This trail is about 100 yards from being the best trail in the system. Within 300 feet or so of this trail are many overlooks, the best in the park. As it stands, the first section of this trail (about 3 miles) is one of my favorites, there are some good mountain views here and lots of the south's signature long leaf pine. Starting from the North Trailhead the blue trail makes a right heading steeply up a hillside. You reach the top of a little hill were there is a nice tree to rest on and then head across a saddle and steadily 600 feet up the mountainside in the next two miles. At less than a mile you will reach the first red/blue connector. Don't get discouraged, after you pass the first red/blue connector the trail becomes much easier. The connector is itself a pretty trail, going down a drainage through some pine trees at which point it meets the dull red trail. From the connector you hike around the side of a mountain spur, the trial here allows for some nice views of the mountain range through a clearing in the trees. The ridge across the valley is the home to the white trail that you might take on your way back.
From the place where there is a clearing below the trail, if you look on the other side of the trial you will see a faint side trail (This is indicated in purple on my map). Follow this trail very steeply up the hill, the trail becomes more evident the further you go. This is not an official trail and is slippery from pine needles and steep, use caution. It follows the top of a band of rocks and continues to a large boulder on your right. An easy climb up this boulder will take you to the most beautiful lookout in the park, there is a 40 foot cliff on the other side of the boulder. From here you can easily see the double ridges of Oak Mountain, the blue trail follows the ridge on the south and the white trail comes down the ridge on the north. Just above the boulder is a nice camp site with a fire ring and some fairly level ground. Be warned that it gets windy up here. If you follow the trial from here northeast along the ridge you will find some more camp sites and a few more cliffs, but none with the great view of the first one. The trail then heads a short distance down into a drainage basin in which there might be water, goes up to another ridge, and then appears to head down to rejoin the blue trail (I didn't go down since at the time I wasn't sure where it went). At some point you will want to turn around and head back to the blue trail.
You continue up to what appears to be one of the official campsites near the mountain ridge. Just a little ways below the ridge there is a drainage that might have some water in it if it has been raining, otherwise carry water if you plan to camp here. There are various side trails here, some of which go to more campsites to the south and another great lookout on the south rim of Oak Mountain, this look out views a different side than the previous one and is also marked on my map in purple. From here you continue along the ridge, with some rock ledges on the north side that allow you to view the valley. The trail becomes level for the rest of the way as it follows the mountain ridge. Shortly you will pass the second red/blue connector giving you another opportunity to descend to the dull bike trail. The next mile of trail to the orange connector (goes from the blue to the red to the white trail) allows a few views north and south if you hike over to the south rim. I give this section of the blue trail a three to four star rating, it's greatest amenities are views of the mountains and a good feel of a long leaf pine forest. Be sure to visit the overlooks as they make it well worth the while. It is however, a fairly difficult section of trail, not the hardest in the park but be prepared for a consistent climb up.
The second section of this trail (about 3.5 miles) is a sharp contrast to the first, what makes it really disappointing is that it had a lot of potential. The trail basically lives up to its name and follows the south rim of Double Oak Mountain (called Double Oak Mountain because it has a north and south rim). However, the trail follows 50 to 100 yards north of the southern rim and never fulfills the potential that it has for great views to the south. You will keep your eye towards the rim hoping that the trail will make it there, but it never does except for a few side trails that go to one or two good overlooks. My suggestion is that if you are taking this trail, as soon as you see the distinct rim to the south, bushwhack over too it and then just follow the rim yourself. It will take a little longer, but should be worth the effort. What makes it really interesting is that you can see a good distance to the south because the land flattens out at the bottom of the mountain. When you tire of bushwhacking you can always rejoin the blue trail, if you keep going eventually you will hit the trail to the gazebo, but it appears to get rough before you get there. Eventually the trail descends into the shallow valley between the two ridges and connects to the white trail at the Peavine Branch stream near Peavine Falls. Don't miss the short trail not on the map that branches off to your left near the falls which leads to a gazebo on a cliff overlooking the Peavine Branch, described in the
This site is brought to you by the Alabama Hiking
Trail Society, dedicated to completing the Eastern Continental Trail and
increasing hiking opportunities in Alabama.
We hope you find the information useful and will consider supporting the AHTS.
Before you leave please visit the AHTS
web page to learn more about us and the work we do.
Please help make this site interactive by
providing your feedback and updates on the trails and signing the guestbook.
The guestbook and discussion board can be found under "Trail
Talk."
About Lee, webmaster and author of Hiking Alabama
Last Updated: April 2003
© 1999, 2000, 2001 M. Lee Van Horn. All text and photos on this site are the exclusive copyright of M. Lee Van Horn
and the Alabama Hiking Trail Society unless otherwise noted. No text or photos may be reproduced without consent of the author. No page herein may be reproduced or contained within another page or window. Links to this site are greatly appreciated and should be directed to this page.
This trail is about 100 yards from being the best trail in the system. Within 300 feet or so of this trail are many overlooks, the best in the park. As it stands, the first section of this trail (about 3 miles) is one of my favorites, there are some good mountain views here and lots of the south's signature long leaf pine. Starting from the North Trailhead the blue trail makes a right heading steeply up a hillside. You reach the top of a little hill were there is a nice tree to rest on and then head across a saddle and steadily 600 feet up the mountainside in the next two miles. At less than a mile you will reach the first red/blue connector. Don't get discouraged, after you pass the first red/blue connector the trail becomes much easier. The connector is itself a pretty trail, going down a drainage through some pine trees at which point it meets the dull red trail. From the connector you hike around the side of a mountain spur, the trial here allows for some nice views of the mountain range through a clearing in the trees. The ridge across the valley is the home to the white trail that you might take on your way back.
