Ozark Mountain Parkway
Ozark Mountain Parkway is a State Scenic Byway in Missouri. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Ozark Mountain Parkway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
The Ozark Mountain Parkway is a 28.8-mile Missouri scenic byway on State Highway 265, running north of Crane through Galena and Reeds Spring to Branson West. The route parallels the historic St. Louis Iron Mountain Railway, now the Branson Scenic Railway, and crosses Crane Creek, the James River, the White River, and Table Rock Lake over its length, putting several of the Ozarks' best-known waterways within view of the road. Fishing opportunities on the James River and Crane Creek, along with Marvel Cave inside Silver Dollar City, draw visitors off the highway and into the surrounding hills. Highway 265's full length ties together an unusually long list of American frontier routes, connecting near Historic Route 66 at one end to the Trail of Tears, the Butterfield stage route, and the old Wilderness Road corridor along its path toward Branson. It's a considerably longer and more scenic-lake-focused counterpart to the nearby, much shorter Ozark Mountain High Road.
- 28.8 miles on Highway 265, Crane to Branson West
- parallels the Branson Scenic Railway
- crosses the James & White rivers, Table Rock Lake
- Marvel Cave at Silver Dollar City
- near Route 66, Trail of Tears & Butterfield stage route
Plan a drive on Ozark Mountain Parkway →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Ozark Mountain Parkway
2 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Ozark Mountain Parkway.
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