Local Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Huntsville Adventurer

South Loop Trail – Monte Sano

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 3.4 miles

Monte Sano is located in Huntsville, AL and is a great place to get out, hike and bike. The park is very family friendly and hosts a wide variety of trails.

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: $100.00
Family: $150.00
Senior: $50.00

*The Broken Road has an “Honor Box” to insert your fees into. The main entrance usually has an attendant manning the entrance to collect fees.

The Hiking and Biking Parking Lot is located here in Huntsville about a 15-minute drive from downtown.

Click on this link or look at our map above!

Trailhead

This trailhead is marked well. There is plenty of parking in the parking lot and plenty of space to unload if you have a bike. If you explore the top of Monte Sano by car, you can find several places with beautiful views of the surrounding area.

Check out our Gear suggestions!
Summer Hiking Essentials
Summer Camping Essentials
Outdoor Sandal

Trail

The trail itself is very beautiful. The trail starts at the hikers and bikers parking lot and circles along the south plateau. There are plenty of signs along the way to follow! In the winter, there are a few places you can view the surrounding area. Look at the interactive map for a few places to stop.

Mountain View

There is a beautiful place to sit on the benches and enjoy nature around you. In the winter you get a fairly clear view of the area around you. In the summer, you can still see the tops of the mountains, but your views are mostly blocked.

Rest Area

There are several rest areas along the South Plateau Loop. Two of them are marked on the interactive map. These are a great place to rest or get out of the rain if you get caught in a storm.

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Stone Cut Trails – Monte Sano

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 4 miles

Monte Sano is located in Huntsville, AL and is a great place to get out, hike and bike. The park is very family friendly and hosts a wide variety of trails.

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: $100.00
Family: $150.00
Senior: $50.00

*The Broken Road has an “Honor Box” to insert your fees into. The main entrance usually has an attendant manning the entrance to collect fees.

The Broken Road Trail is located here in Huntsville about a 10-minute drive from downtown. To get to the entrance, follow Bankhead Parkway, and at park the first time the road does a switchback.

Click on this link or look at our map above!

Trailhead

This trailhead is marked well. There is plenty of parking along the road. If the main parking has filled up, there is a bit more parking uphill after the switchback. Please be courteous to your fellow hikers and park appropriately.

Trail

The beginning trail is called “The Broken Road” because it is an old road that has begun to erode. Follow the road up 0.25 miles and turn left on the first beaten path you find called “Mountain Mist Trail”. You will come to a trail passing over Mountain Mist called “Sinks Trail”. Turn left on Sinks Trail. Continue onto “Logan Point Trail and turn right when you see the sign for “Stone Cuts Trail”

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Stone Cut Trails

The Stone Cut Trail has a “bypass”. Be sure you go on the trail marked “Stone Cut Trail” and not the bypass. On the Stone Cut trail, you weave in and out of beautiful rocks towering over you. To get back, you can turn around and head back the way you came, or you can follow Mountain Mist back to the Broken Road.

Alternate Route

Here is an alternate route starting at the top of Monte Sano.

Distance: 2.5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate

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Broken Road – Monte Sano

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 2.5 miles

Monte Sano is located in Huntsville, AL and is a great place to get out, hike and bike. The park is very family friendly and hosts a wide variety of trails.

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: $100.00
Family: $150.00
Senior: $50.00

*The Broken Road has an “Honor Box” to insert your fees into. The main entrance usually has an attendant manning the entrance to collect fees.

The Broken Road Trail is located here in Huntsville about a 10-minute drive from downtown. To get to the entrance, follow Bankhead Parkway, and at park the first time the road does a switchback.

Click on this link or look at our map above!

Trailhead

Summer Hiking Essentials
Summer Camping Essentials
Outdoor Sandal

Trail

The trail is called “The Broken Road” because it is an old road that has begun to erode. Follow the road up 1.25 miles to the overlook. As long as you are following the road you cannot get lost. The road has plenty of places where the ground has fallen out from beneath it, so be sure to watch where you are going!

Top View

At the very top of the trail is a beautiful overlook. Don’t want to hike to get here? This overlook is accessible through the main entrance of the park. You can drive and park right here! Though I do ask you to PLEASE turn your car off so the rest of us can enjoy nature!

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Rainbow Mountain

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate depending on trail
Distance: 3.4 miles available

Rainbow Mountain is a small park in Madison owned by the Land Trust of North Alabama. You can download a trail map here.

Buy Land Trust Maps here

To get to Rainbow Mountain, Google Maps Rainbow Mountain or look at our map above!

Hike

Rainbow Mountain is mostly known for its hiking. The hiking here is absolutely beautiful with awesome rock formations including the famous “Balance Rock”. There is plenty of natural wildlife, beautiful vegetation, and hidden gems to explore. Take your time hiking and observe everything around you!

Summer Hiking Essentials
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Outdoor Sandal

Climb

There is limited bouldering on Rainbow Mountain. Huntsville area does not offer a ton of outdoor bouldering nearby, so Rainbow Mountain is a great place to get in some practice. Check out the routes on the Mountain Project.

Playground

The balanced rock is located along Balanced Rock Trail (surprise). It’s a really cool rock structure.

Playground

There is a small playground great for young children near the entrance. The playground is equipped with a toddler play area (shown), rocking horses, a couple of swings, and a bench. This is a great place to wear out your kids while your rest before or after a hike!

