🥾 ActiveWeekend · from Birmingham, AL
Talladega National Forest — Pinhoti Trail, Silent Trail & Mountain Lakes
Two days of backcountry hiking in the Talladega National Forest, the southern tail of the Appalachians where the ridges rise higher than anywhere else in Alabama. This route works the forest around Cheaha's flanks without climbing the peak itself — Day one hikes the Pinhoti Trail and drops to Lake Chinnabee, a jewel of forest-rimmed water; Day two walks the Chinnabee Silent Trail through the Cheaha Wilderness fringe to the Devil's Den and Cheaha Falls, then circles Coleman Lake before the drive home. Expect rocky ridge paths, cascading creeks, mountain laurel tunnels, and quiet swimming lakes, with an overnight near Heflin or Lineville between the two days. The trails are the heart of it; bring real boots, water, and a sense of remoteness.
Day 1 — Pinhoti Trail & Lake ChinnabeeDay 2 — Chinnabee Silent Trail, Cheaha Falls & Coleman Lake
Day 1 — Talladega National Forest — Lake Chinnabee, AL
Day 1 — Talladega National Forest — Lake Chinnabee, AL
🚗 1 hr 30 min driving📍 5 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Birmingham, AL → Pinhoti Trailhead, Talladega National Forest
1 hr 30 min
📍
Pinhoti National Recreation Trail — Talladega Section
★ Reviews →The Pinhoti is Alabama's great long-distance trail, a footpath that runs the spine of the Talladega ridges and links, via connectors, all the way to the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. Its Talladega section climbs through longleaf pine and hardwood forest along rocky ridgelines, with periodic openings that look out over folded blue mountains — the highest country in the state. Pick a there-and-back segment from a forest-road trailhead and walk as far as the legs and the day allow; the trail rewards every mile with quiet and views. Watch for the distinctive turkey-track blazes, and carry all your water.
~1.5 hrs📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
📍
Lake Chinnabee Recreation Area
★ Reviews →Tucked in a hollow below the ridges, Lake Chinnabee is a small, spring-fed forest lake ringed by hardwoods and hemlock — one of the prettiest spots in the whole national forest. The recreation area has a swimming and fishing shoreline, picnic tables, and a beach that makes an ideal midday break after the morning on the Pinhoti. The water is cool and clear, backed by wooded slopes with no development in sight. Spread lunch at a lakeside table and take a dip if the day is warm.
~1.5 hrs📍 See location
📍
Creekside Grill at Cheaha (Delta / Lineville)
The forest itself has no restaurants, so the reliable sit-down option is down in the little communities that ring it — a Southern kitchen or country grill in Delta or Lineville, on the southern approach to the forest. Expect meat-and-threes, fried catfish, burgers, and cobbler in an unpretentious dining room a short drive off the mountain. It is the practical hot-lunch alternative to a lakeside picnic after the morning on the Pinhoti. Fuel up here before dropping back into the trails for the afternoon.
~1 hr📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
📍
Cheaha Creek & the Lower Silent Trail Cascades
★ Reviews →From the lake, the lower end of the Chinnabee Silent Trail follows Cheaha Creek upstream through a run of boulders, chutes, and clear pools — an easy afternoon out-and-back to warm up for tomorrow's fuller hike. The creek tumbles over slabs and gathers in swimming holes, shaded by mountain laurel and rhododendron that bloom heavy in late spring. It is gentle walking with the constant company of moving water. Turn around whenever you like; even the first stretch delivers the trail's essential character.
~1 hr📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🛏️
Heflin / Lineville area lodging
This is a rural stretch of Alabama, so set expectations accordingly and base the night in one of the small towns that bracket the forest. Heflin, off I-20 to the north, has basic chain motels and easy interstate access; Lineville, to the south, offers a couple of simple independent options closer to the southern trailheads. For more comfort, cabins and lodge rooms can sometimes be found at the fringes of the forest. Wherever you land, stock up on water and breakfast supplies in town — the forest itself has no services. An early night sets up a full second day on the trail.
