Trail 202 - Randolph Trail

Trail 202 starts at the western trailhead on County Road 60, which runs the length of the southern boarder of the wilderness. Coming from the west it will be the first trail head you pass, from the east you will pass the Sipsey River Recreation Area and then get to this trail head. The trail is less then three miles long and takes you into the heart of the area most people are interested in (Eye of the Needle and Bee Branch). The trail ends at a ford of the Sipsey River to trail 209. The ford appeared to be fairly deep during a time of moderate water flow, but I didn't cross it so can't verify this yet. At the southern end of this trail near the trailhead is TR201, which gives this trailhead good potential for loop hikes.

For the most part this trial follows an old logging road. Maintenance is good, but trail markings are non-existent and it is possible to get off the trail onto many of the other logging tracks coming and going. The trail on top of the ridge is fairly boring, it has the straight uninteresting logging road feel to it. The last half mile or so of the trail starts to descend into the canyon, parallels a pretty sandstone wall, and cuts back towards the river at a large waterfalls (not running when I was there). There is a heavily used camping site near the end of the trail. One thing that is interesting about the trail is the cemetery. The Johnson cemetery is nearly a mile from the trailhead, on both sides of the trail. The graves are from the early 1900's with most of the writing done by hand. The plastic flowers match the decaying gravestones well. This trail would be rated fairly easy no matter which direction it is hiked in. I give it a rating of three stars because of the cemetery and the last half-mile.

The Sipsey Wilderness

Last Hiked: December, 2000

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.