The Alabama Wildlife Center has been selected as one of the winners of the Rand McNally Best of the Road Editors' Picks for 2006. Only 29 sites were given the honor in the new 2006 Rand McNally Road Atlas. These roadside stops include food, shops and attractions along trips in Colorado, Alabama, Tennessee, Minnesota, California, Ohio, West Virginia, and Ontario, Canada.
TREETOP NATURE TRAIL
There's a very special place at Oak Mountain State Park, where you can stroll along a
broad, elevated boardwalk that winds through the trees in a secluded woodland valley. As
you wander along, you catch sight of some of Alabama's most thrilling wild creatures --
barred owls, black vultures, red-tailed
hawks, red-shouldered hawks, great horned owls,
and most magnificent of all, a rare white turkey vulture. (See
Case Histories) The birds are living in spacious, naturally-furnished cages "up
in the treetops," along the elevated boardwalk, so that you can see them as they
should be seen-in the wild.
Each resident bird has a special reason for being there, for the Treetop Nature Trail is a part of the Wildlife Center, Alabama's oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation center. The birds were brought to the Center with serious injuries which would prevent them from surviving in the wild. Now healthy, though physically impaired, the birds live a sheltered existence in a natural setting at the Treetop Nature Trail, where Alabamians of all ages can learn to understand and appreciate these magnificent wild predators.
But there's more than birds to be seen along the boardwalk. White oaks, shag-bark
hickories, maples, dogwoods, and other native trees form a shady canopy overhead, while a
clear mountain stream meanders along beside the walkway. Benches are built in to the
boardwalk at frequent intervals, for sitting and enjoying the undisturbed
natural surroundings.
A
special entrance makes the elevated boardwalk easily accessible for wheelchairs.
A 1/3 mile hiking trail connects the Treetop Trail to the Wildlife Center, which is situated on a ridge at the head of the valley. The Center cares for nearly 3,000 injured and orphaned wild birds, mammals and reptiles annually, returning as many as possible to the wild. Visitors may view the rehabilitation facilities through one-way glass windows.
The Treetop Nature Trail is open during regular Park visiting hours. The Wildlife Center is open for self-guided tours daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the Park is $3.00. Admission to the Treetop Nature Trail and the Wildlife Center is free.
How to reach the Treetop Nature Trail
ON FOOT: Take the 1/3-mile Eagle Trail from
the Wildlife Center. The Trail takes you
directly to the Treetop Nature Trail. After your tour you can retrace your steps along she
Eagle Trail to the Wildlife Center. Walking time: about 10 minutes one-way.
TO REACH TREETOP TRAIL BY CAR: From the Wildlife Center go down the steep hill and turn left at the bottom onto Terrace Drive and go about l/4 mile. Park in the main parting area on the right. The entrance is immediately across the street.
HANDICAP ACCESS: The Treetop Nature Trail has a special handicap parting area at the level of the main walkway. Continue past the parking on the right and look for the handicap parking sign on the left, opposite the Tennis Courts.
