Fording the Ozarks

[Tundracamper]

Planning a trip to Ozark National Forest in a few weeks and I’m curious about creek and small river fords. There appear to be quite a few on my NF map. My mostly stock 4Runner TRD OR does have a rear diff breather. While I’m not worried about shallow streams, I’d prefer not to have to be constantly turning around due to not knowing how deep a ford is. Any advice or comments on what to expect?

 

[jg45]

Many can be quite deep if it has rained recently. I was out there last year on January 2nd and 3rd. The water at the fords I came to was moving very fast and looked to be much deeper than when I was there in the summer. Use caution of it has rained within a week prior to your visit.

 

[Longshot270]

Get a basic set of hip waders or tall rubber boots and walk it any time you can’t see bottom. Use a sharpie to mark your depth limit. I’ve seen jerks power braking in a muddy track for a rooster tail picture. What started out as 4 inches deep was a sharp wallow easily over a foot deep when they were done. It all looked the same when the muddy water filled back in. I’m pretty sure my truck would have been stuck if I had gone through there without having watched them.

 

[BlueBabySound]

Like mentioned, the amount of rain will change them in a hurry.
Here's a couple of pics from our 2019 trip which had several water crossings. No recent rain.
For reference, my wife's Jeep is the tan one (on 37s), mine is the maroon one (On 40s)