Cheaha State Park is a public recreation area located in

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and Cleburne counties in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, US. The park's include

Cheaha Mountain Cheaha Mountain , often called Mount Cheaha, is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located a few miles northwest of the town of Delta, Alabama, Delta in Cheaha State Park, which offers a lodge, a restaurant, and other ...

, the highest point in the state. The park adjoins

Talladega National Forest The Talladega National Forest is located in the U.S. state of Alabama and covers 392,567 acres (613.39 sq mi, or 1,588.66 km2) at the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Before it was bought by the federal government in the 1930s, ...

and is managed by the

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) is the state agency responsible for the conservation and management of Alabama's natural resources including state parks, state lands, wildlife and aquatic resources. ADCNR al ...

. It is Alabama's oldest continuously operating

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

. Facilities include lodgings, a restaurant, campsites, and hiking trails.

History

The park opened to the public in 1933. From 1933 to 1939, the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

was active in the park creating Cheaha Lake and building numerous structures including a stone bathhouse, eleven stone cabins, two stone pavilions, Bunker Tower, the Bald Rock Group Lodge, and several hiking trails. A hotel, restaurant, and five

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-su ...

s were added to the park in 1973. On January 4, 1944, a

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

warplane, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Chester R. Gunkel of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, was flying from Love Field,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and crashed into Bald Rock. A machine gun was recovered from the crash site and was subsequently donated to the park museum in 2023. In 2020, the park's Doug Ghee Accessible Trail was named a

National Recreation Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

Awards

In September 2020, Cheaha State Park was one of eleven Alabama State Parks awarded

Tripadvisor Tripadvisor is an American company that operates online travel agency, travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content. Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages, and ...

’s Traveler’s Choice Award, which recognizes businesses and attractions that earn consistently high user reviews.

Activities and amenities

*Day-use: The park has day-use areas for picnicking, swimming, and fishing. *Scenic overlooks: Cheaha Mountain is topped with Bunker Tower, a stone building with an observation deck on top. A wheelchair-accessible wooden walkway on the Bald Rock Trail provides another

overlook A scenic viewpoint—also called an observation point, viewpoint, viewing point, vista point, scenic overlook,These terms are more commonly used in North America. etc.—is an elevated location where people can view scenery (often with binocul ...

of the surrounding region. *Hiking: The park features the Cheaha Trailhead of the Pinhoti Trail system which weaves through the

and connects to the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

. *Overnight stays: The park has 73 modern campsites and a smaller number of semi-primitive campsites. Accommodations also include a 30-room hotel, chalets, and cabins. The Bald Rock Group Lodge is used for conferences and weddings.

References

External links

Cheaha State Park
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources * {{authority control State parks of Alabama State parks of the Appalachians Protected areas of Clay County, Alabama Protected areas of Cleburne County, Alabama Civilian Conservation Corps in Alabama Protected areas established in 1933 1933 establishments in Alabama Mountain biking venues in Alabama National Recreation Trails in Alabama Alabama placenames of Native American origin

History

Awards

Activities and amenities

See also

References

External links