- Outdoors Club South - Huntsville

To register or get more info, contact Charles Rose at [email protected] or 256-366-1937.
Registering is easy; all we need is:
1. Your name.
2. The number of people in your party.
3. A contact phone number, preferably a cell phone.
Bring water, lunch & snacks. (There are many sites along the way to replenish your water.)
Wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes. A hiking pole or stick is strongly recommended, as is a good tick spray.
This is a moderately-rigorous hike, with up-hills, down-hills, several stream crossings and a few steep grades. I estimate it to be somewhere around 5 miles.
After meeting at the main parking lot, we will carpool to the north entrance.
Hiking in on the Behel Lane Trail we will visit Laurel Falls, then enter Devil's Hollow on the Devil's Hollow Trail, visiting Johnson Falls, Yellowwood Falls Rock Shelter and Karen's Falls, returning out of the hollow on the Under Bluff Trail, passing underneath Malone Falls.
We will then head down to Cane Creek via the Devil's Hollow Trail and the Fossil Trail.
Hiking upstream on the East Cane Creek Trail, we will take a break at the Blue Hole, then continue onward, passing along the scenic Narrows section of Cane Creek to Linden Meadows.

Then, passing through the Boulder Garden, we will hike the challenging Steep Trail straight up to Lacefield Point, returning to the main parking lot via Lacefield Falls.
Directions
***From Birmingham: ***
Take I-65 N for app. 50 miles to Cullman.
Take the AL-157 exit (Exit 310).
At the end of the ramp, turn left onto AL-157 N (toward Moulton).
Continue on AL-157 for app. 55 miles, passing through Moulton, AL on the way.
Merging with AL-20 W (alt US-72 W), continue for another 4.3 miles into Muscle Shoals, AL.
At the large intersection with US-43 (where AL-157 & AL-20 turn right), continue straight onto US-72 W.
Go 3.4 miles on US-72 W.
At the Colbert County Farmers’ Co-Op (on the left), turn left onto the access road & go down the hill to Frankfort Rd.
Turn left (south) on Frankfort Rd. & go 7.25 miles.
After passing Piney Grove Church of Christ (on the right), go another ¼ mile & turn right on Loop Rd. (CR 41).
Go just 1/10 mile & veer left onto the gravel road as Loop Rd. bends to the right.
Follow the gravel road past the chicken houses (on the left) on to the preserve.
***From Huntsville: ***
Take I-565 W.
I-565 will become AL-20 W.
Continue on AL-20 W as it crosses the Tennessee River into Decatur.
On the other side of the bridge, AL-20 immediately turns right at the light.
Continue app. 40 miles more on AL-20 W to Muscle Shoals, AL.
At the large intersection with US-43 (where AL-20 W turns right), continue straight onto US-72 W.
Go 3.4 miles on US-72 W.
At the Colbert County Farmers’ Co-Op (on the left), turn left onto the access road & go down the hill to Frankfort Rd.
Turn left (south) on Frankfort Rd. & go 7.25 miles.
After passing Piney Grove Church of Christ (on the right), go another ¼ mile & turn right on Loop Rd. (CR 41).
Go just 1/10 mile & veer left onto the gravel road as Loop Rd. bends to the right.
Follow the gravel road past the chicken houses (on the left) on to the preserve.
***From US-43 in Muscle Shoals: ***
Take US-72 W.
At the Colbert County Farmers’ Co-Op (3.4 miles west of US-43), turn left onto the access road & go down the hill to Frankfort Rd.
Turn left (south) on Frankfort Rd. & go 7.25 miles.
After passing Piney Grove Church of Christ (on the right), go another ¼ mile & turn right on Loop Rd. (CR 41).
Go just 1/10 mile & veer left onto the gravel road as Loop Rd. bends to the right.
Follow the gravel road past the chicken houses (on the left) on to the preserve.
Google Map, showing location of Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve
https://goo.gl/maps/AjTjALyPkow

To register or get more info, contact Charles Rose at [email protected] or 256-366-1937.
Registering is easy; all we need is:
1. Your name.
2. The number of people in your party.
3. A contact phone number, preferably a cell phone.
Meet: 9:00pm at the Nature Trails parking lot at the TVA Muscle Shoals Reservation.

