On Sat. Oct. 2 2011, we visted a hiking trail on the Chabaha River called the Piper Interpitive trail.
This trail is located on Hwy.10 in Bibb County just past the city of West Blocton, just go thru W.Blocton on
Main Street and follow it till you cross the bridge over the Chaba River and top the hill the trail head is to your right. We had an enjoyable hike , came across a turkey eating on the trail but did not have time to turn on the camera to get a shot! The trail easy part of the trail is about 1.5 miles in then it gets a little harder I would consider it a moderate hike from there to the edge of the river. I was hoping there would be one of the trails that branches of would go down to the river but they all ended at an overlook with some nice large rocks to sit and enjoy the veiws. While hiking I came across some old large artifacts from the old mine that was close to the river, it was some old railroad ties, a long pipe which went down to a small side creek, and a large round ,wheel thing that was use for who knows what,and some large timbers that was likely from an old train bridge. The Piper trail is named for the old town of the same name that is no longer there. While you are there you may want to visit the River veiw road which runs parallel with the river and goes about 3 miles into the Cahaba Wildlife Managment Area. Take your canoe and/or your fishing pole. If your able to visit in the middle of May you will get to see the Chaba Lillies that only grow in one other river besides here. Also while you are in the area you might want to visit the old Beehive Furnace just outside of W.Blocton , this is where the coke was made for the steel industry back in the early days. I plan to vist there in a couple of weeks and will blog the trip.
