Alabama’s Highest Point

Last updated: September 27, 2023

There’s nothing like taking a Friday off to enjoy a long weekend and that’s exactly what we did today to maximize time spent with my parents and visit Alabama’s highest point!

In January 2023, I went to Cheaha State Park for the sole purpose of visiting Alabama’s highest point, but the it was shut down due to a recent storm. While this was a major disappointment, I still enjoyed other features of the park by visiting Pulpit Rock, Bald Rock Overlook, and even explored the neighboring Talledega Forest by hiking to High Falls.

Fast forward to July 2023 and I’m back again, this time with my parents to finally make my way to Alabama’s highest point. While there, I took the opportunity to show them Pulpit Rock, Bald Rock Overlook, and we hiked the Leave No Trace Bigfoot Challenge Trail. Afterwards, we headed to Talledega National Forest so we could hike to Devil’s Den Falls. I’m happy to share with you my experience with Alabama’s highest point below!

The trip to Cheaha State Park is about 2.5 hours from my house. Because my parents arrived so late the night before, we left at 9AM to give everyone ample time to rest. It also allowed me to call right before we left to confirm the highpoint was indeed open (I wasn’t making that mistake again!).

We got there, grabbed some maps from the visitor center, snapped a photo with the park sign, and made our way to the highpoint.

A lovely birdhouse close to the sign that I didn’t notice last time we were there.

There was an option to drive directly to the highpoint and park right across from it, which is exactly what we did. I felt like that was cheating, but more on that later. Let’s talk about this highpoint!

At an elevation of 2,413 feet, Mount Cheaha is America’s 35th highest point. There is an observation tower built right in on top of it known as Bunker Tower. This was completed in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). I’ve mentioned the CCC before, but as a reminder, it was a voluntary government 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 a major part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal that supplied manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state, and local governments. They spent their time building many parks we enjoy today! The CCC was designed to supply jobs for young men and to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression in the United States. The work they did is honestly quite impressive and there’s even a whole museum dedicated to them at Cheaha State Park.

Inside Bunker Tower, there is a benchmark (chiseled horizontal marks that surveyors make in stone structures) that indicates the highpoint. Stand on that mark and you’ll be standing on Alabama’s highest point!

Dad standing on the highest point in Alabama

The winding staircase that takes you to the top of the tower

Kris found this geodetic survey marker to the left of the bunker.

It felt like I cheated by not hiking to the highpoint; like I didn’t earn it…. so I opted to take the half mile Leave No Trace Bigfoot Challenge Trail back down to the one of the parks parking lot. I recommend taking this trail TO the highest point if you plan to visit.

So yay. Another highpoint checked off the list! I look forward for the next one and will of course keep you updated. 😊

I don’t know a lot about America’s high points… I’m just researching them one by one as I decide to visit them. I would love to hear about your favorite one! Also, if you’ve visited Alabama’s highpoint, let me know if I missed anything!