Red Mountain Park

Red Mountain Park

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Difficulty: Easy to Difficult depending on trail
Distance: Depends on the trail. There are 16 miles of trail in the park

Entry Fee: Free (donation box available – suggested $3 donation)

Red Mountain Park is the largest urban park in Alabama at 1500 acres and is full of views and interesting old mining equipment left over from the late 1800s/early 1900s.

I only did the west side of the park, but the park has many more miles of trails that you can explore!

You can get the official trail map here. 

Red Mountain Park is located an hour and a half south of Huntsville, just south of Birmingham.

If you just Google “Red Mountain” it will take you to a different parking lot than the one I suggest.  Click this link for directions to our suggested parking.

Parking

There’s plenty of parking in the parking lot for dozens of cars.  Parking lot has a port-a-potty and a trailhead with a map. Park here.

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Trails

The trails vary greatly, depending on which trail you are on. Some of them are wide and flat, some are narrow and winding. The trails ARE NOT WELL MARKED. Typically they have a sign where trails meet, but some of them have been ripped down, and some of the trails are unmarked. This place is a bit of a maze so keep up with where you are. 

Haskell Hideaway

The Haskell Hideaway is located in the tree tops on Trail #8 (Green Trail on map). The bridge goes OVER trail #16, but is not accessible from that trail. You must take Trail #8 to get here. The easiest way to get here is to follow trail #17 until it meets with trail #8 and take trail #8 to the hideaway. The more fun approach is to take trail #17 unit it meets with trail #9. Take #9 to #10 and the follow trail #10 until it meets with #8/

Overlook and Big Chairs

The Big Chairs and Red Mountain overlook are a great place to sit and take in a view. This also has an old Mine tunnel you can see as well as old mining machines.

Mining History

The entire park has old mining infrastructure with bits of history. You can find old abandoned buildings, old walls, and even an old mine tunnel (pictured) in the park. 

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Grace’s High Falls

Grace’s High Falls

Rating: Very Difficult (Rope skills required)
Distance: 0.5 Miles
Fee: Free 

NOTE: Getting down to the bottom of Grace’s High Falls is super difficult and requires rappeling into the canyon. Rappeling skills are required and to get out of the canyon you need to either be able to self-belay yourself to the top or be able to ascend a rope. There are alternate routes to getting to the bottom of the falls without rappelling by scrambling down Bear Creek.

The bottom of Grace’s High Falls is Beautiful. There’s a beautiful creek that it flows into.

More Waterfalls

Grace’s High Falls is located an hour and a half east of Huntsville. If you are looking to get to the bottom, the directions you get from Googling “Grace’s High Falls” will take you to the overlook, not to where you need to park to get to the bottom. Click here for parking directions.

Parking

Parking is a gravel pulloff on the side of the road here. There is a picnic table and potentially a social trail (not official trail). 

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Getting to the cliff edge

There was a social trail behind the picnic benches when we went, but do not rely on it not being overgrown. There was also rope up to help people get down, but you shouldn’t trust rope that has been left up in the wild. The social trail did take us to the easiest place to get down, but if there is no social trail, you can find the best place to get down here.

Rappeling

Ropes skills are needed to get down the side of the canyon. Rappelling is the best and safest option to get down. We rappeled down and self-belayed getting up (for you climbers it was an easy climb, maybe rated a 5.5). You could also try to ascend the rope. There was rope there when we got there, but again, do not trust any rope that has been left out in the elements.

Bottom of Grace’s High Falls

Though the bottom of Grace’s High Falls is tough to get to, you’ll be rewarded with the tallest above ground waterfall in Alabama, a place to walk behind the falls, and plenty to see.

Swimming Hole

If you continue downhill there is a nice swimming hole on Bear Creek. It is a scramble to get down here, but incredibly beautiful!

Grace’s High Falls from Above

Grace’s High Falls can be seen from the Little River Rim Drive. You can find directions here.

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Town of Spectre

Town of Spectre

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: No Hiking
Cost:
10 and Over: $5 per person
2 to 10 Years: $3
Under 2: Free 

The Town of Spectre is on a lake island just north of Montgomery. It features a beautiful island with moss-covered trees, boat ramps, fishing, a playground, goats, and the town of Spectre which is a movie set from the movie “Big Fish”.

