Sipsey Wilderness

Waterfalls, caves, beautiful rock formations, box canyons......
Sipsey Wilderness has it all. Tucked away near the town of
Double Springs in North West Alabama, the Sipsey is the gem
of the Bankhead National Forest.

The Sipsey Wilderness has an extensive network of trails. Most of these trails follow along a creek or river. You will have no problem finding water in this wilderness (treat before drinking). And best of all, the hiking is quite moderate in difficulty level; much less strenuous than you would expect with this type of terrain.

The main identifying feature of the wilderness is the Sipsey River. The many creeks in the wilderness all drain to the Sipsey River, so when thunderstorms occur flash floods are possible. On a 3 day expedition into the Wilderness over Memorial Day weekend of 2009, my companions and I watched the river rise over six feet in less than 4 hours. Check the weather before going and plan your trip accordingly. Also, plan on a alternate route for exit if your route involves a water

crossing. I have literally seen the Bee Branch creek be inches deep on one day and waist deep when I crossed the next day.

With these things in mind I will describe the route which enters Trail 200 at the Recreation area on Forest Service Road 60, joins Trail 209 and exits the wilderness after making a crossing of the Sipsey River and connecting with Trail 201 to exit at the Randolf Trail Head on Forest Service Road 60. This route will require a vehicle parked at each Trail Head. Parking at the Randolf Trail Head is free but there is a $3.00 per day fee for parking at the Recreation Area on FS 60.

From the Recreation Area Trail 200 crosses underneath the FS 60
and heads into the wilderness. You will be following along the
Sipsey River here, and are immediatly met by beautiful scenery.
Rock formations abound and you are making a gradual decent into
what is basically a valley (at least these are my observations of the
terrain). Soon you will begin to see what will become towering rock
walls to either side of you.

You will follow Trail 200 for about 0.4 mile before you come to
the first stream crossing. This is the Borden Creek crossing. Borden Creek is about 30' across and typically shallow (ankle deep when I crossed it). Borden Creek Trail branches off to the right before you cross the creek. Stay following the Sipsey River (which will be on your left hand side) to follow this route.

After crossing Borden Creek, you will continue to follow the trail running beside the Sipsey River (now called Trail 209). In roughly 0.75 miles you will come to a small (if the water is not up) stream crossing. This is Fall Creek. If you will venture to your right at this point you will be treated a beautiful waterfall, Falls Creek Falls. This fall is a lovely site. It is small, but very lovely with the sound of falling water loud enough to be heard from the trail , but not so loud as to drown out conversation with your companions.

From here continue up the trail enjoying the scenery for another 0.5 miles. As you go, glance to your left and right. You will see that the canyon walls begin to become visible either side of you. If you are here in the spring, summer or early fall it may be hard to see the cliffs that surround you because of the foliage. However, you will notice that rather sharp rise of terrain to either side.

After a journey of roughly 0.5 miles, you will come to a large clearing with a large camping area, complete with fire ring and
logs placed around the ring for seats. This is the junction of the Cullman Motorway Trail. The Motorway Trail goes off to the right
from the clearing. You will want to follow along the Sipsey River on Trail 209.

Continue to follow the river for another 4.8 miles. Along the way you will cross 2 more tributaries to the river, whose depth and width will be
determined by the amount of rainfall that is occuring at the time. At the end of the 4.8 miles you will come to the Bee Branch. This is where we made camp at a flat spot just before the Bee Branch. The picture of the river above was made after we set up camp and had gone to filter water.