Gulf Coast Region - Hiking Alabama: A Guide to the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures - page 77

The delta plays host to 300 species of birds, 70 percent of all of Alabama's rep-
tiles, and 40 different species of mammals. It is one of the largest drainage basins
in the world, with runoffs from four states feeding into it and into the Gulf of
Mexico. Blakeley is at the very southern end of the delta but has exceptional
views of some marshland and views across the river of the city of Mobile.
The hike begins at the park's boat ramp at the very end of the main road into the
park. There is room for about fifteen cars here and a nice portable toilet. Your trip
begins along the Jaque Pate Nature Trail. Along this section you will be walking
through some bottomland. Many of the trees in this area have signs indicating
what you will see. Some species include live oak, saw palmetto, and yellow pop-
lar.
The Cockleshell Mound Trail then takes you past the Wehle Nature Center and
a dirt road that takes you to the battlefield where some of the best-preserved
breastworks and redoubts from the Civil War can be seen. You will also head over
to the Union side to see the “Zig Zag,” an approach trench that took the Union sol-
diers right up to the Confederates doorstep at the redoubts.
The path returns the way you came, taking a turn on the nature trail farther
down Old Blakeley Road to the site of the old courthouse, the Mary G. Grice
Pavilion, and then the walk along Mobile Bay on the boardwalk.
Options: There are several intersections along the way, so you can make the
hike as long or as short as you like. The hike described here can easily be divided
into three separate routes. The first is the loop from the trailhead to the courthouse
foundation, then back to the trailhead on the boardwalk along the delta. The
second would be a nature loop from the trailhead to the Wehle Nature Center and
back. Finally, you can do a simple battlefield walk from the Wehle Nature Center
and loop around the battlefield for a 2-mile hike.