PTA Site Map  /  etrail or snailtrail
The Pinhoti Trail
A Southeast Region Appalachian Trail Connector

Northbound snailtrail  /  Section 7
Northern Terminus / Finish Hike
96.7 ~ US 431 Trailhead
79.1 ~ Cheaha Trailhead
Southern Terminus / Start Hike

Reference Points ~ Cheaha State Park, Oxford, AL
Hike Distance ~ 17.6 Miles
Hiking Time vs Distance ~ 30 Minutes = 1 Mile
Trail Blazes ~ Light Blue Vertical Rectangles
Trail Description ~ Moderate ~ Foothills, Watersheds, Short Climbs

Driving Directions
For a weekend section hike, you may want to bring two vehicles to the trail so that you can shuttle
yourselves from one end of your chosen section to the other. First, you will need to park your
“finish hike vehicle” at your section’s northern terminus and then drive your “start hike vehicle”
down to your section’s southern terminus.

Northern Terminus / Park Finish Hike Vehicle First
96.7 ~ US 431 TRAILHEAD
    Exit I-20 at US 431, east of Oxford, AL.
    Go south 2.8 miles to a dirt road, FS 585, on the right just past a highway dept. "Adopt a Mile"
    sign (if you pass a green house, you’ve gone too far). Turn right.
    Go up the dirt road 0.1 miles to the US 431 Trailhead parking area, on the left.

Southern Terminus / Park Start Hike Vehicle
79.1 ~ CHEAHA TRAILHEAD
    From the US 431 Trailhead parking area, go back down the dirt road to US 431. Turn right.
    Go the second right turn past the overhead bridge at the top of the ridge. Turn right (there is
    a brown Cheaha State Park sign here).
    Go 0.4 miles to the stop sign at AL 281. Turn left.
    Go 11.5 miles to the Cheaha Trailhead parking area, on the left.








