Alabama Scenic River Trail: New Eco Destination
Alabama Scenic River Trail: New Eco Destination
June 18, 2008
Michael Mee
St. Clair News Aegis (Pell City, AL)
Local outdoor enthusiasts now have a unique way to enjoy the state’s wildlife and historic sites via the Alabama Scenic River Trail.
The 631-mile track is the longest river trail in the country and highlights Alabama’s unique assortment of history and nature.
The trail begins at the Alabama-Georgia border at the Weiss Dam and ends at historic Ft. Morgan at the mouth of the Mobile Bay. Though the trail runs the length of the state, it is meant to be enjoyed in sections.
The St. Clair area is also featured in the trail. Boaters can enjoy the central section of the trail via the Logan Martin Dam entrance that runs through Lake Logan Martin and also travel through to the Coosa River area in Shelby County.
Each section of the trail has entry points that were made available by Alabama Power at five of its dams. Information on where the entry points are can be found by visiting the trail’s website at: www.alabamascenicrivertrail.com
The route has been made available to all kinds of boating craft from kayaks to powerboats. The mission of the trail is to “introduce people to the hidden beauty of the State of Alabama, exploring a world that can be seen only from the water, and whose primary objective is environmental stewardship and conservation.”
The trail is also set to become an eco-tourism destination for those who wish to take a more environmentally friendly approach to travel.
The trail is the brainchild of Anniston jeweler and boating enthusiast Fred Couch, who said he “just got lucky” when it came to setting up the trail in just under two years.
Couch, who spends a great deal of his time working on civic projects said that after taking a 155-mile boating trip that traveled along portions of Lois and Clark’s route that he returned home wanting to create a historic route in Alabama.
“It’s a lot like cabin fever, I just had to get it out of me,” Couch said.
So he contacted various people about getting the groundwork done. That snowballed into eventually having 248 volunteers working on various portions of the trail to get it accessible to the public.
Couch said everything from creating entry ports for boaters to gain access to the waterways to having buoys put in the water have been done by volunteers.
When he contacted Alabama Power about gaining access to the waters around their dams, Couch said that not only did it grant his request, but it also pitched in $7,000 in seed money for the trail as well as $3,000 for buoys to be floated at entry ports.
“Everyone I’ve asked has said, ‘Yes,’” Couch said.
He was able to talk to the Boy Scouts director in Birmingham and they agreed that the organization would help to install portage signs at entryways as well as perform yearly maintenance on the trails that lead down to the water.
Though the trail is complete, Couch said that there are still two more portage trails to be cut and some buoys are not installed at some entry points.
The trail’s route takes boaters through many rural areas and crosses 39 cities in 18 counties.
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