Don’t sweat all night camping during summer. Find the essentials here.

The Town of Spectre is located a little over  3 hours south of Huntsville, almost to Montgomery. We stopped here on the way to the beach. It is just a few minutes off of I-65 and makes for a great way to break up the trip.

Google Town of Spectre or click here for directions.

 

Town of Spectre

You can drive right up to the town. The town was built as a movie set for the movie “Big Fish”. The movie set over the years has been damaged due to storms and fires, but a few of the buildings remain intact and standing. The insides of the buildings are completely gutted and you cannot enter them due to the instability of the structures.

Goats

Yes. There are a TON of goats on this island. Some of them will come up to you, some of them will avoid you, but we had a ton of fun petting them. It was a very unexpected surprise, but made the stop a ton of fun.

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Swann Covered Bridge

Swann Covered Bridge

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: No Hiking
Cost: Free

Swann Covered Bridge is an old covered bridge. It used to be a drivable bridge, but has been closed down. You can still cross the bridge on foot and play in the river. There are hiking trails, but we did not get a chance to explore them.

Find nearby hikes:
Mardis Mill Falls
Rickwood Caverns

Don’t sweat all night camping during summer. Find the essentials here.

Swann Covered Bridge is located a little over 1hour south of Huntsville.

Google Swann Covered Bridge or click here for directions.

 

The Bridge

There isn’t a ton to this park, but it’s beautiful. There’s a few hiking trails to walk around on.

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Buggytop Cave

Buggytop Cave

Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 4 miles roundtrip
Entry Fee: Free

Buggytop Cave is a cave waterfall located south of Sewanee, TN. The hike will take you through woods, along a cliffside, and down the side of the cliff to a large cave.

Find nearby hikes:
Sewanee Natural Bridge
Russell Cave National Monument
Foster Falls

Know what you need to bring camping during the summer.

More Waterfalls

Buggytop Cave is located 1.5 hours northeast from Huntsville.

You can Google Buggytop Cave or click here for directions!

Trailhead/Parking Lot

There is a fairly large parking lot that that could fit a dozen or 2 cars. The trailhead is well-marked. 

Trails

There is very limited trails in this area. 1 trail that takes you to the cliff edge. From the cliff edge (pictured) the trail splits to go to Peter Cave and Buggytop Cave. The initial trail starts off uphill and transitions to a downhill hike. The trail to Buggytop follows a cliff edge and is downhill and difficult. The trail to Peter Cave also follows a cliff edge, is moderate, and offers views of the surrounding area.

The trails are fairly well marked with white trail markings on the trees.

 

Trail to Buggytop Cave

As mentioned above, the trail to Buggytop follows a cliff edge and winds down the side of the cliff. This can get slippery and steep in places. Be careful and wear proper boots.

Buggytop Cave

Buggytop Cave is a giant wild cave. The inside of the cave is only open from May 1 to August 31 each year. You will need to sign a waiver before entering. A helmet, headlamp, extra batteries, and appropriate shoes/clothing should be used while caving. Never cave alone. Caving is a dangerous activity. To learn how to cave safely without damaging the cave’s ecosystem, join your local grotto.

Trail to Peter Cave

The hike to Peter Cave is moderate and will take you past a beautiful view of the valley (pictured). You’ll pass another cave on your right, a creek bed, and you’ll run right into Peter Cave.

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Peter Cave

Peter Cave is an elongated cave that looks like it drops down right out of sight of the opening.

The inside of the cave is only open from May 1 to August 31 each year. You will need to sign a waiver before entering. A helmet, headlamp, extra batteries, and appropriate shoes/clothing should be used while caving. Never cave alone. Caving is a dangerous activity. To learn how to cave safely without damaging the cave’s ecosystem, join your local grotto.

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Sewanee Natural Bridge

Sewanee Natural Bridge

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 100 yards
Cost: Free

Natural Bridge Hiking Trail is a very cool, easy-to-find Natural Bridge in Southeast Teneessee. This one does not require much hiking. If you are looking for a longer hike, I suggest checking out Buggy Top Cave nearby.

Find hiking locations nearby:
Foster Falls
Russell Cave National Monument

Directions to Monte Sano Trailhead

Natural Bridge Hiking Trail is located a little under 1.5 hours northeast of Huntsville in Tennessee.

