Cheaha State Park, Alabama

Last updated: September 27, 2023

I recently added visiting all the high points of the United States to my never ending list of lofty life goals and Cheaha State Park happened to be where the highest point in Alabama was located. Given Kris and I had a long holiday weekend in January, I planned out a road trip for us to stay at an Airbnb near the park that would give us two full days to explore and hike. Based on my extensive online research of park offerings, I knew that in addition to Alabama’s highest point, I wanted to visit other portions of the park such as Pulpit Rock and Bald Rock Overlook. Talledega National Forest with its many hiking options, including High Falls Trail, adjoins Cheaha State Park, so I added that to the list of must dos.

Let’s talk about Cheaha State Park for a minute:

• Alabama’s oldest continuously operating state park.
• 2,799 acres
• Includes Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in the state.
• Opened in 1933
• From 1933 – 1939, the Civilian Conservative Corps 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.
• In 1973, a hotel, restaurant, and five chalets were added.
• In 2020, the park’s Doug Ghee Accessible Trail was named a National Recreation Trail.
• September 2020, Cheaha State Park was one of eleven Alabama State Parks awarded TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Award, which recognizes businesses and attractions that earn consistently high user reviews
• In 1944, a military plane crashed into Bald Rock and a machine gun from the plan was discovered by a local family. In 2023, the machine gun was donated to the park museum.
• The park features the Cheaha Trailhead of the Pinjoti Trail system which weaves through the Talladega National Forest and connects to the Appalachian Trial. They are currently trying to get Cheaha State Park added to the Appalachian Trail which I think is really cool and hope they succeed!
• 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.

Note: The restaurant is currently closed for the foreseeable future.

Kris and I drove straight there from Indiana, which took about 7.5 hour. I opted to stay at this Airbnb because it was cheaper than staying in the park. It was perfect with beautiful views and a short drive to the park.

We got there mid-afternoon and headed into the park to check out the visitor center, get maps and just get a feel for the park so we could hit the ground running the next day.

While it’s not much to look at, the visitor center was extremely helpful with maps and recommendations. It was here where I learned my ill fated timing… the high point had been closed due to weather damage! Talk about disappointment; I almost cried. Then I decided that the closure would give me an excuse to come back to my favorite state so I pushed the disappointment aside and got excited about what other options in the park were available. We decided to go ahead and hike High Falls in Talledega National Forest since we still had daylight (which was awesome) and spend the next day exploring Cheaha State Park.

Keep in mind the entry fee for the park is $5, so if you’re staying more than two days, you probably want to book an in-park accommodation. I decided that the next time we go for a long weekend, I am going to get one of the cabins.

This trip was extra special because we didn’t know it when we started but this is the weekend we randomly decided to look at a house in Morgan County on our trip back and bought it on the spot! It is our forever home and we absolutely love it. More to come on this, but as you can imagine, it’s been insanely busy!

I am constantly perplexed at how late in life I got started with exploring national, state, and even city parks… there’s so much history at each one that makes it uniquely special, and it’s the perfect way to enjoy God’s beautiful creation! I encourage you get out there and take in the beauty of your local park, and thanks for hanging with me while I try to catch up!