Gulf Coast Region - Hiking Alabama: A Guide to the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures - page 33

follow. From the trailhead the path meanders eastward along the ridge of a sand
dune lined with scrub pine, saw palmetto, and wildflowers. Keep your eyes peeled
for gopher tortoises.
At mile 0.4 you will get your first glimpse of Gator Lake. An early morning
hike will reward you with a Kodak moment—a placid, glassy lake reflecting a
blue Alabama sky, the water only disturbed by the occasional landing of water-
fowl. As the trail bends around the lake, you will walk over a small wetland area
on a short boardwalk and soon climb a short sand dune and be greeted by a view
of the saltwater Little Lagoon and the intersection of the Gator Lake Trail with the
Pine Beach Trail. A sign here shows the direction to the Pine Beach Trailhead, the
Gulf of Mexico, and the return direction for the Gator Lake Trail. This is where
you turn around and return to the trailhead.
What's in a name? Alabama was named after a Native Amer-
ican tribe that lived in what is now central Alabama, the
Alabamu or Alibamo, depending on what country tried to spell it.
Europeans named a major river in the region after the tribe and
then later the state.