South Loop

The south loop is 4.5 miles by the map, not including an extra mile to get there and back if you are starting at the trailhead at Open Pond. This appears to be pretty close to the actual distance. Going counter-clockwise around the loop, you start just past Buck Pond. the trail winds up and down some hills, gaining a couple hundred feet on its way to Five Runs Creek. This portion of trail passes through some pines, meadows, and then goes down into some flat brushy areas. You should see lots of flowers and birds along the way. At the creek the trail becomes much rougher. It narrows and bumps up and down over tree roots and across bridges. The creek is fairly large and swift flowing, the banks are lined with cypress trees with their knees sticking up making for a fascinating trail. One of the bridges on this section of trail looks fairly unstable, and is tilted at an angle, be careful crossing it. The trail travels beside the creek for only a short time until you come to Blue Spring.

Blue Spring is a large pool of water with a fast flowing spring in the middle. The reason for the name is obvious as the rocks around the center of the pool are bluish. Erosion control attempts at the side of the spring have been unsuccessful and are falling in. On the far side there is a rope swing for jumping into the spring that has many old knots in it. There is a forest road and parking lot near the spring providing access for the local teenagers. Their level of maturity is demonstrated by a scattering of graffiti and some trash left behind. However it is not enough to ruin the spring which is quite pretty and fascinating. There is a nice grassy area at the spring that would provide good camping, the best on this end of the trail.

Leaving the spring the trail goes up, crosses the forest road a couple times, and goes beside a swampy area on what appears to be an old railroad bed. You cross a second forest road and then wind around until joining back with the connector trail near Alligator Hole. I didn't see any gators in the hole, but I did see a few turtle and a crane, it appears to be the most promising place along the trail for spotting gators. A half mile trek beside Gator Hole and Ditch Pond will take you back to the begging of the loop. At this point you can continue on to the trail head and then take the Lake Shore Trail around Open Pond. This loop gets a four star rating because of the diversity and interesting features, it is perhaps a little harder than the rest of the Conecuh Trail considering elevation gain and loss, but it would still be considered easy.

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Last Updated: April 2003

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