🥾 ActiveLong weekend · from Birmingham, AL
Bankhead Forest & Smith Lake — Waterfalls, Cliffs & Canyon Sandstone
Three days in the William B. Bankhead National Forest, the 'Land of a Thousand Waterfalls,' paired with the deep, clear water of Lewis Smith Lake on the forest's southern edge. This route stays out of the Sipsey Wilderness core and instead works the forest's waterfalls, cliffs, and canyon rims. Day one chases Kinlock Falls and Caney Creek Falls, two of the forest's most beautiful cascades. Day two swims and hikes at Smith Lake State Park and scrambles the sandstone at the Duncan Bridge cliffs. Day three walks the Brushy Lake shoreline and the sandstone arch at the Natural Bridge of Winston before the drive home. Expect waterfalls, swimming holes, clifftop views, and quiet forest trails, with two nights based near Double Springs and Smith Lake. Bring boots that can get wet.
Day 1 — Kinlock Falls & Caney Creek FallsDay 2 — Smith Lake State Park & the Duncan Bridge cliffsDay 3 — Brushy Lake & the Natural Bridge of Winston
Day 1 — Bankhead National Forest — Waterfalls, AL
Day 1 — Bankhead National Forest — Waterfalls, AL
🚗 1 hr 15 min driving📍 5 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Birmingham, AL → Kinlock Falls, Bankhead National Forest
1 hr 15 min8:00 AM → 9:15 AM
Kinlock Falls & Hubbard Creek Slides
★ 4.8Kinlock Falls is one of Bankhead's most-loved cascades — a broad, terraced sheet of water sliding down smooth sandstone into a deep, clear pool, doubling in summer as a natural waterslide the locals ride down the rock face. It sits close to the forest road, so the walk in is short, but the setting is pure backwoods Alabama: hemlock-shaded, tannin-dark water and worn stone. Test the rock for slickness and the pool for depth before sliding, and go early on summer weekends when the swimming hole fills up. It is a joyful, wet start to three days in the forest.
9:15 AM📍 See location
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Lunch
Caney Creek Falls Trail
★ 4.1A short but steep out-and-back drops from a forest-road trailhead through hardwoods and rhododendron to Caney Creek Falls, a wide, gentle curtain of water pouring over a mossy sandstone lip into a broad swimming pool — one of the prettiest waterfalls in the whole forest. You can walk behind the falls along the undercut rock shelf, a favorite photo spot. The roughly two-mile round trip is muddy and slick in places, with a rooty descent, so wear grippy footwear. Bring a suit; the pool is made for a midday swim.
10:15 AM📍 See location
🍽️ Lunch11:15 AM
Country Kitchen (Double Springs)
The forest has no restaurants of its own, so the dependable hot lunch is in the gateway town of Double Springs, a short drive from the waterfall trailheads. A small-town Southern kitchen here serves meat-and-threes, fried catfish and chicken, cornbread, and pie in an unfussy dining room full of local regulars. It is the practical sit-down alternative to a streamside picnic between the morning's two waterfalls. Fuel up and top off water here before heading back into the forest for the afternoon.
2 options · tap to switch
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Afternoon
Sipsey River Recreation Area Overlook
For an easy afternoon, follow the Sipsey River recreation-area trails where they trace the clear, boulder-strewn river along the forest's canyon floor — big bluffs, hanging ferns, and deep green pools, without venturing into the wilderness backcountry. The riverside path is gentle and shaded, threading beneath towering sandstone walls that give the 'Bankhead' its cathedral feel. It is a mellow contrast to the morning's waterfall scrambles. Time it for late-day light filtering down the canyon before heading to your base for the night.
12:15 PM📍 See location
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Evening
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Double Springs / Smith Lake area lodging
This is rural Winston County, so base the nights in Double Springs — the small forest gateway town with basic motels, cabins, and the county services — or in one of the many lakeside cabins and rentals that ring Lewis Smith Lake to the south. Lakefront cabins are the standout choice, putting you on the water for tomorrow's swimming and cliff time; book directly through local rental hosts. Double Springs itself keeps you closest to the forest trailheads and has a grocery and gas for stocking up. Lay in water and breakfast supplies; services thin out fast in the forest.
Day 2 — Lewis Smith Lake, AL
Day 2 — Lewis Smith Lake, AL
🚗 30 min driving📍 4 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Double Springs, AL → Smith Lake State Park
30 min8:00 AM → 8:30 AM
Smith Lake State Park — Shoreline & Trails
★ 4.4Lewis Smith Lake is one of the cleanest, deepest lakes in the Southeast — 21,000 acres of clear green water filling the drowned sandstone canyons at the foot of the Bankhead forest. Smith Lake State Park anchors a stretch of shoreline with a swimming area, boat access, and trails through the pine-and-hardwood hills above the water. Start the morning here with a swim and a shoreline walk, taking in the coves and bluffs that make the lake feel more like a flooded canyon than a reservoir. The water is cool and remarkably clear; bring a mask if you like to see the bottom drop away.
