Recreational Sites
Elliotts Creek Quail Area
The Elliotts Creek Quail Area is a 3,000-acre area located in the Talladega National Forest within the Oakmulgee Wildlife Management area. Quail hunting season runs from mid November to late February. The forest habitat is being restored and enhanced to attract quail.
Directions:
From the Oakmulgee Ranger District Office, travel Highway 5 south then take a right turn onto Highway 1. Travel until you reach County Road 16 and then turn to the left. Then take a right turn onto Forest Service Road 731. Travel till you reach the intersection of Forest Service Road 707 and Forest Service Road 731. The Bibb County portion of the Elliotts Creek Quail Area is bounded by Forest Service Road 707 on the north and east side. The southern boundary is FS Road 731.
Directions:
From the Oakmulgee Ranger District Office, travel Highway 5 south then take a right turn onto Highway 1. Travel until you reach County Road 16 and then turn to the left. Then take a right turn onto Forest Service Road 731. Travel till you reach the intersection of Forest Service Road 707 and Forest Service Road 731. The Bibb County portion of the Elliotts Creek Quail Area is bounded by Forest Service Road 707 on the north and east side. The southern boundary is FS Road 731.
Payne Lake Recreation Area

The Payne Lake area offers two hiking trails. One trail follows the east shoreline of the lake. Starting at the boat launch, this trail is 1.1 miles and winds through the forest with several access spurs to the lake's edge for fishing. The other trail is at the north end of Payne Lake and is approximately 1.5 miles long with interpretive signs along the way. The trail meanders along the ridges and the drainages of the north end of the lake.
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Talladega National Forest, Oakmulgee Ranger District
This area is home to the largest population of red-cockaded woodpeckers in the National Forests in Alabama. Two clusters of red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees are located close to Forest Service Roads 724 and 745. You can view these shy endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers from a distance at the break of dawn when they leave their cavity trees in the morning to go foraging and at dusk when they return to the trees for the night.
The red-cockaded woodpeckers are the only woodpeckers in North America that excavate cavities in living pine trees. Here in the Oakmulgee Ranger District they seem to prefer the longleaf pines, but they will use other living pine species. Nesting occurs in mid-April when the female red-cockaded woodpecker lays a clutch of three to five white eggs in the breeding males roost cavity. The eggs hatch after 10 to 12 days of incubation and nestlings fledge from the nest cavity 24 to 27 days after hatching.
The red-cockaded woodpeckers are the only woodpeckers in North America that excavate cavities in living pine trees. Here in the Oakmulgee Ranger District they seem to prefer the longleaf pines, but they will use other living pine species. Nesting occurs in mid-April when the female red-cockaded woodpecker lays a clutch of three to five white eggs in the breeding males roost cavity. The eggs hatch after 10 to 12 days of incubation and nestlings fledge from the nest cavity 24 to 27 days after hatching.
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Piper Interpretive Trail
The Piper Interpretive Trail is a 2.5-mile out-and-back hiking trail that runs through the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge. The trail offers scenic views of the river and is an easy walk--in fact much of the trail is a six-foot-wide gravel path that is accessible to those with disabilities. It runs along an old railroad route that served Piper Mine No. 2 near West Blocton in Bibb County.
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Bibb County Glades Preserve

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The Little Cahaba River
The Little Cahaba River is a critical habitat for four species of federally protected snails, mussels, and fish. It is also home to gray bats, and the riparian habitat for Georgia rockcress and Mohr's Barbara's Button, both of which are federally listed species. The Cahaba River contains more than 100 species of fish, including 12 fish and mussel species that are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The National Geographic Society and the World Wildlife Fund both recognized the Cahaba River watershed as an outstanding global resource for diverse freshwater life. The Little Cahaba River in Bibb County is classified as an Outstanding Alabama Waterway by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and is a major tributary to Alabama's longest free-flowing river, the Cahaba River.
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Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge

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The Cahaba River

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