Cost: Free
Capacity: 30
The reservoir, situated north of highway 278 between Cullman and Holly Pond, is encircled by a 21 mile hiking trail loop. The trail intersects a few parking area trailheads, toilet facilities, and boat launches around the loop. The trail goes through both densely wooded areas and more open farm type areas with a variety of habitat. The woodland sections should have woodpeckers and birds such as hermit thrush. The reservoir will have cormorants, often a bald eagle, and hopefully some ducks. The open areas should have sparrows, meadowlark, and perhaps a loggerhead shrike or two.
MEETING TIME AND PLACE The meeting place is about one hour away from Birmingham. There will be a meet-up at the Target parking lot, off of the Walker’s Chapel exit of I-65, exit 267, in the morning, where we will depart by 7:00 am sharp. Those who want to drive directly there should expect to meet up again a little after 8:00 am. We will convene at a main boat launch parking area off of County Road 1647, which goes off Highway 278 to the north. This county road may not be marked with a sign on Highway 278, but the turn north is near the address of 7176 US 278, Cullman, 35055. The boat launch parking area is about 0.5 miles from the intersection of U.S. 278.
THE PLAN: After meeting at the boat launch and scanning the water for waterfowl, we will hike along the lower section of the trail for a few miles, crossing a bridge in a wooded ravine over the duck river below the dam, and continuing on to the side of the reservoir opposite where we parked.
As we are not going to hike the entire ~21-mile loop trail, we will turn around and head to our cars for a mid-day lunch.
TRIP LEADER Your trip leaders for this event will be Todd DeVore, 205-873-5482, and Marj Young
ACCESSIBILITY The trail is well maintained for a dirt track, without any extensive elevation changes. After lunch, people who are interested can drive to another trailhead area on the reservoir to check out another section of the loop.
REMEMBER This is a daylong affair, so plan accordingly and bring plenty of drinks and snacks in addition to a full tank of gas, insect repellent, rain gear, and appropriate summer attire and sunblock.
REQUIRED Participants must complete the mandatory online waiver when registering. Please do not request registration for others when submitting your request.
CANCELLATION The event will only be canceled in the event of hazardous conditions. If you need to cancel at the last minute, please email or text your trip leaders.
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