The Ozark Trail traverses clear Ozark streams, dry granite barrens and panoramic mountaintops, travels near wetlands and fens (a fen is a bog-like area, generally with peaty soils, that is kept constantly moist or wet by spring-fed groundwater and dominated by sedges, forbs and some shrubs), and through deep Ozark forests, providing an opportunity for trail users to experience the variety of the Ozarks.