At least one should provide what you are looking for.
No matter what part of North Alabama one's in, they aren't too far from a Tennessee Valley Authority trail. The company that provides power to all of North Alabama is also the steward of over 300 square miles of public land. It was purchased with taxpayer dollars under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1933. Now, TVA gives the land back to the public by managing walking trails.
“It’s theirs. We want people out here using it,†said Damien Simbeck, the senior program manager of natural resources for TVA’s west operations. “It's a place to get out in nature, get out in the woods and walk around and enjoy it away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.â€
TVA acquired many of the trails when they began managing the land in 1933.
Ìý
Simbeck says that most of the trails weren’t built by TVA, but inherited when the land was purchased. Several of them were established by the Civilian Conservation Corp, who managed the land prior to TVA. Some of them weren’t official trails, but old roadbeds that locals used for recreation. That’s the case for the Muscle Shoals reservation trails at Wilson Dam, however this location is unique, because Wilson is the only dam on TVA property that the company did not build themselves.
The main walking trail at the Muscle Shoals reservation used to be a community known as South Florence. The city of Florence is on the north side of the river, but South Florence was below it.Ìý
“It was a river port community, so that’s where they would load things on and off bargers coming up and down the river in that area, but when the corp took it over, it became reservation type property,†Simbeck said. “That city was moved, and the old road beds at that dam became a walking trail.â€
Cooley Cemetery Trail on Lake Guntersville has a similar origin story – people just started using the land to take walks in the 1940s. Cooley is unique, because it is the only TVA trail that is authorized for horseback riding.
Marbut Bend trail is on Wheeler Lake in Elkmont. It features swampy marshland, which is unique for the area.
Ìý
Marbut Bend Trail on Wheeler Lake in Elkmont is one of the few that TVA built themselves, using funds they received in 2014. It’s compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, allowing more people to use the land. It has two piers that were added on in 2016 and 2018 with additional funding.
“When we built this trail in particular, one of my managers was kind of laughing at me. He said ‘why are you building a trail out in the middle of nowhere?’†Simbeck said, “It’s rare that I come out here and there’s not four or five cars in the parking lot.â€
Over 800 unique species have been identified at Marbut Bend.
Ìý
TVA works with a local farmer in Limestone County to maintain the vegetation. A naturalist helps maintain a database of all the wildlife found at Marbut Bend, which features over 800 species. Amber even identified a cicada that was added to the database.
Amber identified and logged a cicada into Marbut Bend's species database while she was visiting.
Ìý
“It's a very diverse area, because you have a combination of uplands, river, wetland, you know, a lot of different habitats,†Simbeck said.
Simbeck says they don’t have any direct additions to the Alabama trails planned right now, but are always looking for ways to help the land better serve the people of North Alabama while preserving its biodiversity.
To find your nearest TVA trail, you can visit
When you visit, make sure to snap a picture and post it to your social media using #AmbersAlabama.
Ìý
