Red Mountain Park

Red Mountain Park

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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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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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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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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Jones Valley Loop

Jones Valley Loop

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 0.75 miles round trip
Cost: Free

Jones Valley Loop Trail is a quiet, beautiful trail in Jones Valley with a stream that runs after a good rain.

Find hiking locations nearby:
Blevin’s Gap
Aldridge Creek Greeway

Directions to Monte Sano Trailhead

Jones Valley Loop Trail is located in Huntsville, 14 minutes south of downtown.

You can find the trailhead by searching for “Fanning Trail Trailhead” or clicking here.

Parking Lot/Trailhead

Parking lot for hikers and bikers on Monte Sano

The parking lot is the church parking lot for Church of the Nazarene in Jones Valley. The trailhead is located in the back corner behind the church. There is a large trail system. To see the waterfall, follow “Jones Valley Loop Trail”.

Parking lot for hikers and bikers on Monte Sano

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Bailey Cove Falls

Bailey Cove Falls only runs after a significant rain. The waterfall runs underneath a bridge. The trail follows unt he stream and back down the stream. There is a large trail system here 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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Cave Springs

Cave Springs

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

Cave Springs is a very cool, easy-to-find Cave in Wheeler Wildlife Refuge.

Find hiking locations nearby:
Wheeler Wildlife Refuge Rock House Caves
Wheeler Wildlife Refuge

Directions to Monte Sano Trailhead

Cave Springs is located a little over 30 minutes southwest 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 set parking lot, but a pull-off next to the road. There is a gate where you park. This gate is open during certain times of the year. The cave is about 50 yds from the parking spot. You do not go down the road, but instead up the hill next to the cars. The cave is very easy to find.

Parking lot for hikers and bikers on Monte Sano

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Natural Bridge

The cave is easy to find. You cannot go into the majority of the cave, but you can enjoy the view in the picture above. Majority of the cave is gated off to protect endangered bats.

Cave Coordinates: 34.546325649892445, -86.85126730904689

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Cheaha State Park

Cheaha State Park

Difficulty: Easy to Difficult depending on trail
Distance: Depends on the trail

Entry Fee*:
Adults Age 12+: $5.00
Ages 4-11: $2.00
Seniors 62+: $2.00
Active Military: $2.00
Kids 3 and under are free

Annual Park Pass:
Individual: $105.00
Family: $155.00
Senior/Disabled: $55.00

Cheaha State Park is located just south of Anniston, AL in Delta. Click this link for directions.

Tallest Point in Alabama

Mount Cheaha has the highest point in the state of Alabama at 2,413 ft. At the highest point is an observation deck that offers 360 degree views. Click here for directions here. The parking lot is about 50 ft from the observation tower and is fairly easy to navigate, although the observation deck has sever flights of stairs.

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Pulpit Rock

The trail to Pulpit Rock is fairly short, less than 1 mile roundtrip. It is moderately rated. There is a very small parking area here (link), alongside the road. The hike offers a beautiful view.

Rock Garden

Rock Garden is a very short, 0.5-mile roundtrip hike and is rated moderate to difficult. This short hike starts with views from the parking lot next to Cheaha’s amazing cabins and ends with some of the best views in Alabama. After a rain, you can see Angels Falls running. The trail continues downhill to Cheaha Like. You can find parking here. 

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