Hiking Directions
Southern Terminus / Start Hike
79.1 ~ CHEAHA TRAILHEAD ~ 1940' ~ (Photo)
    The Pinhoti Approach Trail begins at The Arch, at the back of the parking area. Go through The
    Arch 50 yards to the Cave Creek Trail / Pinhoti Approach Trail intersection and turn right. Go
    up the hill 0.1 miles to the Pinhoti. The north trail goes to the right.
    HISTORY ~ There is a new addition to the trailhead parking area. The Approach Trail to the
    Pinhoti Trail, Cave Creek Trail and the Cheaha Wilderness begins at The Arch , which is a big
    rock and wrought iron structure that has 36 hand fired clay tiles with actual impressions of
    some of the native flora, 4 information plaques, some wrought iron Pine cones and Pine branches,
    2 rock benches and a VERY unusual sidewalk. It is all really cool. Some local artists and several
    groups of local school children put a lot of time and energy into this first class work of art.
    It is a tremendous addition to our trail, so stop by and take a look. Thanks guys !!
79.3 ~ AL 281 CROSSING / CHEAHA STATE PARK
    BUNKER TOWER (standing) ~ 2000' ~ CS, LC, RW, HS ~ (Photo)
    The trail goes straight across AL 281 and then follows the eastern slope of Mt. Cheaha for a
    while and has a lot good views.
    CS, LC, RW, HS ~ Go left 0.2 miles on AL 281 to the 2719 acre Cheaha State Park entrance, on
    the right. This is a big park with a convenience store, restaurant, motel, cabins, lodge, pool,
    several campgrounds, HOT SHOWERS !!, swimming lake, beach, side trails, rocky overlooks and
    the Bunker Tower (2407'). The Park office and Country Store (256-488-5111) is the first
    building on the left at the entrance. Stop by here to register for Park services and to get
    general info about where things are in the Park. Be sure to say hi to Connie (don't get Connie
    started on yard sales !), Eva Lynn and Justin while you're in there. They have been real Trail
    Angels to a lot of hikers over the years.
    NEXT RW ~ 6.0 miles
    SUMMIT ~ Cheaha Mountain ~ 2407' ~ #1 on the state top 100 elevation list.
    The peak is on your left as you sidehill around it at the 80.0 ~ Spring Crossing.
    BUNKER TOWER: Follow the park entrance road to just past the Country Store
    at the toll booth, then go 0.5 miles past the toll booth to the first paved road on the left.
    Turn left. Go 0.1 miles up to the 1930's Civilian Conservation Corps Tower. Photos ~ 1  2  3  4  5
79.6 ~ SPRING CROSSING ~ 2000' ~ SW
80.0 ~ SPRING CROSSING ~ 2000' ~ SW
80.1 ~ HOLLY KNOB ~ 1960' ~ (Photo)
80.8 ~ CAMPSITE ~ 1800' ~ SC
    The trail makes a sharp left turn here at this neat campsite.
81.0 ~ SPRING CROSSING ~ 1700' ~ SW
81.1 ~ SPRING CROSSING ~ 1700' ~ SW
    This is the spring for the shelter. If this crossing is dry, then follow the spring bed downhill,
    just a little way (no, really : ), and look for a large pool.
81.2 ~ BLUE MOUNTAIN SHELTER ~ 1825' ~ LC, TS, SW ~ (Photo)
    The Pinhoti goes straight through this intersection.
    At the shelter sign board, you can turn right and go 0.1 miles to this shelter, which was built in
    1985. This is a nice shelter with a loft and peg construction and was built in 1985. Yes, shelters
    are one of the tools used by the Forest Service to funnel hikers into one area, but hikers know
    that shelters are where hikers hang out and they are great places to make new friends and swap
    tall tales. You can always stop by for dinner and then stealth camp somewhere else if you don't
    like listening to people snore all night! The idea is to hopefully limit the ecological impact to a
    few small places along the trail rather than the 66 fire rings we have spread out over the whole
    trail now.
    LC ~ There is a large campsite on the left at the sign board.
    TS ~ Go right 0.1 miles to the shelter and more campsites.
    SW ~ The water source is a spring crossing 0.1 miles south on the Pinhoti.
    NEXT RW ~ 4.1 miles.
81.7 ~ BALD ROCK TRAIL ~ CS, LC, RW, HS ~ 1960'
    The Pinhoti goes straight through at the sign board and begins the 3 mile descent off Blue
    Mountain to the CCC Road.
    The Bald Rock Trail marks the northern boundary of Cheaha State Park. You can
    go left, uphill, 0.5 miles to the Boardwalk on the Bald Rock (2326') Overlook.
    There is a very good northern view of the beginning of our Sister Ridge (see trail mile 104.3 in
    Section 8 for details) at Coldwater Mountain. The large night time light show is brought to you
    by the nice folks in Oxford. The sunset is brought to you by nature.
    CS ~ Turn left on the Bald Rock Trail and go 0.5 miles to Bald Rock. From Bald Rock, go left
    (duh!) on the Boardwalk to the parking area. Then walk through the parking area and down the
