• Type:
  • Out and Backs/Loops

  • Difficulty:
  • Medium/Hard

  • Scenery Ranking:
  • 5/5

  • Accessibility:
  • Easily Accessible

  • Trail Maintenance:
  • Well Maintained

  • Facilities:
  • Restrooms
  • Camping
  • Picnic Area

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Desoto State Park

Intro:

Desoto State Park is located in the foot hills of the Appalachian Mountains in the city of Fort Payne, Alabama. Desoto is home to several seasonal waterfalls that you can see when hiking along the 28 miles of trails on the park property. As an added bonus the park is located only a few minutes away from the Little River Canyon National Preserve .

Trail Head:

All trail heads are located on park property

To access the trail head: The country store will have free trail maps that will have trail head locations

Difficulty:

Some of the trails are not that bad, while some are rated by the park as difficult.

Hiking the Trail:

Desoto State Park has over 28 miles of trails on park property. One of the most popular hikes is the Orange and Blue trail loops that take you to Lost Falls and Laurel Falls. You can start at the Boardwalk trail head or the Laurel Falls/Lost Falls trail head. For my hike I started at the Laurel Falls/Lost Falls trail head. Hiking the Orange trail will actually take you by both falls. If you start on this end you will begin on the Orange trail. After a bit of a hike you will come to an opening. The orange trail will continue on your left. Continue on the Orange trail. You will come to Lost Falls first (you will see an engraved rock on the ground letting you know you are near each waterfall). Continue on the Orange trail. You will then reach Laurel Falls. After viewing the fall you can continue on the Orange trail. The best way to finish the loop is to cross over to the Boardwalk trail to the Blue trail. The Blue trail will loop back to the beginning of the Orange trail and from there you can head back to the parking area. You may want to start at the Boardwalk trail and do the loop that way as well. There are many other trails located at Desoto State Park that take you to other seasonal waterfalls and points of interest that you may want to check out.

Scenery:

There are several seasonal waterfalls located at Desoto State Park. You will also see rock formations, streams, and woodlands

Trail Maintenance:

The trails are well maintained

Facilities:

Desoto State Park has RV and tent camping, a country store, a lodge with a restaurant, and a nature room.