Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
About midway from the highway to the dam, a road to the west (to the right, when headed
toward the dam) goes through some privately owned fields. This is Hawk Farm. The owners
of the farm will allow birders to stop along parts of this dirt road to watch for hawks and
eagles. During January and other winter months, the huge fields here have provided homes
to bald eagle, northern harrier, red-tailed hawk, and for several years, a rough-legged hawk.
Other rarely seen raptors spotted here include merlin and prairie falcon. To reach Hawk Farm,
take the dirt road on the right 2.7 miles from the intersection of the US 431 and the road to
the dam. Go 0.7 mile to a wide area in the road where a shed and cattle pen are on the left;
park there, and you will have a good vantage point over several hundred acres of fields with
forest borders.
Information on attending an eagle weekend at the park can be obtained by writing:
Lake Guntersville State Park, Alabama Highway 227, 1155 Lodge Drive, Guntersville, AL
35976-9126. Or, call the park at 205-582-2061.
DESOTO STATE PARK AND MENTONE AREA
Rising higher than 2,000 feet and stretching for over eighty miles from Gadsden, Alabama,
to Chattanooga, Tennessee, is flat-topped Lookout Mountain, an island in the sky covered
with rolling farmlands and quiet woods. Often associated with Chattanooga and Civil War
battles, Lookout Mountain is much more; only its northern end extends into Tennessee, and
while part of it is in Georgia, most of the mountain is in Alabama. Along the top of Lookout
Mountain runs the Little River, which has cut a canyon up to 700 feet deep out of the moun-
tain: Little River Canyon. Together, the mountain and the canyon form a unique set of hab-
itats that attracts many migratory birds and provides the southern-most extension of many
species' summer ranges.
DeSoto State Park is accessible from several exits along I-59. Exit 231 takes you to
Mentone and to the upper end of the park which includes DeSoto Falls and the headquarters
section of the park alongside the Little River. From I-59, go east on SH 117 through Ham-
mondville and Valley Head to Mentone. Turn right at the blinking light just as you reach
Mentone, onto the Lookout Mountain Parkway. After three miles, a short road to the left leads
to DeSoto Falls. On the parkway, continue south past Alabama's only snow skiing resort,
Cloudmont. Follow the signs through two turns, the first to the left, the second to the right,
and the road goes into the park where the headquarters, lodge, and campground are located.
Continue south through the farms and fields on top of this mountain until you reach State
Highway 35 from Fort Payne. Turn east on SH 35, proceed several miles, and cross over a
bridge spanning the river just above Little River Falls. Park in the area immediately on the
right after crossing the bridge. To go down the canyon, take the road heading south marked by
a sign just to the west of the bridge on SH 35. The autumn colors along the roads of Lookout
Mountain are often quite beautiful. Summers on the mountain and in Mentone are as pleasant