Google the name or click here for directions.

Parking Lot/Trailhead

The parking lot is easy to find with enough space for 10+ cars. There are signs at the trailhead. The trail is just a short walk down some naturally built steps to the natural bridge.

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Natural Bridge

The Natural Bridge is easy to find. Just follow the path. The path offers a way for you to walk over the bridge and you can find your way down to the base of the bridge. Head out the way you came in.

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Burgess Falls

Burgess Falls

Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: Paddle 2 miles/hike 0.2 miles (depending on water levels)
Entry Cost: Free
Opens: 8AM Daily
Closes: 30 minutes before sunset

Burgess Falls is a very large powerful waterfall located in Sparta, TN Norht of Huntsville. This waterfall is accessible by boat at the bottom or a hike to the view from above.

If you need a kayak, you can rent one from Cumberland Kayak Adventure nearby. They are open seasonally.

Find hikes nearby:
Rock Island State Park
Fall Creek Falls

This is the perfect place to wear outdoor sandals. 

More Waterfalls

Burgess Falls is about 2.5 hours North of Huntsville near Sparta, TN.

The parking lot for kayaking to the bottom of the falls does not pop up on Google when you search for “Burgess Falls”. Click here for directions.

Parking Lot

There is plenty of parking in the parking lot. If you don’t have a kayak to paddle, you can always rent one from Cumberland Kayak Adventure nearby! There is plenty of room to unload and park. This place is busy during the summer months. There are porta-potties in the parking lot.

The Paddle

The paddle is easy, but it is 2 miles. Most of the time the water is lake-like conditions without any noticeable current. As you get towards the end of the paddle you will be paddling against the current. 

Boat landing

Where you pull off depends on how high the water levels are. The higher the water levels, the farther up the river you can go. I’ve seen pictures where you can kayak all the way up to the falls. You will need to pull off on the right (looking upstream) and hike along that bank to get to the falls. The hiking is technical in some places and very flat and easy in others. 

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Burgess Falls

The waterfall is super powerful and creates a mist in the air. It is massive and a beautiful sight. You can swim at the bottom during the summer!

Yellow Creek Falls

We ran out of time, so we did not go to the overlook (photo credit: wiki). It looks like you can park here and take the trail “Burgess Falls Dr”. 

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Cave Trail – Lake Guntersville State Park

Cave Trail – Lake Guntersville State Park

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 0.25 miles round trip
Cost: Free

The cave at Lake Guntersville State Park is a very cool, easy-to-find Cave in Lake Guntersville State Park.

Find hiking locations nearby:
Waterfall at Red Mill
High Falls
Buck’s Pocket

Directions to Monte Sano Trailhead

Lake Guntersville State Park is located around 1 hour southeast of Huntsville.

Click here for directions to parking.

Parking Lot/Trailhead

Parking lot for hikers and bikers on Monte Sano

There isn’t a set parking lot, but a pull-off along the road. There is a trail next to the pull-off. Follow the trail.

Parking lot for hikers and bikers on Monte Sano

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Cave

This cave is very easy to find. It is located less than 100 yards off of the road. Its a pretty rock garden. There are miles of trails attached to this trail. It is all worth exploring!

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Honeycomb Cave

Honeycomb Cave

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 0.25 miles round trip
Cost: Free

Honeycomb “Cave” appears to be an old mine that was transitioned into a fall-out shelter during the Cold War.

Find hiking locations nearby:
Honeycomb Natural Bridge
Cathedral Caverns

Directions to Monte Sano Trailhead

Honeycomb “Cave” is located a little over 30 minutes southeast of Huntsville.

It does not pop up on Google when you search for it, so click here for directions.

Parking Lot/Trailhead

Parking lot for hikers and bikers on Monte Sano

There isn’t a true parking lot, just a gravel pull off on the side of the road. There is a gravel trail that leads directly to the cave. It is very short and easy to follow.

Parking lot for hikers and bikers on Monte Sano

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Honeycomb Cave

I have been told this is technically an abandoned mine, not a cave and from the looks of it, it very much appears to be a mine. TVA prohibits entering caves due to disturbing the bat population. 

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