Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Schedule: Year-round, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; zip line open weekends Memorial
Day-Labor Day
Maps: USGS Uriah East, Uriah West, Huxford, and McCullough, AL; DeLorme:
Alabama Atlas & Gazetteer, page 57 D6
Trail contact: Little River State Forest, 580 H. Kyle Rd., Atmore, AL 36502;
(251) 862-2511; www.forestry.state.al.us/little_river_state_forest.aspx?bv=6&s=2
Finding the trailhead: From I-65 exit 57, take AL 21 north 11 miles. Turn right
onto H. Kyle Road and travel 0.4 mile to the pay station. The office and the start
of the trail are straight ahead in another 0.2 mile. GPS: N31 15.436' / W87 29.129'
The Hike
Hidden away like a little secret off AL 21 is Little River State Forest, yet another
gift of the Depression era's CCC program. The park is a gem for families, offering
plenty to do. There are playgrounds; swimming, canoeing, paddleboating, and
fishing in the park's centerpiece 25-acre lake; and, of course, hiking.
One of my favorites at Little River is the Gazebo Trail. Now, I am a bit partial
to this trail, which was originally built in 1935 by the CCC to take visitors to its
namesake gazebo. I only discovered the path in 2000 while doing research for the
first edition of this topic. Soon after, a series of devastating hurricanes virtually
wiped the trail off the map, but with the help of the Alabama Forestry Commis-
sion and the local chapter of the Alabama Hiking Trail Society, we painstakingly
found the original trail bed under mounds of downed trees, and today the trail is
almost exactly back to where it was in 1935.
There are two trails in the park: The first (and the longer of the two) is this trail,
the Gazebo Trail; the second is the Bell/CCC Trail. Both trails start at the park of-
fice and bathhouse (you can find drink and snack machines inside). The Bell/CCC
Trail heads west then south, skirting the lake and forming a lollipop loop. The
Gazebo Trail heads northeast from the office, away from the lake along rolling
ridges.
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