some pretty steep terrain with climbing turns, switchbacks and steep grades. Between Hwy 32 and the Hwy A trailhead the trail is a mix of great bench-cut singletrack, a few steep climbs and descents, and some short fire and logging roads. Keep your eyes open for the green and white OT markers as there are a few places where the trail is easy to miss as it turns off the doubletrack sections.
This section of trail doesn’t see as much maintenance or traffic as Middle Fork and North Trace. It is also one of the older sections of the Ozark Trail system, built mainly in the late 1960’s. The tread is mostly hardpacked sandy soil, with some rocks. It is very durable and can be ridden just about anytime after a rain. Elevation ranges from around 1360′ at the Hwy. 32 crossing to about 960′ at the Hwy. A trailhead.
