This article represents the opinions of its author. The views expressed here are not necessarily representative of The Sunrise News staff as a whole.
I sometimes have an aversion to doing things that I feel like I see “everywhere,” or something that “everyone” is doing. I mean, it took me forever to watch the first “Dune” movie. I always regret not doing the thing that I either intentionally, or unintentionally, avoid, so I decided to drag my friends along to Shangri-La Falls, the second most visited trail in William B. Bankhead forest.
After researching the trail on AllTrails the night before, we decided to add a second hike in Bankhead and chose the Natural Bridge Hiking Trail. We chose the site for similar reasons of almost always seeing it on social media, but also its proximity to Shangri-La.
William B. Bankhead National Forest, formerly named the Black Warrior National Forest and originally Alabama National Forest, is one of four national forests in Alabama. Known for its flowing waterfalls, deep gorges, sprawling biodiversity and its Sipsey Wilderness, the natural area serves as a source for recreation and a site for best forestry management practices. Some of the available recreation at Bankhead includes hunting, hiking, fishing, camping, horseback riding, biking and other activities. While people can be found enjoying the outdoors year-round in the forest, as a national forest, the United States Department of Agriculture also manages Bankhead for wildlife, timber, fishing and more. This can range from tracking species migration and disease or pests to forestry management, such as performing prescribed burns.
While Bankhead has over 90 miles of trails, for this excursion, my friends and I decided to do some of the shorter trails that tend to be constantly promoted, two of which we see on Instagram constantly: Shangri-La Falls and the Natural Bridge Hiking Trail. The Natural Bridge Hiking Trail is frequently also called the Natural Bridge Picnic Area.
It’s rare to have seen a “Top ten places to visit in Alabama” on your phone without seeing one of these spots on the list. And that’s for good reason. Both locations have drastically different features that draw in visitors. They’re only 20 minutes apart, both are located in Bankhead National Forest and each hike beautifully shows off their own parts of Bankhead.
Drastic changes in landscape and views are common across Bankhead. Even the USDA Forest Service acknowledges it on their website: “Forest users will find that each area has its own personality and with the changing seasons, even that personality will change.”Shangri-La Falls is AllTrails’ second most visited trail at the Bankhead National Forest. Featuring a strikingly blue waterfall located in the middle of a gorge, the trail is approximately 3 miles total, in and out. However — the hiking trail and area for Shangri-La Falls is labeled as dispersed recreation.
This means that any form of recreation or trails, labeled as dispersed recreation, are not officially sponsored or managed by Bankhead National Forest. Visitors are still required to follow national forest policies and Alabama’s regulations. There is signage at the site making it clear to visitors that any exploration or recreation is at visitors’ own risk. With that being said, there are little to no markers on the trail for Shangri-La. While some people online mentioned a few, I only noticed small reflective orange dots on a few trees coming back.
Reading that any potential hikers will need to be wary and know how to navigate an unmarked trail made me excited. I had never really been on a hike where we had to continuously pause and check our map and orientation — minus going in caves.
When we got to where we thought we were supposed to be, right off FS 245, or Mt Olive Rd, we realized we had to keep going past some signage and through a gate, down FS 253. If you’ve never seen ‘FS’ for a road, me neither. It indicates a Forest Service Road and can either be paved or unpaved. In this case, once we turned on to FS 245 it was unpaved roads all the way to the small parking lot on FS 253.
Coordinates for the parking lot are 34°16’58.5″N 87°18’01.0″W. Coordinates for the waterfall are 34°16’45.7″N 87°18’23.0″W.
You can’t find Shangri-La falls on Apple Maps, so I recommend using AllTrails for directions. The trailhead shows up on Google Maps, but I’m not sure how close to the parking lot it may take you.
There is a fork almost immediately after starting the trail by the parking lot. I recommend taking the left route as going to the right side, we felt like we started getting lost. We then realized that the left side is the trail mapped on AllTrails. From there on, the trail is clear to follow. At a few points, there are some downed trees that you will have to navigate under or around. It isn’t until you start approaching the gorge that the trail begins to become a little more difficult to navigate.
Once you get to a point where the trail starts veering to your right, be on the lookout for some ropes. If you find two trees bending towards each other to make what almost looks like a door, you’re on the right track. Shortly after, the ropes can be found easily.
