Hiking in Cheaha State Park: Alabama’s Highest Point

Cheaha State Park is home to Cheaha (pronounced CHEE-HA) Mountain, which is Alabama’s highest elevation point. Within this 2000+ acre state park are 11 miles of hiking trails and some of the best views in the whole state!

Whether you take a day trip to hike here or you stay for a weekend and hike all of the trails, you’ll love spending time in the beautiful Alabama mountains.

Important Links

Cheaha State Park website

Hiking Trails Map – PDF

Cheaha State Park Camping – Make Reservations Here

Park Map – PDF

A Cheaha State Park Camping Trip

Location

Cheaha State Park is located in the eastern half of Alabama. The mountains here are considered to be the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and you’ll love the sweeping views of this whole area!

Cheaha is just over an hour east of Birmingham, AL, about 1.5 hours west of Atlanta, GA, and 3 hours south of Chattanooga, TN. So if you live anywhere in the tri-state area, Cheaha is a great place for a weekend getaway.

The High Point!

If you are a high peaks chaser on a mission to hike to the top of the high peaks in every state, here’s some good news for you! There is a short trail that you can take to get to this high point, or you can drive there.

At the high point, there is an old stone building where you can climb the tower to get a view of the beautiful landscapes around you. While this is not the best view in the park, it is the highest point in the whole state. So do it, enjoy it, and then go check out some of the other overlooks in Cheaha State Park.

Cheaha State Park is Alabama’s highest elevation!

Fees

Like all Alabama State Parks, there is an entry fee to enjoy this beautiful place. The fee is $5 per adult, $2 for kids (11 and under), $2 for Senior Citizens (62+) and free for kids 3 and below. Unfortunately, this pass is only good at whatever state park you purchase said day pass from.

If you are camping here, you do not need to buy a day pass to enjoy the state park. All day use areas are accessible with your camping reservation, you just need to show them your parking tag (provided upon check-in).

Camping

Speaking of camping, there are several ways to camp or even glamp at Cheaha State Park. They have 2 improved campgrounds with full hook-up sites for just about any size rig. They also have 2 primitive campgrounds for those who prefer to rough it.

Or if glamping is your thing, there are Safari Tents, Chalets, or several different Cabins that you can rent. Depending on your budget, there are some incredible ways to stay here, perfect for a weekend away from it all.

For all the camping details, be sure to check out this post to take a deep dive of all the ways to stay in Cheaha State Park.

Time to Spend Here

With only 11 miles of hiking trails, you can probably get to most of the highlights in Cheaha State Park within one day. However if you want to hike every single trail, enjoy a beautiful sunset in the park, swim in Cheaha Lake, and see the Alabama high point, you might want a weekend or a long weekend to do it all.

Below are 2 samples for you to follow so you can see all of the highlights in Cheaha State Park. Or you can ignore them if you prefer to make your own.

1 Day Sample Itinerary

Arrive by 8am, pay for your day pass(es) and enter the park
Head to the High Point and climb the tower before it gets too busy
Drive over to the Bald Rock Lodge and walk the boardwalk out to Bald Rock for the first stunning view of the morning
Next, drive over to the Pulpit Rock Parking lot and take the short hike to Pulpit Rock
Continue down the road to the Rock Garden area (Mountain Laurel Trail) and enjoy those stunning views
At this point, you’ll probably be approaching noon-ish, so head on down to the Picnic Area by Cheaha Lake and have lunch and take a dip in the lake. You could also hike down the 1 mile Lake Trail to Cheaha Lake if you want some more hiking miles.
After you have had your fill of the lake and you have lunch, walk around Cheaha Lake on the Fisherman’s Trail for some beautiful reflections of the mountains here.
Once you are back to your car, drive back into the main loop of the park and you can hike one of the other trails you haven’t done yet (Upper Spring Loop, Deer Run Trail or the Cheaha Express Trail).
Finally, head back to the Pulpit Rock Parking Lot and hike back to Pulpit Rock for one of the best sunset spots in the area.
Hike back to your car and head home (or to wherever you are staying)

Weekend Sample Itinerary

Friday:

Check into your cabin/chalet or set up your camp at your reserved campsite
Relax around a fire and enjoy the fresh air of Cheaha State Park

Saturday:

Wake up and make a hearty breakfast
Go hiking out to Bald Rock, Pulpit Rock, and the Rock Garden
Drive or hike down to Cheaha Lake and enjoy some time around the water
Head over to the Highest Point in Alabama and enjoy the beauty for the area
Hike another trail or two in the afternoon (Upper Spring Loop, Deer Run Trail or the Cheaha Express Trail)
Watch the sunset at Pulpit Rock
Make dinner around the campfire and be sure to make some s’mores! They’re classic for a reason

Sunday:

Make your final hearty breakfast and pack up your camp/cabin and check out by 11am
Drive around and do any remaining hiking or adventuring you want to before heading home from a great weekend at Cheaha State Park!

