Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Trail contact: Chewacla State Park, 124 Shell Toomer Pkwy., Auburn, AL 36830;
(334) 887-5621; www.alapark.com/chewacla
Special considerations: This is a major SEC college football town. Check dates for
Auburn University home games before traveling. The park is usually packed those
weekends.
Finding the trailhead: From Auburn at I-85 exit 51, take US 29 south 0.2 mile and
turn left onto Shell Toomer Parkway. Drive 1.5 miles to the park entrance to pay
your fee or reserve a campsite. Continue through the gate on Murphy Drive 1.7
miles. The road comes to a loop with parking. The trailhead will be on your right
side (north) as you pull in. It is a short series of cement stairs. GPS: N32 32.982' /
W85 28.561'
The Hike
Located outside the town of Auburn just off of I-85 is Chewacla State Park. The
park is 696 acres of hardwood and pine forest with a rich history, much of which
is still visible throughout the park and along this hike.
The site has always been a popular swimming area. Chewacla Creek was a
well-known swimming hole in these parts throughout the 1800s. In the mid-1800s
a small sawmill was built here that was eventually purchased by W. W. Wright in
1873. The sawmill was highly successful until it closed in the early 1900s.
In 1935, as with many such areas in the state, the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC) came in and began constructing a state park. The first order of business
was to create a lake for fishing and swimming by building a dam which still
stands, and which you will visit on this hike.
Other CCC amenities that you will see at the park include impressive stacked
stone cabins, picnic pavilions, a bathhouse, an arched stone bridge, and 2 miles of
hiking trails. Today there are over 11 miles of hiking and biking trails in the park
as well as a campground with forty-six improved sites and ten primitive tent sites.
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