South Region - Hiking Alabama: A Guide to the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures - page 147

Trail contact: Conecuh National Forest, 24481 AL 55, Andalusia, AL 36420;
[phone]; www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/alabama/recreation/picnickinginfo/re-
carea/?recid=30107&actid=71
Special considerations: Hunting is permitted in all of Alabama's national forests
and may restrict access to trails. Please visit the Forest Service website for dates
and restrictions.
Finding the trailhead: From Andalusia at the intersection of US 84 (River Falls
Street) and US 29, take US 29 south 11.2 miles and turn left onto AL 137 South.
Travel 5.4 miles and turn left onto Open Pond Road. Travel 0.3 mile and turn right
onto CR 28 (Tower Road). Travel 1.1 miles and come to a Y. There is a self-pay
kiosk here. Pay your day-use fee and put the tag in your window. Take the left
fork and park in the lot behind the bathhouse. The trailhead is on the south side of
the parking lot. Three 6-inch-round creosote poles blocking an old, short dirt road
mark the beginning of the hike. GPS: N31 05.408' / W86 32.675'
The Hike
There are two distinct sides to Conecuh National Forest. To the north are some
amazing cypress ponds that you can visit on the Nellie Pond Loop. To the south is
the wide and fast-flowing Five Runs Creek and a big, beautiful, crystal-clear blue
spring cleverly called Blue Spring. You will experience the latter along the Five
Runs Loop Trail.
The trail takes you far from the Open Pond Recreation Area, a campground that
can be very crowded most any time of the year. Because you're removed from the
madding crowd, you'll have a better chance of seeing some of the wildlife that
calls the forest home. Many endangered species live here, including the flattened
musk turtle and red-cockaded woodpecker, which was placed on the Endangered
Species List in the 1970s due to timber cutting that resulted in the rapid disappear-
ance of the bird's habitat. The good news is that cooperation among timber com-
panies, government agencies, and private organizations seems to be resulting in
survival of both the red-cockaded woodpecker and the timber industry.
This species differs from other woodpeckers in that it is only about 6 inches
long, does not sport a red head, and resides in live trees instead of dead or dying