These nine treks explore battlefields, Native-American ruins and other historical sites.
By Marcus Woolf
Huntsville's Old Railroad Bed Trail is one of the many paths that explore Alabama's history.
For more than 10,000 years, people have occupied the area now known as Alabama. From the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to the Civil War to the birth of the steel industry, Alabama boasts a rich history. In many of the state’s parks and national historic sites, trails will lead you to relics of the past, including caves that housed ancient Indians, abandoned mines and forts that saw fierce battles. From the mountains of north Alabama to Mobile Bay, you can find fascinating treks that allow you to explore nature while getting a glimpse of the past. As you plan your next hike through history, consider the following 10 treks, which reveal some of Alabama’s most interesting moments in time.
1. Dismals Canyon
A swinging bridge is just one of the many entertaining features of Dismals Canyon.
Winding through Dismals Canyon in northwest Alabama, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time 10,000 years. This 85-acre Natural Conservatory has a mile of trails that explore an ancient landscape with high bluffs, caves, stone tunnels and massive boulders covered with moss. Less than a half-mile in, you’ll reach Temple Cave, which was occupied by Paleo Americans as well as Chickasaw and Cherokee Indians. In 1838, the U.S. government forced the Chickasaw to live in the canyon before forcing them to relocate and march the “Trail of Tears.” A little farther down the path is Weeping Bluff, where a large pool sits before a rock wall. According to legend, if you look at the wall at just the right angle, you can see the face of an Indian woman, and water streaming down the stone looks like tears.
2. Moundville Archaeological Park
From AD 1000 to AD 1450, Mississippian Native Americans occupied a 300-acre village overlooking the Black Warrior River near Tuscaloosa. Over hundreds of years, they constructed 26 earthen mounds that supported dwellings, burial sites and ceremonial structures. University of Alabama archaeologists have studied the area since the 1860s, and the Moundville Archaeological Park, established in the 1930s, covers 185 acres. A 2.8-mile loop in the park will take you across grassy fields to wind among the remains of mounds, including 60-foot Chieftain’s Mound. In the park’s impressive museum, you can see 200 Indian artifacts, including jewelry and pottery, and a reconstructed earthlodge.
3. Monte Sano Old Railroad Bed Trail
Winding through the Land Trust Monte Sano Nature Preserve in Huntsville, the Old Railroad Bed Trail traces a historic railroad corridor. Completed in August 1888, the railroad line carried people from Huntsville to a resort atop Monte Sano Mountain. Unfortunately, a derailment in October scared away potential passengers, and the line ferried only freight cars until it shut down in 1896. In 1990, the Land Trust of North Alabama established the 1.7-mile Old Railroad Ben Trail, which passes through hardwood forest, crosses creeks and traverses stone bridge supports for the old rail line. As you hike, you can follow a free audio trail tour on the TravelStorysGPS app. From the Old Railroad Bed trail, you can extend your hike by linking to numerous other Land Trust trails, including the Alms House Trail, which leads to an impressive limestone quarry that operated from 1945 to 1955.
4. Red Mountain Park
Located less than 7 miles from downtown Birmingham, Red Mountain played a key role in the development of Alabama’s steel industry. Beginning in the 1800s, several mines on Red Mountain supplied iron ore, a key ingredient in steel production. Established in 1962, Red Mountain Park includes 15 miles of hiking trails leading you to remnants of old mines. In recent years, park officials have recorded the oral histories of miners who worked on Red Mountain, and you can hear their stories using the TravelStorysGPS app for smartphones. When you’re hiking Red Mountain trails and you approach various historic sites, the app will provide audio of the miners’ tales and also display historic photos.
5. Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
On March 17, 1814, a bloody battle on the banks of the Tallapoosa River near Alexander City ended the Creek Indian War. Led by General Andrew Jackson, members of the Tennessee militia, U.S. infantry and 600 Cherokee and Creek Indians won the battle by killing 1,000 members of the Creek Tribe known as the Red Sticks. After this defeat, Native Americans in the South were forced to migrate to Oklahoma in a journey known as the “Trail of Tears.” At Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, a 2.8-mile nature trail winds through the battlefield and visits important areas of the conflict. In this serene, green landscape, the path also hugs the scenic shoulders of the Tallapoosa River and explores the site of a Creek Indian camp from the 1800s.
6. Flagg Mountain
The historic fire tower atop Flagg Mountain was restored in June of 2022.
Flagg Mountain isn’t really notable for what you’ll find on the peak. Rather, it’s known for what’s not there. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps began constructing what was supposed to be one of the state’s most impressive parks, including amazing views from the summit at 1,153 feet. While the CCC did finish building log cabins and a magnificent fire tower made of carved stone, work halted shortly before World War II, and the park never opened. To hike to the summit, go to the trailhead on Weogufka Road and follow the Yellow Trail, a 4-mile path that visits the top of the mountain. On the summit, you’ll enjoy lofty views and visit the historic cabins as well as the fire tower. While the fire tower was closed for about 20 years, it has been refurbished, and reopened in June of 2022. If you’d like to stay overnight, you can stay in one of the four rustic cabins or pitch a tent.
7. Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
Take a journey through Alabama’s metal-making past with a visit to this 1,500-acre park in McCalla, near Birmingham. Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park has several scenic trails that wind through forests and fields, following paths where the raw materials for iron were carried to the site’s massive stone furnaces. By hiking the Furnace Trail, you can reach the remains of furnaces that rest beside Roupes Creek. From 1859 to 1863, slaves working for Tannehill Ironworks cut huge sandstone rocks and then hauled and stacked them to form the area’s three furnaces. If you hike the Iron Haul Road Trail, you’ll pass by a slave cemetery. When you visit, also make sure to explore the museum full of iron-making tools and see vintage cabins and a cotton gin.
8. Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson Park
Since 5,000 BC, people have inhabited this 165-acre site along the Coosa River in Wetumpka. From AD 1100-1400, Native Americans occupied the land, and a path in the park leads to the remains of a Mississippian Native American earth mound. In the 1700s, the French built Fort Toulouse on the site, and visitors can wander among recreations of buildings from 1751. By the late 1700s, the French had abandoned the land, and in 1814 the American military moved in to establish Fort Jackson. If you visit Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson Park during Alabama Frontier Days in November, you can mingle with re-enactors who portray the lives of French and American solders as well as Creek Indians. In addition to its rich military past, this park is known for its natural beauty. Visitors can walk the William Bartram Nature Trail, a relaxed, mostly flat hike through wildflowers, bogs and woods. When you reach an elevated boardwalk, keep an eye out for wildlife, as this is a stop on the Piedmont Plateau Birding Trail.
9. Fort Morgan State Historic Site
"Fort Morgan ~ Alabama ~ Vintage Film 35 mm ~ Historic Site" by Onasill ~ Bill- 81M views is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
At the mouth of Mobile Bay, at the tip of a peninsula, fortifications protected shipping lanes and guarded against attacks for more than 180 years. In 1812, America built a small structure called Fort Bower to guard against a British attack. In 1834, it was replaced by Fort Morgan, a hulking, star-shaped battlement designed to protect the coastline. When you visit the Fort Morgan historic site, you can explore the ramparts and hallways of the fort at the site and visit a museum. Beginning behind the fort museum, you can follow fields, sidewalks, gravel roads, and stretches of sand for a 2.4-mile loop to see old barracks, gun battery locations and great views of the Gulf of Mexico.
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