A Covered Bridge & A Log Cabin: Hiking The Madison County Nature Trail In Huntsville

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For the last few weeks, I’ve provided a guide for visiting Huntsville, Alabama. During the pandemic a lot of people want to take road trips rather than fly. So far, I’ve provided recommendations for where to stay when you visit Huntsville. I’ve also provided suggestions for where to eat and what to do while in Huntsville. Today, we are going to talk about where you can hike some of the best trails in northern Alabama. Hint: These great trails are also in Huntsville.

Several times, when I told people that part of my travels would include Alabama, I was told, “Oh, Alabama is beautiful.” Hmmm. . . really? Yes, really. Those people were right! There are more mountains than I expected. There are also forests and hiking trails galore. Somewhere in all of my digging and research I had read that outside of Huntsville there is a covered bridge. Since I am from New England originally and New England is famous for its covered bridges, I was intrigued. “I would like to see a covered bridge again,” I thought. This is how I found myself hiking the Madison County Nature Trail.

From the Marriott at the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama it is a 16-mile drive up into the mountains to get to the nature trail. Afterall, Huntsville is only 30-minutes from the Tennessee border, so it is more mountainous than many visitors realize. Madison County Nature Trail is a 72-acre park that is designed as a plant and wildlife sanctuary and is intended for study. This is why you will find a couple of outdoor classroom setups in the woods.  Here, staff can host programs for adults and children and educate visitors about the plants and wildlife in the area. The park also has a 17-acre lake that is a wild duck refuge. Perhaps near the water is where I would find my bridge. As with any good nature park, this nature trail is free to visit and has ample parking. There are several trails through the woods, most of which connect to each other. I chose a short route that took less than 90-minutes to complete. I just wanted to get a flavor for the place.

Quiet. It was so quiet. I was struck by the stillness. Only the outer shell of the leaves moved, all else was still and peaceful. The tree canopy is very thick here, so it wasn’t hot, even though I was there in September, which in much of the South can still be very warm. In fact, there were many places where the tree canopy was so thick, that when I took a picture my camera’s flash activated. The trails are well-marked and there are lots of benches for rest and reflection. The staff has been creative when placing these rest stops. You’ll find them by the lake and up on top of scenic overlooks.

However, I would not say that it is particularly ADA-accessible. There are places where very large tree roots cross a hiker’s path. The trail I selected had several areas that were quite steep, which I was not expecting. This turned out to be more strenuous than just a nature walk. I burned some calories, for sure.

There were two rewards for all this effort, though. One, I found the Cambron Covered Bridge and got some lovely photos of the lake. The bridge was constructed in 1974 and is simple and lovely. The glass lake is a stunner! Wow! Two, the end of the trail holds a surprise. There is an extensive, hand-crafted fairy village that I know must be a big hit with kids. Whaat?! How fun is that? It has multiple tower-style buildings, inhabitants, and its own waterfall and river.

The park is on top of Green Mountain and one of the fascinating “exhibits” I encountered on my hike was a log cabin that shows visitors what the life of a homesteader was like in this region in the late 1800’s. The logs for this cabin were actually hewn in 1810 and it represents the cabin owned by Charles D. Green, for whom the mountain is named. He stopped here on his way to Texas in 1869 because his pregnant wife couldn’t travel anymore. He never left. He bought 40 acres and settled there. Eventually, he would come to own 320 acres. He and his wife raised their 14 children in the area and, when he died in 1902, he was interred in Maple Hill Cemetery. In case you missed my post about this amazing cemetery, you can read about Maple Hill here.

So, what should I say in conclusion? Alabama is beautiful. I enjoyed my slightly-more-strenuous-than-expected hike and hope to give it another go someday. As still as those woods were, it’s kind of wild to think of all the life that was teeming below the surface right near me. As Robert Frost wrote: “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. . .”