Pack a picnic lunch and head out for a day exploring the ridges, waterfalls and river in beautiful DeSoto State Park.

Located on Lookout Mountain, DeSoto State Park has over 25 miles of hiking trails, including 11 + miles of mountain bike trails. Most interconnect with each other, while others take you into more remote areas. DSP’s trail system boasts interesting rock formations, small seasonal waterfalls, a variety of diverse plant communities, plentiful animal life, and beautiful views of the West Fork of Little River, which flows downstream into interconnecting Little River Canyon.  

The Talmadge Butler Boardwalk Trail

This boardwalk Trail was planned and built through a community effort headed by former park superintendent Talmadge Butler. Grants and donations paid for the materials used to build the trail. It was constructed by the Alabama State Parks Maintenance Crew.

The Boardwalk is a 360-yard trail that can be enjoyed and traveled by people of all abilities.  No matter what the season, the boardwalk gives the hiker a unique perspective of the surrounding habitat.

A 20-foot octagon deck at the end of the trail places you over the pool created by the Azalea Cascade.

Wildflower Blooming Season usually ranges from March-November.

Fall Color peak is historically sometime from the first of October thru the middle of November.

The Talmadge Butler Boardwalk Trail(at Azalea Cascade) is also part of the North Alabama Birding Trail!
See the www.northalabamabirdingtrail for more info.

DeSoto Falls
This beautiful waterfall is formed by Little River by cascading about 104 feet into a large gorge. In the 1920s North Alabama's first hydro-electric dam was built above DeSoto Falls, which supplied power to nearby Fort Payne, Mentone, Valleyhead, Collinsville , Alabama and Menlo, Georgia. DeSoto Falls is about 6 miles from the main part of DeSoto State Park, near Mentone, Alabama and is accessible by County Road 89 that goes thru the park.

Little River Falls
This waterfall is downstream from DSP and is formed by Little River; here Little River ‘begins’ to flow in the deeper portion of Little River Canyon. Little River Falls is located about 10 miles south of DeSoto State Park in Little River Canyon National Preserve on AL Hwy 35

Laurel Falls
This small but beautiful waterfall can be found off of the orange trail and falls about 6 feet. It is about 0.75 miles from DeSoto’s Country Store and the trail is rugged & moderate with some uphill climbs.

Indian Falls
This interesting waterfall falls about 20 feet into a small ravine, located just across the road from the Talmadge Butler Trailhead. Indian Falls is about 0.1 miles from the trailhead and is easily reached over a small footpath. A wooden footbridge crosses over the top of this beautiful sight.

Lodge Falls
This easy to find waterfall is located just behind DeSoto’s Lodge. Lodge Falls drops about 25 feet and is very rainfall dependant. The best view point of this waterfall is reached by hiking down into a small ravine and then getting on the yellow trail for a short distance and coming back out next to the Lodge.

Lost Falls
This waterfall is the hardest to find in DeSoto State Park, mostly because when no water is flowing, it is truly lost! The best time to see this small 5 foot waterfall is in the Spring or Winter seasons. Lost Falls is located about 1.5 miles from DeSoto’s Country Store and terrain can be moderate to mildly strenuous.

Laurel Creek
This is a small creek that flows downstream and forms Lost Falls, Laurel Fall, Azalea Cascade, and Indian Falls. Spring-fed Laurel Creek then connects with Little River.

Little River
One of the few rivers in America that flows almost its entire length on top of a mountain. This clean waterway forms in NW Georgia & NE Alabama and flows down the middle of Lookout Mountain, leaving the mountain at Little River Canyon Mouth Park and flowing into Weiss Lake in Cherokee County, Alabama. DeSoto Falls, which is upriver from the main part of DeSoto State Park, forms when Little River falls over 90 feet into a gorge. The West Fork of Little River flows downstream through the park, goes through the Wilderness Area of Little River Canyon National Preserve, and then over Little River Falls, dropping down into Little River Canyon. Swimming, wading and fly-fishing are popular activities in Little River as it flows throughout DeSoto State Park.

Want up to date information? Be sure to check out the DeSoto Scout Trail Project on Facebook.com for trail work days, events, maps & more!

http://desotoscouttrail.com/

Want a more challenging hiking experience? Check out the The DeSoto Scout Trail!

This historic trail starts at Comer Scout Reservation, continues through Desoto State Park, and into Little River Canyon National Preserve. It follows the beautiful West Fork of Little River and continues downstream to highway 35.
Historically the Trail is about 16 miles long, but due to flooding and overgrowth; only certain sections are clear. It had even been detoured onto backcountry road #5 in some places. We have had the opportunity to restore most of the trail to its original beauty and we hope that you can take advantage of this outstanding trail.

A Partnership to revitalize the trail has been formed by the following agencies:

Little River Canyon National Preserve
Desoto State Park
The Boy Scouts of America
Russell Cave National Monument
Volunteers like you

Currently, the DST can be accessed from DeSoto State Park's north border downstream to the backcountry trailhead on road 5 in the Little River Canyon Wildlife Management Area. Check out the maps on www.desotoscouttrail.com for complete info. This trail is marked with yellow blazes in DSP and changes to brown & white metal signs as pass over the border between DSP & the Little River Canyon Management Area.