Enjoy wonderful water views along these North Alabama hiking trails
Hiking in north Alabama often includes making your way to creeks, rivers or lakes. It’s among the best regions in America for finding easy-to-get-to waterfalls and other waterscapes, and some of those are described below. Featuring easy to enjoy and some involving more effort, here’s my guide to the best hiking trails for taking in the views of lakes, rivers, creeks and waterfalls in north Alabama.
Noccalula Falls Park
Just a few hundred feet from the parking lot, the waterfall is very easy to enjoy from both sides of the creek. Downstream, getting to the best creek views requires some moderate hiking. At Lookout Mountain’s southern terminus in Gadsden, the waterfall and the park’s Black Creek Trails are part of the Noccalula Falls Park free-to-enter portion. Going down to the dramatic rock overhang behind the waterfall—recommended for sure-footed hikers only—is one of many rocky spots with waterscapes in the small gorge. Other downstream highlights include huge boulders and a swinging bridge over the creek. For details and more photos see, Where to enjoy some waterside fun on your next trip to Gadsden.
DeSoto Falls
Another Lookout Mountain point of interest, most visitors enjoy this large waterfall found along the west fork of Little River from the upper level. Up there, you can park only dozens of feet away, and the walk to the overlook is short. For those looking for a short hike, a trail through the woods makes it possible to enjoy the view from the bottom of the falls.
DeSoto State Park
A few miles south of DeSoto Falls, the mountaintop DeSoto State Park near Fort Payne and Mentone provides numerous trail choices for taking in more Little River views, as well as some small waterfalls and cascades on a trio of streams that flow into the river. The Desoto Scout Trail passes through the park parallel to the river. A short boardwalk leads to a closeup view of a cascade. For details and more photos see, A hiker’s guide to DeSoto State Park’s best trails.
Joe Wheeler State Park
Here, you can park in the heart of the park and walk past the marina right up to the Luther’s Pass trailhead. The trail follows the edge of the lake for the most part, leading to a lovely hollow packed with water views. At the tip of the hollow, you have a choice of continuing along its north side on the Jimmy Sim’s Birding Trail.
Joe Wheeler State Park is in north central part of the state 20 miles from Athens, 24 miles from Florence and 45 miles from Huntsville International Airport
Walls of Jericho
Enjoying the waterscapes at this large public forest at the Alabama/Tennessee border is for serious hikers. Getting to the gorge’s waterfalls and creek views involves going down the mountain, and back again. Twenty-five miles from Scottsboro and about 48 miles from Huntsville, the popular hike is worth the drive and the training it takes to be physically prepared. Learn more: Hiking at the Walls of Jericho.
Buck’s Pocket State Park
The Morgan’s Cove boat ramp area of this park, pictured above, features easy-to-get-to views without having to hike. But for those hoping to venture into the forest, an hour or two on one of the trails at this park at the corner of three north Alabama counties can reward you with watery scenes including more lakescapes, gorge creek views, steep mountain streams or a little side trip to Little Sauty Falls. Prepare for your trail outing here: A guide to the trails at Buck’s Pocket State Park.
Lake Guntersville State Park
At this large park, two trails follow the edge of the Town Creek portion of the lake. The Cuthemine Trail, pictured above and at the top of the page, follows the edge of the Short Creek portion. Each provides several spots where you can take in nice water views. Few other parks offer the variety of short, medium, long and very long trail choices. For more details, check out my post, A hiker’s guide to the trails at Lake Guntersville State Park.
The TVA trails at Guntersville Dam
TVA’s trails are not among the first paths many hikers have in mind when planning a hike. But two long trails—one on each side of the dam—provide countless views of the water. On the north side of the river, the TVA Honeycomb Trail can be accessed at the dam or at its east end. On the south side of the river, you can enjoy hiking on similar terrain on the TVA Cooley Cemetery Trail. Whichever you choose, plan to make your way to a secluded hollow for bird watching and some nice lakescapes. It’s a long drive to get from the north side to the south side of the river. So, you cannot combine the two trails in one hike.
You can combine the Cemetery Trail with the shorter Cave Mountain Trail. They share a trailhead parking lot. It doesn’t follow the edge of Lake Guntersville like the other dam trails, but it provides an elevated view of the slough between the mountain and the river, with a closer look near the old mine.
Little River Canyon
This national preserve on Lookout Mountain near Fort Payne is a wonderful place to enjoy an easy-to-get-to wild river. Several scenic overlooks provide amazing views. But, for those who are willing and able to see the river up close, two popular paths are worth exploring. The Lower Two Mile Trail is a short, moderate-to-difficult choice with very steep terrain. The trail at Eberhart Point has similar terrain but is more challenging due to a good deal of extra distance. The Beaver Pond Trail is an easier path that doesn’t include a steep trip to the gorge floor. At the wooden overlook, you can get a good look at how beaver’s alter the small stream’s flow.
For a large number of canyon photos, see Galleries: Little River Canyon and Little River Canyon: A first-time visitor’s sightseeing guide.
On Sand Mountain, a pair of parks feature short trails that lead to waterfalls:
High Falls Park near Geraldine
Pisgah Gorge near Scottsboro