Year of Alabama Trails Kicks Off at Vulcan Park

By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

When the Alabama Tourism Department selects a feature or activity in the state to highlight for its “The Year of” designation, that campaign normally lasts for one year. However, the most recent promotion, The Year of Alabama Trails, will require two years to complete because of the enormous outdoors opportunities in one of the most geographically and biologically diverse states in the nation.

The kick-off for the campaign was held last week atop Birmingham’s Red Mountain at the Vulcan Park and Museum, where officials and dignitaries talked about the vast number of trails that crisscross the entire state and highlights the geological features that range from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains to the sugar sand beaches of the Gulf Coast.

Lee Sentell, Alabama Tourism Director, said the event at the Vulcan was an exciting day for the entire state, and he thanked Governor Kay Ivey for her steadfast support of the tourism industry.

“The last 10 years have been very successful in our industry,” Sentell said. “Twenty years ago, tourism was a $6 billion industry in Alabama. This year, it is a $24 billion dollar business. The Vulcan is a great anchor for the City of Birmingham, because it’s a place that is easy to visit. When you come here, you get a great view of the city. It makes you smile and makes you realize that you are a part of something that is amazingly special.

“This is the kick-off for not just The Year of Alabama Trails; it’s going to last for two years because there is so much to do that we couldn’t cram everything into one year.”

Of course, the numerous trails in the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) system will play a huge role in the Year of Alabama Trails and provide Alabamians and visitors with an abundance of options to enjoy the state’s natural beauty.

ADCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship, who was on a whirlwind tour of the state from Joe Wheeler State Park to the Vulcan to Smith Lake for a bass tournament weigh-in, said he and Sentell have the best jobs in state government, and teaming up with Tourism to benefit Alabamians and visitors has been a fruitful relationship.

“I’m excited to be here as Conservation Commissioner for all of the trails that our staff work so hard to build and maintain around the state,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “When you look at our 21 Alabama State Parks from one end of the state to the other, you’ve got the mountains in northeast Alabama to the Tennessee River Valley to the southern Appalachians at Oak Mountain State Park, all the way down through the River Region through the Black Belt all the way to the Gulf Coast. The breadth and diversity of the terrain is fantastic.

“If you want to hike in the mountains, you can do that here. If you want to have a walk along the beach at Gulf State Park, the diversity is fantastic. I don’t think you can get that in any other state, especially one that’s only about 350 miles long.”

Commissioner Blankenship highlighted the 250-plus miles of trails in Alabama State Parks as well as the 200-plus miles of trails in Forever Wild property, which is managed by ADCNR’s State Lands Division. Some of those trails traverse many of the waterways in the state, which Commissioner Blankenship pointed out.

“We have more miles of navigable water in Alabama than in any other state,” he said. “I don’t think we have done a good job of capitalizing on that in the way we can now. I’m hoping that The Year of Alabama Trails is not only going to be for hiking trails, mountain biking and horseback riding, but also our blueway trails that can get people out on the water. I’m excited that this is a two-year project, because there is no doubt that we have way more opportunities in Alabama than we can promote in a year. And we aren’t even discussing the other types of trails. This year we’re talking about hiking and biking trails. At Oak Mountain and Coldwater Mountain in the Anniston area, we have some of the premier mountain bike trails anywhere in the country right here in Alabama.

“I could sit up here all day and talk about all the trails and outdoor recreational activities we have in Alabama, but I’ll end it by saying, we are very blessed in Alabama for the leaders we have who take outdoor recreation very seriously and understand what that means for our economy, understand what that means for the quality of life in Alabama, and what it means to be an Alabamian and why it’s so great to live here.”

Commissioner Blankenship, who is Chairman of the Innovate Alabama Outdoor Recreation Council, also praised the work done through Innovate Alabama to promote the many recreational opportunities available in Alabama, one of the state’s greatest assets. 

T.C. McLemore, Outdoor Recreation Director with Innovate Alabama, explained why Innovate Alabama is involved with the outdoor recreation aspect of Alabama. A study by Stanford University emphasized the unique outdoor recreation and natural beauty in the state, which could play a huge role in attracting businesses and entrepreneurs to Alabama.

“Those researchers, who specialize in creating creative economies, landed here in Alabama with a mindset toward tax incentives, policy around venture capital and different ways an innovative ecosystem can be arranged to incentivize those innovators and entrepreneurs,” McLemore said. “I don’t think what they were expecting when they got off the plane was how beautiful Alabama is. That immediately became the key differentiator in their minds and, in turn, the minds of our Innovation Commission and Governor Ivey’s recommendation in creating Innovate Alabama.

“We have abundant natural resources as addressed by Commissioner Blankenship. The geographic diversity and biodiversity this state offers is really unparalleled. Our work at Innovate Alabama is that we’ve packaged that up and put it directly in front of our core target audience saying, if you want to start a business or have the next great idea, we’ll invest in the company, we’ll invest in the ecosystem that supports you, but we’ll also invest in trails to help create a robust quality of life. And we can do it at a better cost of living than other markets. To date, we have deployed almost $20 million in outdoor recreation projects across the state.”

Visit www.seekalabama.com for the outdoor recreation opportunities highlighted by Innovate Alabama.

David Perry, Alabama Trails Foundation, said this is a perfect time to celebrate Alabama trails through the Tourism initiative.

“It’s a time to celebrate what we have and what we can have with thoughtful planning with intentional design and structure work,” Perry said. “The goal of the Alabama Trails Foundation is to provide technical expertise to trail users of all types around the state and to provide inventory. What we have the opportunity to do here is really exciting.”

Perry said the flagship project for the Foundation has been building a master plan for the Pinhoti Trail that winds through the Talladega National Forest in eastern Alabama from the Georgia line through both the Cheaha Wilderness and Dugger Mountain Wilderness areas.  A trail connects Cheaha State Park to the Pinhoti, which is 337 miles long, with 171 miles in Alabama.

“The Pinhoti winds through the Appalachians and rivals any other long-distance trail in the country,” Perry said. “I have hiked the Appalachian Trail, and the Pinhoti is every bit as good as the Appalachian Trail.

“Everywhere from the coastal trails on the land and water in Mobile and Baldwin counties to the Cahaba Blueway to the Bankhead National Forest and Sipsey Wilderness up to Little River Canyon and the Tennessee Valley and all across, we have gems of beauty and future development for the health, economic development and civic welfare of our communities.” 

###