Day 2 — Cheaha Wilderness Fringe & Coleman Lake, AL
Day 2 — Cheaha Wilderness Fringe & Coleman Lake, AL
🚗 1 hr 55 min driving📍 4 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Heflin / Lineville, AL → Chinnabee Silent Trailhead
25 min
📍
Chinnabee Silent Trail — Devil's Den & Cheaha Falls
★ Reviews →The Chinnabee Silent Trail is the signature hike of this route — built in the 1970s by scouts from the Alabama School for the Deaf, hence the 'silent' name — climbing along Cheaha Creek through the wilderness fringe past a run of dramatic water features. The Devil's Den is a deep, boulder-choked gorge where the creek plunges through a chaos of house-sized rocks, and just upstream Cheaha Falls spills over a wide sandstone ledge into a pool ringed by a backcountry shelter. The trail is rocky and rugged in places, with creek crossings and steady climbing, but the payoff is one of the finest cascade hikes in Alabama. Give it the whole morning and pack plenty of water.
~1 hr📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
📍
Odum Scout Trail — Cheaha Wilderness Overlooks
★ Reviews →For those with legs left, the Odum Scout Trail continues up the ridge into the fringe of the Cheaha Wilderness, threading rocky outcrops and open pine woods to a string of overlooks across the wildest terrain in the state. It is genuine wilderness walking — lightly trafficked, sparsely blazed, and quiet — with bare-rock ledges that make natural lunch perches above the folded ridges. Turn back at any of the overlooks; the wilderness reveals itself early. Move deliberately over the loose rock and keep track of the blazes.
~1.5 hrs📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
📍
Coleman Lake Recreation Area
★ Reviews →In the northern Shoal Creek district of the forest, Coleman Lake is a placid 21-acre lake with a swimming beach, an easy lakeside loop trail, and a shaded picnic area — the perfect cool-down after two days of ridge and creek hiking. The flat shoreline path circles the water beneath tall pines, and the beach invites a final swim before the road home. It is a gentle, restful close that trades elevation for stillness. Rinse off, refuel, and let the afternoon wind down here.
~1.5 hrs📍 See location
🍽️ Lunch~1 hr
🍽️
The Front Porch (Heflin)
Back in Heflin before the interstate, a stop at a local Southern kitchen like The Front Porch is the right way to end two days in the forest — home-style plates, fried catfish, meat-and-threes, and a slice of pie in a small-town dining room. It is unfussy, filling, and a welcome sit-down after miles on the trail. Fuel up here for the drive west. Then it is a clear ninety minutes back to Birmingham on I-20.
2 options · tap to switch
🌙
Evening
🚗
Drive
Heflin, AL → Birmingham, AL
1 hr 30 min
← All Birmingham trips
More getaways from Birmingham
Cahaba Iron Country — Tannehill Furnaces & the Rickwood Miracle Mile — Day trip🥾Tennessee Valley — Wheeler Refuge Cranes & the Decatur Riverfront — Weekend🥾Alabama Gulf Coast — Gulf State Park, Fort Morgan & Bon Secour — Long weekend🥾Tuscaloosa & Moundville — the University of Alabama and a Mississippian Mound City — Day trip🏛️Muscle Shoals — the Sound, FAME Studios & the Shoals' Cultural Heart — Weekend🏛️Columbus, Georgia — the Chattahoochee, the Infantry & Georgia's Little Grand Canyon — Long weekend🏛️Covered Bridge Country — Blount County's Wooden Spans & Clifftop Park — Day trip🌿Smith Lake — Deep Clear Water, Pontoon Afternoons & Walker County Backroads — Weekend🌿
© 2026 theweekendgetaways.com · All itineraries are original content. Terms
Plan your own escapeExplore more trips →