SHORT TRAILS BUT EPIC VIEWS
We headed north for a quick, four-day weekend trip. Alabama was where we dropped the pin at and started researching what we would go and do. Cheaha State Park it was. Due to how cold and wet it was going be over the weekend, we opted for the park motel over camping. We also chose the motel over the cabins, because the cabins was twice the price and no real good view either.
The first morning found us heading out to Pulpit Rock. A short .3 mile hike that took us to a spectacular view, even on a foggy, overcast day. This place was by far my favorite. I could have stayed up there all day taking photos and just chilling on the rocks. This would be a great picnic spot too.
Pulpit Rock was worth the whole trip! I will say that coming back up the trail to the trailhead will suck some wind from your lungs if you are not used to hiking in any elevation or steep terrain (that isn’t even steep compared to where we want to go).
Later that morning, we headed to Bald Rock. Another trail that was less than .5 mile to an amazing view. This trail is very easy to hike or take the boardwalk for an all accessible way and it has several benches on it also. This one is very windy at the top. If it was such a gray Winter day we would have seen some amazing views. They say sunset here is incredible. Unfortunately, we never seen the sun all weekend so we didn’t go back for any epic photos.
We was rained out that afternoon and decided to head to town. Less than 10 miles got us to a nice sized town with plenty of restaurants to choose from.
Morning two, we rose early and was ready for some fun! After all, it was New Years Day! What a way to start the year! First Day Hike of 2017! We opened the door to a blanket of mist and fog. We decided we was not going to let it stop us. The forecast once again called for rain in the afternoon so we headed out before it rolled in.
We pieced together several trails to make a 3.6 mile loop trail. We hiked a bit of the yellow express trail to the purple trail. Followed it for awhile until we connected with the blue, upper spring trail, then the green lower spring trail. We finally zig zagged some white and yellow trail to a service road and up to the highest point in Alabama where we took a quick picnic break…in the drizzling rain. Somewhere along the trail we had to dig out the rain jackets and rain covers for our packs. The quick picnic though – we love summer sausage, cheese and crackers! Christmas had gifted us with a set and we stashed it for this trip.
The final part of this hike took us down the Big Foot trail and back to our hotel. We spent the rest of this day driving around Talladega National Forest, which surrounds the park. It was beautiful and offers some longer hiking trails with waterfalls too. The falls were dry when we was here and it was hunting season. Too much respect for hunters to ruin their limited days of hunting to go see dry riverbeds…so we kept driving. It is a beautiful area and we plan to go back sometime and stay at the National Forest campground and hike some of the longer trails that they have. The park is great for the epic views and for short hikes that kids could also do great at. In fact the park boasts its kid-friendly atmosphere. Really anyone who likes shorter hikes with epic views will enjoy this park. The park also has a restaurant and pool on site. They have two campgrounds, cabins, chalets and the hotel.
It is a definite go and see place! Did we mention it proudly is home to the highest point in Alabama? Yes, it is and that is part of what peaked our interest!
Have you been there? Share your thoughts on it too for others to know a second opinion!
Do you like short hikes with epic views?
Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment at the bottom. We would love to hear how you plan your quick get away weekends.
FLATWOODERS 