• Type:
  • Out and Back

  • Difficulty:
  • Easy

  • Scenery Ranking:
  • 3/5

  • Accessibility:
  • Easily Accessible

  • Trail Maintenance:
  • Well Maintained

  • Facilities:
  • Bathrooms
  • Camping

Richard Martin Rail Trail

Intro:

The Richard Martin Rail Trail is a 10 mile trail located in the small town of Elkmont,AL. The trail is part of an old railroad track that passed through the town. 10 miles of it was converted to a hiking trail a few years ago. Local citizen Richard Martin greatly contributed to the construction of this trail. You will get to experience a bit of civil war history, see some creeks, and walk across covered bridges. It is also used as a horse trail.

Trail Head:

There are three trail heads for this rail trail. One on the south end, another access point in downtown Elkmont, and one on the north end.

To access the trail heads: The trail head in downtown Elkmont is easy to see because you will see a red caboose in the parking lot. The south and north trail heads are located near the parking areas and can't be missed.

Difficulty:

I rate this one as easy because it does not have any difficult terrain or bad hills. However, if you want to do the whole thing at once you will be doing a 10 miler (20 if you have to walk back!).

Hiking the Trail:

How you hike the trail depends on exactly what you prefer to see and how far you want to go. If you want to hike the whole thing at once I suggest bringing a friend and having them drive a separate car so you can hike from one vehicle to the next. Since the trail has a trail head on each end this will work great. However, if you are by yourself then it will be up to you. The south end of the trail offers great views of open field and some civil war history. About halfway between the south trail head and down town Elkmont you will come across the location of the battle of Sulfer Creek Trestle. At this location was the train trestle and a earthened fort held by union troops in 1864. Confederate forces attacked and took the fort. You will see a historical marker on the trail telling of the events. There is also a covered bridge about 1 mile north of the southern trail head. The southern end also offers views of swamp land. The north end of the trail offers a trip across a covered bridge as well that has a beautiful creek flowing underneath. You will also see some nice open field scenery. If you are a history buff I suggest starting at the Elkmont trail head and hike south to the trestle (about 2 miles). If you want to see the covered bridge then I suggest parking at the north trail head and hiking south towards the bridge. The bridge is about 2 miles from the north trail head.

Scenery:

You will see great views of open field, creeks,covered bridges, swamp lands, and some civil war history

Trail Maintenance:

The trail is very well maintained

Facilities:

Near the north trail head is the Mill Creek Park camp ground. The access point in down town Elkmont has a gas station so you if need be you can use the bathroom, get water or food. The south trail head has a bathroom.