Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
backed heron summers here. Wandering late summer/early autumn wood storks have also
been sighted at the lake.
Lake Purdy is located along SH 119 North between US 280 and I-20. SH 119 can be
reached from exit 246 (Cahaba Valley Road) off I-65, south of Birmingham. The intersection
of SH 119 and US 280 is 9 miles from I-65; the back entrance to Oak Mountain State Park
is located on SH 119, 5.7 miles from the interstate. Coming from US 280, head northeast on
SH 119; after 2.4 miles, SH 119 crosses over an arm of the lake; watch for birds here. There
are places to park on the north side of the road, on both sides of the bridge. One and a half
miles past the arm of the lake, a short road to the left takes you to Lake Purdy Boat Dock,
where you can get access to the lake and can rent small trolling boats. A fair portion of the
lake is visible from this area. Grant's Mill Road (Jefferson County Road 143) leaves SH 119
1 mile past the road to the boat dock; this road goes north over another portion of the lake
where one can watch for birds on the water. Grant's Mill Road crosses a bridge over the lake
just 0.5 mile from SH 119; there is some parking on the south side of the bridge, but there
are extensive parking areas north of the bridge and before the road turns away from the lake.
Quite a bit of the lake can be scoped from here, and a fair amount of shoreline can be covered
on foot.