Using the rope, getting down the somewhat muddy slope is much easier and manageable. I wouldn’t recommend this portion of the trail to anyone who may have mobility issues. I do think there are some alternate ways to get down into the gorge, but this seems to be the main path. Following Leave No Trace principles, it may be best to follow the main path to minimize trail erosion.
Once you’re down in the gorge, follow the creek upstream and you should easily hear and then find the waterfall.
The gorge was gorgeous. Covered in eastern hemlock trees and pine trees, with icicles decorating the rock faces, the waterfall and surrounding area was something out of a fantasy book. The water, due to mineral deposits, is a bright blue. As we were walking in, we even saw a rainbow in the mist where the waterfall meets the surface. I was fully expecting some gnomes or elves to pop up and hang out with us while we ate our lunch.
After exploring a little bit more, careful not to walk under any icicles, we decided to head back. Going back was much faster since we had already navigated the trail on the way in and remembered a few unique landmarks.
Getting to and finding the Natural Bridge Hiking Trail was much easier. It’s only about 20 minutes away and rather than being a dispersed recreation area, it is a developed recreation area. With a developed parking area, bathrooms and several picnic tables, the space provides a more structured environment than Shangri-La.
There are two separate natural land bridges in Bankhead. First is the Natural Bridge Hiking Trail or Natural Bridge Picnic Area, which has no admission fee. Second is the larger Natural Bridge Park which has a small admission fee, but a larger natural bridge. We ended up going to the Natural Bridge Hiking Trail because it was slightly closer, and we were racing against the sun.
Only a half mile loop, the Natural Bridge Hiking Trail features exactly that, a natural bridge. The trail, along with several benches to sit and rest, being made of asphalt makes the hike slightly more accessible than one covered in roots and minimal trail markers.
At about the middle point of the loop is an observation area right below the massive arch. Below the arch, there is some interpretative signage mentioning the history of the area, specifically evidence of early civilization right at your feet. The recreation site is also the oldest one in Bankhead.
If you turn around and continue the loop, there’s an additional path going back towards the arch with another observation area that’s looking down at the bridge.
The land bridge decorated with icicles was breathtaking. As we watched the sun dip behind the scene in front of us we realized we didn’t have much time to beat the sunset.
While both spots are excellent hikes and I highly recommend you go check them out for yourselves, be sure to check the USDA website for any local alerts or closures. Due to it being a national forest, there are periodic prescribed burns that may temporarily close a recreation area, or any number other reasons for closures. Know before you go!
Also, be sure to be aware of hunting season. My friends and I didn’t really realize until after the fact that hunters could have been in and around the area, during our hike through Shangri-La falls. While we never heard any gunshots, and from what I can tell, the area at this time of year is limited to primitive hunting, it’s always better to be safe than sorry and wear some hunter’s orange.
The USDA will also make announcements of other management practices going on or general alerts. Currently, there is a southern pine beetle epidemic spreading throughout northern Alabama. While management practices are underway, be aware of any standing but dead trees, or brown canopies in pine trees. These dead and weakened trees can fall at a moment’s notice.
Bankhead National Forest is also experiencing a blight caused by the hemlock wooly adelgid. It’s an invasive insect that has been killing hemlocks across the forest. There is an estimated count of thousands of eastern hemlock trees in Bankhead, but they are increasingly becoming threatened with warmer temperatures and the HWA. They are vital to local ecosystems and serve as a keystone species in many forested areas. Without them, local ecosystems and other threatened or sensitive species will quickly collapse. When I started this column, the eastern hemlock was almost the name rather than the longleaf pine tree, for that reason.
Many people go to Bankhead just to see the dense, thick canopies of the eastern hemlock, so, here are a few things you can do to help them.
The best thing we can do as hikers is to ensure we clean our gear before and after going hiking. If you spot any white woolly tufts near and around the base of hemlock needles, be sure to take photos, where you found it and alert Bankhead National Forest staff by emailing [email protected].
As always, enjoy the outdoors responsibly and be sure to leave no trace.
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This article represents the opinions of its author. The views expressed here are not necessarily representative of The Sunrise News staff as a whole.