By Scott Morris
smorris@decaturdaily.com · 340-2431

Sink your toes into sugar white sand or climb a rock outcropping in the high country and do it all without leaving Alabama.

If there can be a theme to a field guide, that might be it for “Hiking Alabama.”

Daphne resident Joe Cuhaj includes some of your favorite trails and offers many lesser-known choices.

Many of the best trails are here in the Tennessee Valley, including several popular destinations in Bankhead National Forest.

But, have you heard of Caney Creek Canyon Preserve, a privately owned trail open to the public near The Shoals? What about Mountain Mist Trail in Huntsville?

The third edition of “Hiking Alabama” scores high for good directions to trail heads, simple trail maps and mile-by-mile directional cues.

It also includes difficulty ratings, trail contacts, fees and other information.

If the guide contains a weakness, it’s in the sections labeled “The Hike,” which are supposed to be the meat of the book. Some of this information reads more like filler material than interesting details of the trails.

But, overall, I recommend “Hiking Alabama.”

Treat it like a good compass or trusty flashlight. Toss it into your daypack so it’s there when you need it.

It might become one of those field guides that inspires you to visit every suggested hiking trail in Alabama, cutting another notch in your hiking stick as you go.

Email This Page