North Region - Hiking Alabama: A Guide to the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures - page 316

Maps: USGS Dugout Valley, Fort Payne, AL; DeLorme: Alabama Atlas & Gaz-
etteer, page 21 G8; state park trail maps available for free at country store
Trail contact: DeSoto State Park, 7104 DeSoto Pkwy. NE, Fort Payne, AL 35967;
[phone]; www.alapark.com/desotoresort
Finding the trailhead: From Fort Payne on I-59 at exit 218, head east on Glenn
Boulevard SW / Pine Ridge Road SW 1 mile and turn left onto Gault Avenue
South. Travel 1.1 miles and turn right onto Fifth Street. Travel 0.4 mile and turn
left onto Wallace Avenue NE. Follow Wallace Avenue NE 2 miles and turn left
onto CR 89 / DeSoto Parkway NE. Travel 5.7 miles. At the DeSoto State Park
Country Store, turn right into the picnic area then make an immediate left. In 0.2
mile you will arrive at the tennis courts. If the gate to the pool parking lot is not
closed, turn right here and park at the swimming pool building. If it is closed, park
at the tennis courts. GPS: N34 30.069' / W85 38.057'
The Hike
This 1.9-mile hike on the DeSoto Scout Trail, or DST, spotlights a much different
side of DeSoto State Park than you find on the Falls Loop trail. The trail takes you
high above rocky bluffs that were formed by the West Fork of Little River thou-
sands of years ago for a view of the roaring rapids below. The path then meanders
to a beautiful waterfall, Indian Falls (which you will visit twice), before it quickly
ducks down to river level for a deafening view of the river itself.
Now, keep in mind that even a river of this size is seasonal, but unlike many
smaller creeks and streams, there will most always be a flow of water through its
channel. In dry seasons the river can be quite low, with not much of a flow at all.
The best time to see the real character of the West Fork is to visit the park late fall
to late spring when the rains really kick it up. Fall also has the added benefit of the
hardwoods coming to life and lining the trail with amazing autumn colors.
While the full DeSoto Scout Trail extends well beyond the borders of the state
park (16 miles to be exact), the entire length of this trip is within its boundaries.
DeSoto State Park, as with most of the state parks in Alabama, was built by the
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. You will see an example of their