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Best Alabama Off-Road Trails
11/2020
Staff Writer, FlexBilt Customs
Alabama, surprisingly, has a great list of very popular off-road trails for trucks, Jeeps, and SUV's. The very first custom truck built by the founders of FlexBilt Customs has conquered a lot of the popular Alabama 4x4 trails. Simply put, Alabama does have the off-road parks for some of the best off-road trails in the southeast. Alabama's landscape from north to south is flush with places to take your decked-out rig off-roading and off the asphalt! Alabama off-road trails have six different off-road parks that have gained popularity since the early 2000's. Also, four very strong National Forests that allow lifted 4WD trucks, Jeeps, and SUV's without notable restrictions. Over the coming years, FlexBilt Customs is committed to identify and highlight every cool spot within the state and will sponsor its first MudRiot Off-Road Trail Ride in 2022.
So, here we go...a list of some of our favorite Alabama off-road 4x4 trails:
Morris Mountain ORV Park is located in Delta, AL which is about 1 hour and 20 minutes away from Birmingham. This park was created when the owners, Kris and Randy Morris, couldn't find places to go 4-wheeling and it quickly grew into Morris Mountain ORV Park. The park now also includes obstacles, trails, mud pits, canyons, and even has a primitive camping facility for those looking for weekend long trips. Only downside is they are only open on the 2nd and 4th weekend of every month unless you book in advance for private visit/event. Here's their website for park and trail information, rules, directions, and more.
Not far from Morris Mountain is Gray Rock ORV Park (Facebook page - no website). Gray Rock is a privately-owned tract in central Alabama, north of Birmingham and has been featured in multiple 4X4 magazines. Their very popular trails from beginner to extreme do NOT allow ATV's but true 4x4's, like Jeep's, are everywhere! Here's the kicker - this park is not open to the public! They only open their doors by strict reservations or custom/privately planned events only. Gray Rock has over 2,000 acres for you to enjoy and 40 trails that are changed up every chance they get to keep the challenges fresh and fun. Call them for reservations at (205) 841-5337.
Forty minutes north of Gray Rock is where Stony Lonesome OHV Park is located. Stony Lonesome is the first public OHV park of its kind in the state. The 1456+ acre park features trails for ATVs, rock crawlers, dirt bikes, mountain bikers, equestrians, hikers, pedestrians, and much more. This place has everything an offroader could ask for: mud, rock crawling, hills, obstacles and even trails for serious rigs and it is open year round. Due to the size of the park, I would also recommend bringing some type of emergency communication system with you in the event that you get lost somewhere in the 1,400+ acres. The one I always bring with me is this Spot 3 Satellite GPS Messenger. Their fees changed recently, so check out their website.
Mountainside Off-road Park is located a little more north in Gadsden, AL. This park is around 100 acres and caters to a plethora of off-roaders including 4X4's. ATV's, ORV's, and UTV's. They too offer primitive camping on site for those looking to make a weekend out of it. They are open every first and third weekend of the month from 8am until dark.
While we are up north, we will go ahead and cover the most northern off-road park in Alabama - Hawk Pride Mountain Off-road located in Tuscumbia. Hawk Pride is definitely where you want to go if you are more into the rock-crawling aspect of off-roading rather than mudding. This privately owned park is spread over 1,000 acres and offers over 90 rock crawling trails ranging from the most sophisticated buggies to just simple 4X4's. They also have some mud-pit areas for those off-roaders who prefer the dirt to rock. Either way, they are always adding more trails, so make sure to check them out on our map or go to the Hawk Pride off-road website for more details and inform map or their website.
Last but certainly not least is Choccolocco Mountain Off Road Park located in Northeast Alabama five minutes away from Jacksonville, AL. The park is 450 acres of forest covered mountains with a vast challenging trail system. Most stock four-wheel drive vehicles are capable of traveling throughout the entire park on the easy roads. There are also moderate to extreme trails for the more advanced vehicles. Some of the most extreme off road obstacles in the southeast are at Choccolocco Mountain park so definitely don't miss it.
That wraps it up for the off-road parks and now on to the National Forests for places to play. Let's take a closer look at a few spots throughout Alabama that will certainly make your 4x4 off-road vehicle work the way it should...
The Talladega National Forest is located in Piedmont, AL not far from Jacksonville, so you could hit Choccolocco Mountain park and the Talladega Forest all in one weekend. This forest covers 392,567 acres at the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. There are several trails scattered throughout this forest for offroad driving. Talladega has a good range of gravel/easy roads to rock obstacles/hard trails with steeper inclines so it is a good place to go "get your tires dirty" and explore. You can visit their site for more information on open and closed season as well as fees and any licenses needed.
William B. Bankhead or also known as Bankhead National Forest is the most northern forest in Alabama. It is known as the "land of a thousand waterfalls", which makes this National Forest also popular for hiking, horseback riding, hunting, boating, fishing, swimming, and canoeing. This National Forest covers 181,230 acres and is home to Alabama's only National Wild and Scenic River, the Sipsey Fork. Needless to say that this forest has a lot of mudding and mud trails so make sure to pack adequate recovery gear before heading out - I would especially recommend having at least one tow rope like this Rhino USA combo on hand if not two.
Tuskegee National Forest in Tuskegee, Alabama is a little over 40 minutes away from Montgomery. Fun fact: Tuskegee is the smallest national forest in the U.S. (only a little over 11,000 acres) and one of only six that is contained entirely within a single county. This forest boasts lots of different topography with some sections being level and on the easier side, and others steeper with moderate slopes and inclines. Make sure to visit their site before heading out for accurate updates on closures.
The last and most southern forest and spot for offroad trails in Alabama is the Conecuh National Forest. This forest is in southern Alabama and covers 83,000 acres, along the Alabama - Florida line in Covington and Escambia counties. This forests is home to lots of natural ecosystems and habitats so make sure to follow all signs and instructions and to not stray off the trail.
While the offroad parks and National Forests certainly take the cake for the offroad landscape in AL, they also have 37 trail listings for this state. These mainly consists of different roads scattered around the state and some of them are located in the forests mentioned above. Most importantly, take care of the trails, forest, and all the places you visit in your off-road vehicle throughout Alabama. Be safe and have fun!
Please contact us with any suggestions on great off-road trails in Alabama. We will sure post it and share it with the FlexBilt community.
