Last fall I had decided to do a weekend trip to Huntsville, Alabama to visit my family. During my time there I was determined to do at least one hike that I hadn’t done before. After talking to my little brother Alex, we decided to hike at Wade Mountain. I had never been there before and I was hoping to hike to the top so I can see the sunset.
FUNNY STORY!
Once we arrived to Wade Mountain, we decided to meet up with my mom before heading up the trail. We walked down the paved pathway all the way to the end to find the trailhead. Once we reached the rugged path we started to climb up the mountain. As we started our hike, we took a few trails before stopping at a bench to take in the view from the side of the mountain. After our quick pit stop we proceeded on the trail.
After a while I eventually got tired of carrying my daughter. My little brother was nice enough to take over and carry her the rest of the way up the mountain. The higher we got the slightly steeper it got as well. Not too bad though. It definitely felt like a good workout. We were more worried about how pressed on time we were before the sun sets. The last thing we wanted was to miss the sunset from the top of the mountain and have to walk all the way down in the dark.
As we continued up, we had finally reached the very top of the mountain. I was a little bummed. We were surrounded by trees so we didn’t even get a good look at the sunset. Then again this was a last-minute hike that was completely unplanned. I had no idea what to even expect. All around it was a good hike though with my family and we definitely enjoyed it very much. I can’t wait to go back and explore more of Wade Mountain. Next time I will definitely be arriving at an earlier time to take full advantage of the trails.
ABOUT LAND TRUST OF NORTH ALABAMA
Wade Mountain is part of the Land Trust of North Alabama whose goal is to save and preserve North Alabama’s great and natural places. They go above and beyond to acquire these lands and preserve them through efforts of volunteer work, partnerships, donations, and more. You can learn more about their conservation efforts here and how they preserve these lands. So far they have over 70+ miles of hiking trails preserved just for us to explore. As time goes by, they continue to expand.
Related Article: Alum Hollow Trail, Huntsville, AL
ABOUT WADE MOUNTAIN
Wade Mountain is located in Huntsville heading NW on Pulaski Pike. It can be reached by one of their three trailheads as well as through the end of the Wade Mountain Greenway trail. We took the route where Greenway is and worked our way to the Land Trust trailhead. Wade Mountain has a total of 14 different trails that all unite one way or another. Each trail leads to different destinations and have different difficulty levels. Nothing extremely strenuous from my experience. Here are all of the details.
TRAILHEADS & LOCATIONS
As previously mentioned, Wade Mountain of Land Trust of North Alabama has three different trailheads. The one we started at was the trailhead off of Pulaski Pike.
- Pulaski Pike Trailhead – 6946 Pulaski Pike NW, Huntsville, AL 35810. This trailhead is located at the end of the Wade Mountain Greenway. It’s about 1 mile on a paved pathway from the parking lot to the trailhead. Once the paved pathway comes to an end, the Land Trust trail begins.
- Spragins Hollow Trailhead – 9500 Spragins Hollow Road NW, Huntsville, AL 35810
- Fleming Trailhead – The parking lot for this trialhead is the same location for Spragins Hollow Trailhead. Once you have parked your vehicle, walk down Spragins Hollow Road for about half a mile. You will see the Fleming Trailhead to your right.
TRAILS
Wade Mountain has 14 different trails with over 13 miles of hiking and/or biking trails. You can view their trail map here.
We had to cut our trip short due to lack of time but the trails we took were, Wade Mountain Greenway (the paved pathway starting at the parking lot), Wade Mountain Greenway Trail, Bostick Trail, and last was Wade Mountain Trail. We stopped at the highest point on the Wade Mountain Trail before turning around and returning on the same route back.
I am hoping to go back so I can explore more of Wade Mountain and the other preserves of the Land Trust of North Alabama. Where should I go to next? Any cool trails or outdoor locations that I should visit in Alabama? Let me know in the comments below.
Related Article: Green Mountain, Huntsville, AL
Thank you Outdoor Pantry for the delicious cookies.
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4 Responses
I haven’t visited Alabama in 20 years, but I always remember how beautiful it was. This looks like a great spot to check out if I make my way over there again!
Thank you for reading. This place was very pretty.
I have hiked at a few land trust spots and Wade Mountain is one of the better hikes. Monte Santo is good too.
I completely agree. I haven’t been to Monte Sano since I was a little girl but I can definitely say that Wade Mountain and Monte Sano are the top places to hike at.