What to Expect While Hiking in Cheaha State Park

Cheaha State Park has some of the best views in all of Alabama. However, there aren’t very many long trails here. If you’re looking to hike lots of miles on one trail with hundreds of feet of elevation gain, you won’t find that here.

That being said, if you are ok with shorter trails with great views and peaceful wooded vibes, you’ll absolutely love hiking in Cheaha State Park! So let’s dive into the trails at Cheaha.

The view from Rock Garden Area on the Mountain Laurel Trail in Cheaha State Park

List of Hiking Trails

Bald Rock Trail – 0.5 miles
Bald Rock Boardwalk – 0.3 miles
BigFoot Trail – 0.5 miles
Heritage Education Trail – 0.2 miles
Lake Trail – 1 mile
Mountain Laurel Trail – 1.4 miles
Pulpit Rock Trail – 0.3 miles
Upper Spring Loop – 1.2 miles
Cheaha Express Trail – 2.4 miles (Hiking and Biking)
Cheaha Run Trail – 0.4 miles (Hiking and Biking)
Deer Run – 1.2 miles (Hiking and Biking)
Lower Springs Loop – 0.7 miles (Hiking and Biking)
Fisherman’s Trail – 0.6 miles

Where to Park

First up, we need to discuss where to park for each trailhead.

For Bald Rock Trail or Bald Rock Boardwalk, you’ll want to park here, or right by the Bald Rock Group Lodge.

If you’re looking to hike the Lake Trail, the Rock Garden Trail, out to Pulpit Rock, or the Mountain Laurel Trail, you’ll want to park here, or just down the road by the cabins if that lot is full.

For the High Point on Cheaha Mountain, the BigFoot Trail, the CCC Museum, and the Heritage Education Trail, there is a parking lot right by the tower at the high point.

For the Fisherman’s Trail, Lake Trail, and access to the swimming area around Cheaha Lake, you’ll want to park here. There is a large parking area here, but it fills up on the weekends!

And for all remaining trails, you’ll want to park at the mountain store so you can access the Upper and Lower Spring Loops, the Deer Run Trail, the Cheaha Run and Cheaha Express Trails.

Our Hikes

On our day trip to Cheaha State Park, my husband and I were able to hike out to Bald Rock, down to the Rock Garden area, out to Pulpit Rock. We also climbed the tower at the Cheaha Mountain high point and then drove down to Cheaha Lake where we hiked the Fisherman’s Trail the Lake.

Here is a little bit of a deep dive for each of the trails we hiked.

Bald Rock

After we walked up the tower at the high point, we headed straight over to Bald Rock. There are two options for this trail, either the boardwalk, or the trail which parallels the boardwalk. This 0.3 mile hike is short and easy and also ADA accessible. The view is beautiful and worth hiking to!

Pulpit Rock

Next up, we decided to head down to the Pulpit Rock trailhead, but the parking lot was already full. So we continued down the road a little ways and parked by the CCC cabins and walked up the path besides the cabins to then hike out to Pulpit Rock.

This trail did have some elevation gain and required us to watch where we walked with all the roots and the fallen leaves. This view was also very beautiful and you could easily see why this could be considered the best sunset spot in the whole state!

Rock Garden (Mountain Laurel Trail)

Once we were back to our car by the cabins, we continued down to the Rock Garden area. This trail is below the cabins and was the most beautiful view we saw in all of Cheaha State Park. We went down the hill a little ways (0.2 miles maybe) and had this incredible view all to ourselves.

There wasn’t a whole lot of hiking to get down to this overlook area, but it was definitely the best view we saw.

Fisherman’s Trail

Finally we headed down to Cheaha Lake and walked around the lake for some beautiful reflections of the mountains. This trail was a little overgrown by the road, but the views were worth it. If it had been warmer, we could have taken a dip in the lake, but considering we visited in November, that was out.

Hiking Overview

All of these trails were very easy and we were able to hike all of these trails in less than 4 hours. So if you are looking for easy hiking with great views, these trails will be perfect for you and the whole family.

Other Area Attractions

While there isn’t much else to do in the immediate area, if you’re willing to drive just 30 minutes, you’ll easily be able to access the towns of Heflin, Ashland, Oxford, Lineville, Talladega and Munford.

Other nearby attractions include Talladega National Forest and the Cheaha Wilderness Area. Here you can find more hiking and other beautiful places.

Conclusion

If you are looking for some easy hiking with great views, then you will love hiking in Cheaha State Park. And with so many ways to stay, including a few glamping options, Cheaha might just be the perfect weekend getaway for some unplugged time in nature.

With the highest point in Alabama and some incredible views around the park, you will love taking some time to hike in Cheaha State Park.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to averagewildexperience@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to help you plan a great trip!

-Happy Hiking!