8:30 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
🍽️ Lunch9:30 AM
Smith Lake Park Marina Grill
The lake's marinas and lakeside grills serve up casual waterfront fare — burgers, fried catfish, cold drinks, and dock-side seating over the water — the natural midday stop between the morning swim and the afternoon cliffs. Trinity Marina, Duncan Bridge Marina, and the seasonal lakeside eateries around the lake are the usual spots, most with a deck over the coves. It is easy, relaxed, and thoroughly lake-town. Eat on the dock and watch the boats slide out onto the green water.
2 options · tap to switch
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Afternoon
Duncan Bridge Cliffs & Sandstone Bluffs
The Duncan Bridge area is Smith Lake's cliff country, where sandstone bluffs drop straight into deep coves and draw swimmers, kayakers, and the brave to the rock ledges above the water. Scramble the shoreline sandstone, explore the coves by the bridge, and take in the long views down the flooded canyon arms of the lake. The clear, deep water beneath the bluffs is spectacular, but depths and hazards vary and cliff areas are unmarked — scout carefully, and treat any jumping with real caution. Even from the bank, the bluffs are a stunning, quintessentially Smith Lake afternoon.
12:00 PM📍 See location
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Evening
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Smith Lake / Double Springs area lodging
Return to your Smith Lake cabin or Double Springs base for the second night. If you booked a lakefront rental, this is the evening to enjoy the dock at sunset, when the light goes gold across the coves and the water finally stills. Grill out, take a last swim, and let the day wind down on the water. Turn in with an eye on tomorrow — Brushy Lake and the Natural Bridge come before the long drive back to Birmingham.
Day 3 — Brushy Lake & Natural Bridge of Winston, AL
Day 3 — Brushy Lake & Natural Bridge of Winston, AL
🚗 2 hr 5 min driving📍 4 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Double Springs, AL → Brushy Lake Recreation Area
35 min8:00 AM → 8:35 AM
Brushy Lake Recreation Area & Shoreline Trail
★ 4.6Tucked deep in the Bankhead forest, Brushy Lake is a quiet 33-acre lake ringed by bluffs and hardwoods, with a shoreline trail, a small campground, and some of the most peaceful water in the whole forest. The path circles beneath sandstone overhangs and past a small waterfall that feeds the lake, threading a green tunnel of ferns and rhododendron. It is easy, shaded walking with almost no crowds — the forest at its most serene. Start the last day here with a slow loop and, if the morning is warm, a swim off the bank.
8:35 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
Natural Bridge of Winston (Sandstone Arch)
★ 4.7Near the forest's southern edge stands the Natural Bridge of Winston, billed as the longest natural sandstone bridge east of the Rockies — a graceful 148-foot double span of rock arching over a fern-choked hollow, its underside hung with mosses and rare plants. A short, shaded interpretive loop trail leads beneath and around the arch through cool, damp woodland, past a smaller companion span and stands of Canadian hemlock unusually far south. It is a gentle, low-mileage walk with a genuinely dramatic geological centerpiece — the perfect last hike before the drive. Give the loop a slow half-hour to take in the arch from every angle.
9:35 AM📍 See location
🍽️ Lunch10:35 AM
Front Porch Grill (Haleyville / Double Springs)
For a final meal before pointing south, a small-town Winston County kitchen in Haleyville or Double Springs delivers the right send-off — Southern plates, fried catfish and chicken, meat-and-threes, and homemade pie in an unfussy dining room. After three days of forest picnics and lakeside snacks, a proper sit-down meal is welcome. Fuel up and swap trail stories over a plate before the road. Then it is roughly an hour and a half back to Birmingham.
2 options · tap to switch
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Afternoon
Clear Creek Recreation Area — Lakeside Stroll
★ 4.3On the way out, the Clear Creek Recreation Area on the northern arm of Smith Lake offers a final, easy lakeside stroll — a swimming beach, a short nature trail, and a wide view down the clear water where the forest meets the lake. It is a mellow, ten-minute walk to round off the trip and shake out the legs before the highway. Dip your feet, take a last look at the green water, and let the forest quiet settle in one more time. Then it is a clear run south to Birmingham.
12:00 PM📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🚗
Drive
Double Springs, AL → Birmingham, AL
1 hr 30 min5:00 PM → 6:30 PM
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