“Alabama the Beautiful” has long been one of the state’s several unofficial slogans. The phrase even was used as part of the state-line highway welcome signs for more than a decade.
But the reality is that only a fraction of Alabama’s beauty can be seen from a road. To truly experience much of the greatness of the state’s outdoors, you need to leave the car or truck behind and venture out on a trail, be it by foot, bike or even horse.
“Trails are a great way to get out and look at our scenery,” Alabama State Parks Director Matthew Capps says. “We have more than 500 miles of trails within the State Parks system, and there’s something for everybody. You can find easy trails for beginners, or harder trails for people who want to challenge themselves. The trail system is one of our most popular activities.”
Add in the numerous trails located outside of Alabama’s 21 state parks — including urban arteries such as the Red Rock Trail System in and around Birmingham — along with a wide variety of themed trails highlighting everything from Civil Rights, to barbeque to murals, and there seemingly always is a place to go and a designated way to get there.
The Alabama Tourism Department is honoring this plethora of pathways by proclaiming 2025 to be the Year of Alabama Trails. Capps says there are several new trail offerings within Alabama State Parks that either already are open or will be completed later this year. These include two new mountain biking trails at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville and a walking trail at Rickwood Caverns State Park near Warrior.
In addition, nearly 2,000 acres of forestland have been added to Oak Mountain State Park south of Birmingham in recent years through the state’s Forever Wild program. Capps says AlaParks is working with Shelby County officials to develop some trails within this newly acquired area, giving many people an opportunity to see this landscape up close for the first time.
Those are just a few of the numerous options available in Alabama for getting from point A to point B (and points C, D and E as well), with a whole alphabet soup of things to see and do during the excursion.
Some don’t-miss trails include:
• Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge: While many of Alabama’s hiking trails are located in the mountainous northern region, some of the more interesting sights can be seen along the state’s Gulf Coast within the 7,157-acre Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. There are four trails in the refuge, allowing hikers to get close-up views of the area’s dunes, wetlands, freshwater lakes, maritime forests and estuarial back-bay. An observation tower along the Pine Beach Trail provides a more expansive look at this beautiful barrier-island landscape.
• Cheaha State Park: At more than 2,400 feet above sea level, Mount Cheaha is the highest point in Alabama. So naturally the park’s hiking trails offer some of the state’s best outdoor views. The LNT Bigfoot Trail will take you to the official highest point, while the Mountain Laurel Trail showcases the visual splendor of the surrounding Talladega National Forest. For the more adventurous, the steep Pulpit Rock Trail leads to a gorgeous scenic overlook. The area around the overlook is popular with rock climbers and rappelers.
• Chief Ladiga Trail: Using the existing path of a former Seaboard/CSX Railroad line, this was the first rails-to-trails project completed in Alabama. The 33-mile-long trail stretches from the town of Weaver near Anniston to the Georgia state line. There it connects to the Silver Comet Trail and continues to just outside Atlanta, making this 95-mile corridor one of the longest continuous paved rails-to-trails in the country. Another 6.5 miles to Anniston are near completion, which will bring the total length of the Ladiga/Silver Comet combo to more than 100 miles.
• Conecuh Trail: Located near Andalusia and the Florida state line, the 84,000-acre Conecuh National Forest is the southernmost national forest in Alabama. The Conecuh Trail runs for 20 miles through this coastal plain. Because of the lack of steep hills, this is considered to be one of the best options in the state for casual hikers who still want to experience the scenic beauty Alabama offers.
• Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail: This 29-mile-long system along Alabama’s Gulf Coast has been named “Best Recreational Trail in the U.S.” each of the past two years by USA Today. The trail connects Gulf Shores with Orange Beach, cutting through Gulf State Park.
• Pinhoti National Recreation Trail: This is the big daddy of Alabama trails, stretching for 171 miles along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains, from Flagg Mountain near Sylacauga in the central part of the state northeast to the Georgia line (where it continues for another 168 miles). Many hikers consider this to be the unofficial start of the Appalachian Trail.
• Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: For a walk of a different sort, there is the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. When it comes to themed trails, this is the one that drove the way for all that followed. While the courses obviously do not physically connect, they are spaced throughout the state in such a way that a golfer can easily travel from one course to the next, with a total of 468 holes of golf available to play.
• Sipsey River Trail: As the first federally designated wilderness area east of the Mississippi River, the nearly 26,000-acre Sipsey Wilderness lies in the heart of the Bankhead National Forest. This 8.7-mile trail follows its namesake river, crossing it once. The trail passes picturesque Fall Creek Falls, along with several eye-catching rock formations and cave overhangs. It also leads to what is known as “The Big Tree,” a yellow poplar that is approximately 150 feet tall with a 25-foot circumference.
• Walls of Jericho: On most trails, the journey is more important than the destination. That is not necessarily the case at The Walls of Jericho near the Tennessee state line. While there are plenty of things to see along the 7-mile roundtrip hike, the highlight occurs once you reach the actual “walls,” a small canyon gorge that opens up into a picturesque rock amphitheater setting.
Cary Estes is a Birmingham-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
This article appears in the March 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
