>>183467As far as rivers go, the current river, eleven point river, and the buffalo river are all really good. Ive personally taken a couple day float trip on the current and loved it.
For hiking, is the Ozark trail (some sections still under construction) spans 500 miles from STL to Arkansas, so you could through hike a section or two.
Personally, Im currently planning to park and camp at Tom sauk mountain, hike to Johnston shut ins, camp and then hike back for a nice weekend trip