Ozark National Forest Special Interest Areas

The Ozark – St. Francis National Forests have 21 Special Interest Areas (SIA) totalling approximately 23,243 acres.  SIAs are managed for their unique geological, botanical, biological, zoological, scenic, or cultural features.  These features are unique enough that they are not found in large areas anywhere on the Forests, or they provide the best representation of similar areas on the Forests.  These areas are designated as SIAs because of their unique features, complexity, and degree of interest.  They are managed for their unique recreational and educational values, and are intended for public use and interpretation.

Although I have this page in the trail section, there may not be any official trails within the SIA.  They can be very interesting areas to bushwhack though.

I added this page Jan 10 ’16 and haven’t yet been to most of these places but I do have basic topographic and boundary data for these areas so I can publish minimal maps of them relatively soon and then add to them as I explore the areas.

Name	Acres	Unique Qualities
Alum Cove	230	Geologic, Scenic	USFS Info
Blue Hole	2,190	Geologic, Scenic
Buzzard Roost	62	Geologic, Scenic
City Rock Bluff	370	Geologic, Scenic
Clifty Canyon	5,486	Botanical, Biological
Devil’s Canyon	1,827	Geologic, Scenic
Devil’s Eyebrow	364	Geologic, Scenic
Dismal Creek	245	Botanical
Eagles Gap	225	Geologic, Scenic
Fern Gully	306	Botanical, Geologic, Scenic
Hare Mountain	88	Geologic, Scenic
Jack’s Creek	1,895	Geologic, Scenic
Mt. Magazine	4,319	Geologic, Scenic
North Twin	1,219	Botanical, Zoological, Scenic
Pedestal Rocks	1,016	Scenic, Geologic	USFS Info
Penhook	628	Geologic, Botanical
Sam’s Throne	621	Geologic, Scenic
Sandstone Hollow	512	Geologic, Scenic
Stack Rock	339	Geologic, Scenic
Waldo/Wainscott	407	Botanical
White Rock	895	Geologic, Scenic