    hill to the intersection at the Bunker Loop Road. Turn right. Go 0.5 miles to the Cheaha
    Country Store.
    SUMMIT ~ Bald Rock is #4 on Alabama's list of highest named summits at 2326'. The summit is
    0.5 miles to the left, up the Bald Rock Trail.
82.9 ~ M & M GAP / BLUE MOUNTAIN ~ 1580' ~ LC ~ (Photo)
    This is a nice place for a small break on a cold winter day as you take in the dramatic landscape
    surrounding you.
    SUMMIT ~ Blue Mountain ~ 1949' ~ #15 on the state top 100 elevation list. You are sitting in
    a gap along the ridge. The peak is behind you about a quarter mile on the left (east).
83.1 ~ SPRING CROSSING ~ 1420' ~ SW
83.3 ~ SPRING CROSSING ~ 1400' ~ SW
83.9 ~ CAMPSITE ~ 1420' ~ SC
84.3 ~ CCC ROAD / CHEAHA ROAD ~ 1305' ~ LC, SW
    The trail goes straight across the road.
    HISTORY ~ Both ends of the road have been closed to preserve the Civilian Conservation Corps
    rock work through here. You can go left 0.3 miles to the CCC Road Trailhead parking area. It has
    been years since I went to the right, but it seems like it is about 3 miles to AL 281. Along the
    way there are 2 large rock retaining walls, a rock bridge over Hillabee Creek and numerous
    drains under the road. All of the CCC rocks were cut on site by hand. Years ago this road was
    the main entrance road up to Cheaha State Park when it first opened in 1939.
85.3 ~ ZULU CANYON ~ 1100' ~ RW
    There are 3 spring crossings in the next 0.9 miles. Zulu is Z in the military alphabet, which is
    a good description of this twisting canyon.
    NEXT RW ~ 2.0 miles.
    FLOWERING SHRUB ~ Azalea ~ White ~ April
    FLOWERING SHRUB ~ Mountain Laurel ~ White ~ May
86.6 ~ DEAD TRUCK ~ 900'
    HISTORY ~ A 1950 something Chevy Panel Truck. I had a 1963 and the body lines were a lot
    sharper compared to the rounded lines on these older models.
    HISTORY ~ Well, as of 1-10-12 the truck is no longer here…
87.2 ~ POWER LINE CROSSING ~ 000'
    HILLABEE CREEK FORD ~ You can see Hillabee Creek down the hill running under the power
    lines. This may be a much better high water crossing than the campsite crossing ahead. Use
    extreme caution.
87.3 ~ HILLABEE CREEK CROSSING ~ 780' ~ LC, RW ~ (Photo)
    The trail comes straight into the campsite, then turns left and crosses the creek.
    HISTORY ~ This is a nice campsite with 3 Greenstone chairs (magnify PDF to 150%) by the fire
    ring (spring 2003). The Creek Indians lived in this area (map expands to larger size) many years
    ago and archaeologist have found Native American produced Greenstone artifacts in this part of
    the state and several other places as well.
    FORDING HAZARD ~ This creek is about 15' wide and 1' deep. There are a lot of rocks here
    with a 2' deep pool below them. After a big rain there is very swift waist high water on the
    rocks. Going back to the power line crossing at mile 87.2 may be a better option. Use extreme
    caution.
    NEXT RW ~ 1.2 miles.
87.6 ~ SNOWFLAKE CANYON ~ 900'
87.8 ~ 88.5 ~ 6 SPRING CROSSINGS / 2 CREEK - CROSSINGS ~ 860' ~ SW
88.5 ~ CAMPSITE ~ 800' ~ LC, RW
    NEXT RW ~ 2.3 miles.
89.5 ~ ROAD BED ~ 800'
    Go left 0.8 miles.
90.3 ~ ANOTHER ROAD BED ~ 800'
    Go right 0.2 miles.
90.5 ~ MINE SHAFT (GOLD!) ~ 820'
    The filled in hole is on the left at the edge of the trail.
    HISTORY ~ There were a few big gold strikes in Alabama years ago and this was one of the
    mines. There are more mines on the east slope down by Clairmont Gap (Erin, Idaho) at trail mile
    61.2. You can still apply for mining and panning permits through the USFS office in Talladega.
90.5 ~ ANOTHER ROAD BED ~ 840'
    Go right 0.1 miles.
90.6 ~ END OF THE ROAD ~ 900'
    The trail goes right, off the road.
90.6 ~ LAUREL GORGE ~ 900'
90.8 ~ FRIENDSHIP CAMPSITE ~ 820' ~ LC, RW
    NEXT RW ~ 0.7 miles.
91.3 ~ FRIENDSHIP GORGE ~ 880'
91.5 ~ CR 24 CROSSING / MORGAN CASCADE ~ 838' ~ CS, TT, LC, RW
    When you get to the road, go left 25 yards and then the trail goes back in the woods on the
    right. Up until 2005, the creek crossing just north of CR 24 was the lowest elevation on the
    Pinhoti at 750'. With the addition of Section 4, below Talladega, the lowest elevation on the
    Pinhoti has now become 48.7 ~ Scott's Cascade at 710'.
    CS ~ Go right on CR 24 for 1.4 miles to Able Mall, a small store.
    TT ~ Go left 2.5 miles to the 4 way stop. Go left on Friendship Road 4.4 miles to Oxford. Map
    LC ~ There are some flat spots across CR 24, past the creek crossing, down on the right.
    RW ~ There is a creek crossing north of CR 24, 100 yards up the trail.
    NEXT RW ~ 0.8 / 0.9 miles.
    FORDING HAZARD ~ This creek is about 10' wide and 1' deep. There is no room for the water
