Pomme de Terre State Park's 734 acres, characterized by rugged hills deeply dissected by river drainages, are located in a natural region of the Ozarks called the Springfield Plateau where gently rolling plains intermingle with the Ozark forests of the east. In presettlement times, much of the park's land was covered by savannas and natural grasslands called glades with heavier forests in the valleys. Today, the park preserves some of the best regional examples of the open woodlands and savannas that existed at the edge of the Great Plains in historic times. These characteristics can be seen in the post oaks and chinquapin oaks that grow in the park. Although many are more than 200 years old, they are short and round instead of tall and slender, indicating dry conditions and shallow soil.
Visitors can view the natural areas of the park on two scenic hiking trails.
On the Pittsburg side, the three-mile Indian Point Trail meanders through a savanna woodland to a scenic platform overlooking the lake. Shorter hikes are possible using connector trails. Hikers along this trail, in season, may see large yellow Missouri evening primroses, purple coneflowers or rose verbena, plus native grasses such as big bluestem, little bluestem and Indian grass. On the Hermitage side, hikers will travel through a more heavily wooded area and follow the rocky bluffs along the lake on the two-mile Cedar Bluff Trail. Visitors may get a glimpse of deer, turkey, squirrel, prairie warbler, bluebird, purple finch or cedar waxwing on either trail.