Cheaha State Park and Alabama's highest point.

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Cheaha State Park - Alabama's Highest Point

Cheaha State Park in Alabama

One of my favorite summer destinations in Alabama is the stunningly beautiful Cheaha State Park located atop Alabama's tallest mountain.

The temperature on top of the mountain is always much cooler than it is down below and the scenery is quite simply some of the most beautiful you will find anywhere. With its trails, accessible boardwalk, overlooks, picnic areas, campground, cabins, chalets, hotel and restaurant, Cheaha is a great place to get away from the heat and humidity of summer.

Overlook at Cheaha State Park

The name "cheaha" interprets loosely from the Muskogee or Creek language as "high place." The Talladega Mountains, of which Mount Cheaha is a part, were once the domain of the mighty Creek Confederacy. "High place" is a logical name for the mountain, which dominates the horizon as you approach via the beautiful Cheaha Scenic Highway.

Defeated Creek warriors fled into these mountains after Andrew Jackson defeated them in the Battle of Talladega in 1813. The country was so rugged and rough that the Tennessee soldiers of Jackson's army did not attempt to pursue the retreating Indians into the hills.

Talladega National Forest

After the Upper Creeks were forced to what is now Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears in 1836-1837, these lands were opened to white settlement. The trees that covered the mountains were harvested and in quite a few places gold mining even took place. By the 20th century, much of the Talladega Mountains country was bare.

Bunker Tower atop the Mountain

That changed during the Great Depression, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) teamed up with the State of Alabama to replant the forests of the mountains, create Cheaha State Park and turn the entire area into a beautiful natural setting. Workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) labored for years building facilities and planting trees. The result of their work is today's beautiful state park and the surrounding Talladega National Forest.

Cheaha State Park is located near the cities of Talladega and Anniston about one-hour east of Birmingham and about 90 minutes west of Atlanta. To learn more, please follow these links:

• Cheaha State Park
• Bunker Tower at Cheaha State Park (Alabama's Highest Point)
• Doug Ghee Accessible Trail at Cheaha State Park
• Waterfalls of the Cheaha State Park Area
• Talladega National Forest

Waterfalls of Alabama - History and Scenic Views

Waterfalls probably do not usually come to mind when many people think of Alabama, but the state is actually home to a surprisingly large number of beautiful falls and cascades.

Formed where streams and rivers flow over bluffs or steep hillsides as they make their way down through the state and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico, these stunning natural features have long played an important role in the history of Alabama.

Early Native Americans, for example, frequented the waterfalls. At DeSoto Falls near Fort Payne and Mentone, for example, there are even the remains of unusual manmade caves in the walls of the steep bluff surrounding the huge waterfall. It is generally thought that these were carved out by prehistoric Indians, although some believe they were left behind by Prince Madoc, a Welsh explorer who true believers think reached the New World hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus.

As time passed and the American frontier pushed west, early settlers made use of the strong currents of the falls. At Little River Falls, for example, a water-powered mill once stood. Residents used it to both grind grain and saw the old growth trees of the state into lumber for building homes and businesses.

Today, the waterfalls provide enjoyment for visitors from around the world. Some, like Noccalula Falls in Gadsden and Little River Falls near Mentone are easy to reach and offer paved paths and fenced overlooks. Others, like those around Cheaha State Park in the mountains of the Talladega National Forest, require a hike into the forest but are beautifully preserved in their natural state.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/alabamawaterfalls.