We will leave some cars here and then carpool the short distance to the Rockpile Recreation Area, just below historic Wilson Dam.

We will hike one-way on the historic Rockpile Trail from the Recreation Area to Southport, the site of a 19th Century steamboat port and town.

Description: Moderately rigorous, with many steep uphills and downhills. I estimate this hike to be 3 ½ to 4 miles long.
Bring lunch, snacks and water. Wear sturdy footwear. A hiking pole and insect spray are recommended.
The Rockpile Trail features many scenic vistas of the Tennessee River (Pickwick Lake).

Eagles, Great Blue Heron and Osprey are regularly spotted in the vicinity of the TVA Rockpile, so bring your binoculars.
As we hike westward from the Rockpile, we will pass several historic spots, including the foundations of the old Wilson Steam Plant (once the largest facility of its kind in the world), the infamous TVA "Slag Pile" and the stone CCC Picnic Pavilion, built during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Stone steps, bridge foundations, check dams, and other erosion abatements, all built in the 1930’s by the CCC, will also be of interest.
We will also cross Pond Creek, which originally ended in a sinkhole south of the TVA Reservation. In the 1930’s it was diverted so that it would flow into the Tennessee River, just a few yards below our crossing.

After resting at the historic CCC Picnic Pavilion on a bluff overlooking the river, we will continue on into the Small Wild Area, also known as the First Quarters Ravine.

We will then travel further on the Rockpile Trail to Southport, site of an old 19th Century steamboat port and the town of South Florence.
Next, we will visit a Civil War earthworks site on a wildflower strewn hill above Southport, then take Gunnery Hill Trail to the Hall Memorial Native Plant Garden, which was once the site of the historic First Quarters, originally built as officers’ quarters while Wilson Dam was being constructed during World War I.
Google Map, showing the location of the TVA Nature Trails Parking Lot
https://goo.gl/maps/RiSrfc772Eq
Directions: The Nature Trails parking lot is just off Reservation Road on TVA’s Muscle Shoals Reservation.

From Wilson Dam: Go south on Reservation Road for app. 2.5 miles. At the “Nature Trails” sign, turn right into the parking lot.
From Hatch Blvd. (US-43) in Sheffield: Turn at the TVA Muscle Shoals Reservation sign (¼ mile north of the Clarion Inn) and go app. 1.5 miles. At the “Nature Trails” sign, turn left into the parking lot.
From Birmingham: Take I-65 N for app. 50 miles to Cullman. Take the AL-157 exit (Exit 310). At the end of the ramp, turn left onto AL-157 N (toward Moulton). Continue on AL-157 for app. 55 miles, passing through Moulton on the way. Merging with AL-20 W (alt US-72 W), continue for another 4.3 miles into Muscle Shoals, AL. Turn right onto US-43 N. Go 4.5 miles. Soon after passing the Clarion Inn (on the left), turn right onto the TVA Muscle Shoals Reservation. (This is Reservation Road.) Go 1.5 miles and turn left at the “Nature Trails” sign into the parking lot.
From Huntsville: Take I-565 W. I-565 will become AL-20 W. Continue on AL-20 W as it crosses the Tennessee River into Decatur. On the other side of the bridge, AL-20 immediately turns right at the light. Continue app. 40 miles more on AL-20 W to Muscle Shoals, AL. Turn right on US-43 N. Continue on US-43 N for app. 4.5 miles. Soon after passing the Clarion Inn (on the left), turn right onto the TVA Muscle Shoals Reservation. (This is Reservation Road.) Go 1.5 miles and turn left at the “Nature Trails” sign into the parking lot.