Hiking Distance: About 7.5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
The trailhead is at a National Forest Parking area about 1/4 mile down the mountain from Cheaha State Park. You will need to turn left when you come out of the state park. The parking area is located on the right with ample parking for 20+ cars.
The trail starts with a pretty 
impressive archway and footpath with animal prints. Once into the forest you will soon (within 5 minutes) come to a fork which will let you take the Pinhoti or the Cave Creek Trail.
If you take the right fork up the hill it will lead you to the Pinhoti and the left fork is the Cave Creek Trail. The Pinhoti trail section is more difficult so it might be advisable to do it first while you have fresh legs. If you take the Pinhoti Trail after another few minutes you will come to another fork in the trail. Turn left on the trail. If you continue straight on the trail it will parallel the road and lead you towards Cheaha State Park.
The Pinhoti trail is a very long trail and this is just a small section of it. This section is quite rugged and you will be walking on rocks for a good part of it. You will also come across sections where you will need three points of contact. There are some great views of the valley of the Talledega National Forest.
The trail will parallel the ridge and get closer and closer to the top of it. It will double back on itself a couple of times. At the first double back point (about 3 miles) you can walk an extra 0.25 miles to an overlook. If you look carefully on the trail you will see a crashed airplane.
Once on the regular trail the Pinhoti will double back again and follow another ridge. After a total of about 4 miles you will see a sign for the Cave Creek Trail. The trail will be a climb up over the ridge between a lot of boulders. Once you hit the ridge top follow the trail for a couple of minutes and on the other side of it you will hopefully see a red blaze for the Cave Creek trail. Don’t be fooled by the direction of the trail. It heads south for just about 200 yards before it doubles back north and it will eventually lead you back to the parking lot after about 3 miles. The trail is mostly wooded without much elevation change and is mostly downhill. You know you are getting close when you cross the place where the trees are clear cut for the power lines.
A pretty good day hike in my opionion.
loading map - please wait...
The trailhead is located near cabins 7-10. This trail is only 0.5 mile long but has a descent down part of Cheaha Mountain. It leads to a great overlook of the Talledega National Forest and you can also see Lake Cheaha. The rock ledge provides a great place to have sit and enjoy some lunch.
