Hiking_AL-36

Alabama’s Central region encompasses the area from just north of Birmingham to just north of Montgomery. Geologically, central Alabama forms what is known as the Piedmont Plateau, an area where the Appalachian mountain range terminates. The Central region provides the most challenging and some say the most scenic treks you’ll find in the state. It’s in this region that you’ll find the state’s highest mountain, Cheaha Mountain, which stands 2,407 feet above sea level. From high atop the mountain within the confines of Cheaha State Park, you get a spectacular view from Pulpit Rock, an outcropping hanging out into space.

The park is within the boundaries of Talladega National Forest. Here you will find many great backpacking adventures and, of course, day hikes. One of the more famous trails here is the Chinnabee Silent Trail, which will lead you past several cascading waterfalls, including Cheaha Falls, and to breathtaking views from atop a narrow wood and stone footbridge that clings to the face of rock bluffs high above the rushing water of Devil’s Den.

One of the more famous trails in the state, the Pinhoti Trail, travels the mountain ridges of Talladega National Forest for more than 130 miles. A National Millennium Trail, the Pinhoti is a perfect training hike for Appalachian Trail hikers, and, in fact, the trail now connects to the AT, so you can walk the entire Appalachians from Alabama to Maine and beyond.

At Oak Mountain State Park, just south of Birmingham in the town of Pelham, hikers are treated to a beautiful waterfall along the Peavine Falls Trail, the tranquil serenity of Maggie’s Glen, and an educational hike along the Treetop Trail to the Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

For history buffs, just northeast of Montgomery is Horseshoe Bend National Park. One of only two National Park Service areas in the state, Horseshoe Bend was the setting for the decisive 1814 battle between General Andrew Jackson and the local Native Americans that resulted in the forced removal of the tribes from the region.

Another historic trail in the region of note is the fascinating Tannehill Ironworks Historic State Park, where you will visit the old iron forge that once made munitions for the Confederate army and has since been rebuilt.