Colosseum Trail is a 0.6 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Camdenton, Missouri that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking and camping and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
This natural surface trail winds under the natural bridge and through a large sinkhole, the Colosseum, and is part of the Ha Ha Tonka Karst Natural Area. In spring, you will be treated to a lovely view of flowering dogwood, redbud and serviceberry from the wooden platform where this trail begins. The natural bridge is a massive stone arch left behind when the cave system around it collapsed. It spans 60 feet, is 100 feet high, and is 70 feet wide. The natural bridge was used as a route to the castle until it was closed to vehicular traffic in 1980 because it was too narrow. It is an impressive geological feature and one of the highlights of the park. After a heavy rain, water often cascades off the back side making its way to the lowest point in the sinkhole beyond. The Colosseum Sinkhole is 150 feet deep. Spring wildflowers are abundant in this sheltered enclave, especially in the section just beyond the natural bridge where the trail is immediately adjacent to one sheer bluff side. As you start your hike out of the sinkhole at the south end, you will step between large boulders - evidence of the rocky ceiling that one covered this cave room. It is a long, steep climb out of the sinkhole to near the top of the ridge, but the views of the old post office, spring and castle ruins at the top are a great reason to stop to catch your breath. The figure-eight loop then takes you across the top of the natural bridge and back to the trailhead.
Parking lot
Ha Ha State Park, MO 1491 State Road D Camdenton, MO 65020-9801 Park Office: 573-346-2986
Intersection of Highway 65 and 54 in Missouri, drive 54 east 25 miles to "D" highway, south on "D" about 1.5 miles to the parking lot on the right.
October 21, 2020Enjoyed the hike tremendously. Lots of things for everyone to enjoy
October 8, 2020
October 2, 2020nice trail, easy to get off trail though. Trail connects to many trails throughout which is great as well as bad at the same time. I recommend bringing trekking poles due to the amount of rocks. But nice trail.
September 27, 2020loved it
September 25, 2020Very cool trail! Really neat to go inside the cave / natural bridge. A bit steep coming out.
September 21, 2020September 13, 2020September 12, 2020Awesome weather and great hiking through most of the trails. Would highly recommend! Caution if you have small children. It’s not dangerous, but I have a feeling little legs would not do well on the trail inclines.
September 12, 2020September 11, 2020June 25, 2020Great trail for kids. There is a lot to see, and the scenery changes frequently for such a short trail. There are even some opportunities for light scrambling near the natural bridge. Our 5 year old loved it! Barely saw a bug the whole time.
June 20, 2020This is an amazing place to spend the day. So many things to see, and explore. This place is also great for kids. I hiked with a 8 and 12 year old.
June 13, 2020cool bridge to walk under
May 31, 2020This trail was awesome. Varied terrain and elevation changes. The natural bridge was huge, and it connects a lot of other trails. The downside is it goes by a couple parking lots and when we went there happened to be a large group of teenagers on a different adjacent trail that were so loud you could hear them from almost everywhere. It didn’t seem to be heavily traveled beyond the bridge and was partly washed out due to recent rains but that just increased the challenge and the fun.
April 2, 2020Good trail, I would say that moderate is an accurate rating. Very rocky and if you go around the small look clockwise instead of starting from the other side then you will go mostly uphill.
March 21, 2020Nice, short trail leading into other more scenic trails. This did have a beautiful view of the natural beige and a small water fall under the bridge, which was cool. Not as crowded of a trail like others so it was peaceful!
March 17, 2020March 6, 2020B e a utiful short fun hike.
November 9, 2019A short, scenic, challenging hike! Really enjoyed it!
October 20, 2019Great trail!
October 13, 2019Strenuous uphill coming from the natural bridge.
September 2, 2019We started at the natural bridge, and circled around. This is a fun short hike that can lead you around and down to the springs (316 steps down) or up to the castle. Lots of pretty views.
September 2, 2019Heavily trafficked but very cool
July 16, 2019Short figure eight loop trail under the natural bridge and then over the top of it. Nice view of the ruins along the ways. Very busy. Beware of overlapping trails that cause confusion.
July 4, 2019Quick 330 ft to bridge. Due to a little one being worn out from 2 previous hikes in the state park we just made it to the natural bridge. worth the quick trip down.