    to spread out after a heavy rain plus this crossing is on top of a 4' waterfall. Scout upstream
    for a better crossing. Use extreme caution.
    MORGAN LAKE ~ Go right on CR 24 0.1 miles and turn on the first dirt road to the left, then
    go 0.1 miles up to the lake. The lake was purchased by the US Forest Service in the last 5 years
    or so (2005?), so camping is allowed but the local weekend crowd may be a little rough.....
    UPDATE 2004 ~ Able Mall has closed and is up for sale.
    UPDATE 2005 ~ Able Mall has been bought, remodeled and reopened.
91.7 ~ MORGAN LAKE SWITCHBACK ~ 750' ~ SW
    The trail crosses a spring and turns to the right up the first switchback. Go 100' and the
    second switchback turns to the left (lots of folks miss this turn : ).
    CAUTION ~ There is also a trail that turns right at the second switchback, but it only goes
    down the hill to the creek and dead ends. I read somewhere that this trail goes up to the dam.
    It does not. If you go to the dead end, jump the creek, bushwhack your way up to the top of the
    hill and turn left on the dirt road, the Lake is a couple hundred yards up.
92.3 ~ CREEK CROSSING ~ 900' ~ RW
92.4 ~ CREEK CROSSING ~ 900' ~ SC, RW
    NEXT RW ~ 1.6 miles.
92.6 ~ FS ROAD ~ 900'
    When you get to the road, turn right and go 30 yards. The trail goes back in the woods on the
    right.
93.3 ~ FS ROAD CROSSING ~ 900'
    The trail goes straight across.
93.7 ~ MOONSHINE GORGE ~ 900' ~ SW
    Make 3 spring crossings in the next 0.2 miles. Look for a couple of old 55 gallon drums on the
    left after the first spring crossing.
93.7 ~ CASCADE GORGE ~ 820'
93.8 ~ SPRING CROSSING ~ 780' ~ SW
93.9 ~ SMALL CASCADE ~ 800' ~ SC, SW
    The trail follows this spring for about 100 yards before veering off to the right.
    After following the spring for about 50 yards, there is a trail that turns left and goes back
    into the cascades. After you pass by this trail, look for a fire ring on the left down by the
    spring, which is next to an underground still complete with an underground air intake pipe for
    the fire.
94.0 ~ LARGE CASCADE ~ LC, RW ~ (Photo - Grey Eagle)
    The trail goes straight up to the cascade and makes a sharp left turn, then curves to the right
    and crosses the creek twice.
    The cascade tumbles at least 50' and there is usually plenty of water. Plan to stop for a long
    break.
    LC ~ After the second creek crossing, go about 10 yards and turn left off the trail. Bushwhack
    about 50 yards downhill to the creek. There is a fire ring here and plenty of flat spots. Be
    aware that this camp is suitable for winter use only because the whole area is filled up with
    Poison Oak in spring-summer-fall.
    NEXT RW ~ 0.3 miles.
94.3 ~ HILLABEE CREEK BRIDGE ~ RW
    A BOY SCOUT TROOP paid for and built this great bridge. Sorry, I don't know the Troop
    number. Thanks guys !
    NEXT RW ~ 0.2 miles.
94.5 ~ HORSEBLOCK MOUNTAIN FIRE TOWER (standing) ~ LC, RW ~ (Photo)
    Between here and Horseblock Canyon, there are a couple of small winter views of the old
    Horseblock Fire Tower way off to the right, up on the main ridge.
    HISTORY ~ The tower area was a Civilian Conservation Corps project in the 1930's and at one
    time there was a Picnic Shelter here that was identical to the restored one on Horn Mountain
    in Section 4 . I would guess that it's about a 2 mile bushwhack up the side of Horseblock
    Mountain to the tower, so instead I just wave at it when I go by.  : )
    LC, RW ~ There is a fire ring on the right, down the hill by the creek (no trail).
94.9 ~ US 515 - WATTS MOTORWAY CROSSING
    The trail goes straight across.
95.1 ~ HORSEBLOCK CANYON
95.7 ~ HORSEBLOCK FLATS CROSSING ~ 760' ~ RW
    NEXT RW ~ 1.0 miles.
    FORDING HAZARD ~ This creek is about 10' wide, 1' deep and has room to spread out after a
    heavy rain. Use caution.
95.9 ~ CO~OP BRIDGE ~ SW
    This is another great bridge that was paid for by the BellSouth Pioneers and built with the
    Appalachian Trail Club of Alabama.
96.7 ~ US 431 TRAILHEAD ~ CS ~ 885'
    The trail comes out at the trailhead parking area.
    CS ~ Go right on US 431 for 0.6 miles to the Cheaha Country Store, on the right.
Northern Terminus / Finish Hike

PTA Site Map  /  Top of Page ^-^
Millennium
Legacy Trail
Section 7 Hike Planner

CS ~ Convenience Store
79.3, 91.5
TT ~ Trail Town
91.5
SC ~ Small Camp
80.8, 83.9, 92.4, 93.9
LC ~ Large Camp
79.3, 81.2, 82.9, 84.3, 87.3, 88.5, 90.8, 91.5, 94.0,
94.5
TS ~ Trail Shelter
81.2
SW ~ Seasonal Water
79.6, 80.0, 81.0, 81.1, 81.2, 83.1, 83.3, 84.3, 87.8,
88.5, 91.7, 93.7, 93.8, 93.9, 95.9
RW ~ Reliable Water
79.3, 85.3, 87.3, 87.8, 88.5, 90.8, 91.5, 92.3,
92.4, 94.0, 94.3, 94.5, 95.7
HS ~ Hot Shower
79.3