Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maps: USGS Bridgehead, AL; DeLorme: Alabama Atlas & Gazetteer, page 63
D6; brochures available online (see trail contact)
Trail contact: City of Daphne Parks & Recreation Department, 2605 US 98, PO
Box 400, Daphne, AL 36526; (251) 621-3703; www.daphneal.com/residents/
parks-recreation
Finding the trailhead: From the intersection of I-10 and US 98, take US 98 south
1.7 miles. Turn right onto Main Street (a Publix shopping center is on the right at
the turn). In 200 feet turn right onto Bay Front Drive. Travel 0.4 mile to the park-
ing area. The trailhead is well marked on the west side of the parking lot next to
Mobile Bay. GPS: N33 37.793' / W87 55.117'
The Hike
It's rare that you get so much history and natural beauty in a single trail within the
heart of a city, but that's what you'll find on the Village Point Park Preserve Trail
in Daphne.
Located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, the city of Daphne is situated on
the southern end of the second-largest river delta in the country, the Mobile-
Tensaw Delta, a fertile land teeming with wildlife, fish, and reptiles, making it a
perfect location for civilization to take root. Native Americans, including
Choctaws, Tensaw, Creeks, and Seminoles, called this land home thousands of
years ago.
The region, however, has had an identity crisis. It was first settled by
Europeans, Spain to be exact, in 1557. The Spaniards named the land La Aleda, or
“the village.” France came in to claim the territory in the early 1700s only to lose
the land to Great Britain after the French and Indian War in 1763. The area then
became part of the United States following the defeat of the British in the War of
1812.
The park was created in 2004 by the City of Daphne to protect its history and
environment, and the trail here was named a National Recreational Trail in 2011.
The trail at Village Point will take you back in time to explore a little of that his-
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