Tennessee Valley — Wheeler Refuge Cranes & the Decatur Riverfront

Two days in the broad, birdy floodplain where the Tennessee River spreads across northern Alabama around the city of Decatur. Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of thousands of sandhill cranes and, in recent years, a handful of endangered whooping cranes — one of the great wildlife spectacles of the Deep South, watched from a heated observation building over a flooded field. Day one pairs the refuge with Point Mallard Park's riverside paths on Decatur's waterfront. Day two heads to the Flint Creek trails and the refuge's forested boardwalks along the Tennessee River before the drive home. It is easy, level walking built around water and birds — binoculars are the essential gear — with an overnight on Decatur's historic riverfront between the two.