Update: Monday, November 15, 2021 – Alabama Power has repaired the portion of Goldmine Road that makes up beginning section of the John B. Scott trail. As promised, they fixed what they damaged with their heavy equipment and the trail is once again in good hiking condition.
Thursday, July 15, 2021 – We just want to make our hikers aware that we currently have an issue with mud on one section of the John Scott trail. Alabama Power is currently doing work on power lines that run through the Alabama Forever Wild property where our trails are located. The power company has been moving heavy equipment up and down the part of Gold Mine Road, which makes up the beginning part of our John Scott Trail, as it goes up the hill past Kudzu Bluff headed to the switchback that takes it along the lake. With a lot of heavy rain recently, the heavy equipment has made a mess out of the upper part of the road, where the trail turns left to go down to the lake shore. We currently have mud, tire trenches and standing mud puddles, which is an effort to walk around. They have also torn up the old Double Bridges road, which a lot of folks use as a shortcut to the railroad trail.
We apologize for the mess! We normally keep our trails very well maintained, but there is not much we can do about this until Alabama Power finishes their work. They have legal access and easement rights to use those roads. They have promised to repair the roads when finished. We will keep you updated as conditions change.