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Oak Park Trail

Rating: Easy
Distance: 2.5 Miles
Fee: Free (Donation Box Available)

CAUTION: Be sure to listen for mountain bikers. Several of their turns are blind and they cannot always see you!

Download Trail Map from the Land Trust of North Alabama website!

Oak Park Trail is a short trail at the base of Monte Sano. The land is owned by the Land Trust of North Alabama. The trail is a great place to take a hike or mountain bike. The trails are built up for speedy bikers with plenty of banks and ramps for those of you who like to bike fast. The trail is fairly easy and is about 2.5 miles.

More Waterfalls

The park trail head at Oak Park. There is a large parking lot for the park.

Google Maps Land Trust of North Alabama: Monte Sano Nature Preserve Oak Park Trailhead or look at our map above!

On our journey, we followed Oak Park Trail (Blue on map) until it ended in a “T” and turned left on Bankhead Trail (Red on map). We followed Bankhead trail until it forked. We turned left onto Buzzards Roost Trail (Yellow on map) and followed the trail until it meets back up with Oak Park Trail. We turned right on Oak Park Trail and followed it back to the parking lot.

Trailhead

This is a well-marked trailhead. Walk between the two baseball fields. Behind the baseball fields is the trail head.

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Summer Hiking Essentials
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Oak Park Trail Alternate

The first fork in the trail is between the Oak Park Trail and the Oak Park Trail Alternative. The trail to the left is built up for mountain bikes and the alternate trail to the right is more direct. Feel free to take either trail.

Oak Park Trial Fork

The trail forks again. To stay on Oak Park Trail (Blue on map) take the path to the right, or if you want to do the do the trail in reverse, go left to get on Buzzards Roost Trail (Yellow on map).

Oak Park Trail / Bankhead Trail

When you reach the end of Oak Park Trail, the path makes a “T”. You can turn left and follow our steps on Bankhead Trail (Red on map).

Bankhead Trail / Dallas Branch Trail

The trail to Dallas Branch Trail is hard to see. Dallas Branch trail is the clearly marked trail right in the picture. Dallas Branch Trail is barely visible to the left in the picture. There is a sign that marks the Dallas Branch Trail. Follow the trail to the left Dallas Branch Trail back to Oak Park Trail. Be sure to follow the marked path. There are several paths off to the right that leads back to neighborhoods but do not lead to the parking lot. When you reach Oak Park Trail turn right and follow it back to the parking lot.

Buzzard Roost Trail

Buzzard Roost leads you down a trail to a beautiful waterfall, Dallas Branch Falls. The trail follows the Dallas Branch creek. If you go a bit off-trail you can find another cascade that has a blue tint on the rock and is very beautiful! To get here follow Buzzard Roost. When you cross over Dallas Branch Creek, go off-trail following the creekbed downstream.

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Beaverdam Swamp Boardwalk

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1 mile

Beaverdam Swamp Boardwalk is a really unique place in Huntsville. It is a fantastic short walk that is located right off of I-565 on County Line Rd. It is about a 1 mile out and back flat trek. The path is split between a gravel path and a boardwalk.

Find nearby hikes:
Rainbow Mountain
Rock House Cave

Fall Hiking Essentials.

To get to Beaverdam Swamp Boardwalk. Get off of I-565 on County Line Rd and turn right to go south. Turn right at the second road. There is a sign that reads “Wheeler Wildlife Refuge”. Follow that road until it reaches a dead-end and park.

We went after it had been raining to make sure the swamp was filled with water. It did make it very hot and muggy!

Google Maps Beaver Dam Nature Trail or look at our map above!

Trailhead

This is a well-marked trailhead. Follow the road until in turns into a gravel road and then continue until it turns into a boardwalk. The boardwalk can be slippery when wet so be careful!

Summer Hiking Essentials
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Outdoor Sandal

Boardwalk

Continue to follow the Boardwalk until you reach the swamp area. The swamp area very fascinating. There were plenty of animals that live here. The place was covered in butterflies and dragonflies. You can continue down the Boardwalk untill it ends at the river.

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Alum Hollow Trail – Green Mountain

What you need to know

Parking

Map It

Difficulty

Easy, Easy to moderate to find

Point of Interest

Map to POI

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 4.9 miles total
Entry Fee: Free (Donation Box Available)

Alum Hollow Trail is on Green Mountain. The land is owned by the Land Trust of North Alabama. The trail head parking lot is located right past the Madison County Nature Trail (assuming you are coming from Huntsville and not Owens Cross Roads).

Buy Land Trust Maps here

More Waterfalls

Alum Hollow Trail is a 1 mile each way (2 mile return) scenic hike to a small waterfall and small overhanging cliff. This trail is well marked. Follow the signs that read “Alum Hollow Trail”.

Google Maps Alum Hollow Trail or look at our map above!

Alum Hollow Trail

This is a very easy and short hike to the waterfall. It is flat and about 2.5 miles round trip. You will follow a ridge where you wander through the woods. In the winter, you have a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.

Summer Hiking Essentials
Summer Camping Essentials
Outdoor Sandal

Waterfall and Cave

Continue to follow the Alum Hollow trail. The trail forks to the left and to the right. To the right you will be able to see the waterfall. If you follow the trail to the left, you’ll find the overhanging cliffs right around the corner.