Gulf Coast Region - Hiking Alabama: A Guide to the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures - page 5

Trail contact: Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, 11300 US 98,
Fairhope, AL 36532; [phone]; www.outdooralabama.com/public-lands/
statelands/weeksbay
Finding the trailhead: From Fairhope at the intersection of US 98 and Fairhope
Avenue, take US 98 east 10.2 miles. The trailhead will be on the right. GPS: N30
25.214' / W87 50.080'
The Hike
This is not a high-tech, high-altitude, three-day backpacking trip. This short and
simple nature path is included here for the purposes of spotlighting a beautiful re-
serve and an endangered habitat. If you have children, especially younger ones,
this is a perfect opportunity to introduce them to hiking and exploring the great
outdoors, and who knows, they just might learn something in the process.
The Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is one of twenty-six such
estuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
By definition an estuary is a semi-enclosed body of water where freshwater from
rivers mixes with saltwater from the ocean creating a brackish mix, a prime in-
gredient for supporting a wide variety of plant and animal life.
The Weeks Bay reserve was established in 1986 to protect land that was once at
high risk of development. In fact, the county where the estuary is located, Bald-
win, is one of the fastest-growing counties, if not the fastest-growing county, in
the state. The reserve maintains for posterity 3,000 acres of marshland along
Weeks and Mobile Bays and is fed by the Magnolia and Fish Rivers.
The reserve's nature trail utilizes a combination of vegetation-friendly dirt paths
to lead you through the forested swamps, along the banks of salt- and freshwater
marshes, and through the tidal flats. Signs along the way identify animals and rare
plants you may encounter (some of the information is provided in a brochure
available at the trailhead kiosk or reserve office). Some of the trees you will see
here include Japanese climbing fern, lots of loblolly pine, sweet gum, eastern red
cedar, sweet pepperbush, and a variety of Myrica cerifera , a plant you know better
as wax myrtle.