Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Alabama / Cheaha and Talladega

Pinhoti Lake District: Pine Glen to Coleman Lake

Talladega National Forest, Shoal Creek Ranger District (near Heflin)

North of Heflin, the Pinhoti Trail winds through what Treeline Review calls the Pinhoti’s “lake district,” a stretch of pine forest, meadows, and creeks linking several small lakes. The section from Pine Glen Campground to Coleman Lake follows Shoal Creek, passes Sweetwater Lake and the Laurel Trail Shelter, and reaches an old log church before ending at Coleman Lake.

One reviewer called it hilly in parts but not too bad, and there are developed campgrounds at both ends.

The hike

The Forest Service describes the Pinhoti in the Talladega National Forest as passing through mountains, valleys, pine and hardwood forest, ridgetops, and mountain streams. For the Shoal Creek Ranger District, its handout lists the Laurel Trail Shelter north of Coleman Lake as the Pinhoti’s first trail shelter, and Sweetwater Lake as a 50-acre lake along the trail with a boat ramp and small parking area.

Hiking Project describes the route from Pine Glen Campground. The trail follows Forest Service Road 500 briefly, turns off to parallel Shoal Creek, then heads toward Sweetwater Lake and follows its western edge. It crosses a creek just before the Laurel Shelter, then passes through open pine forest and small streams, crosses Forest Service Road 553, and reaches a spur to the Shoal Creek Church. From there it climbs to the south shore of Coleman Lake and follows the western shore before continuing north. It lists partridgeberry, redbud, wild onions, longleaf pine, birdfoot violet, phlox, and fire pink along the way.

Trail signs, as reproduced online, put Sweetwater Lake 3.0 miles from Pine Glen, the Laurel Shelter at 4.6, Forest Road 553 at 6.0, and the Coleman Trailhead at 7.9. One AllTrails reviewer says the trail wiggles along Shoal Creek for 2.4 miles to Sweetwater Lake, then four more miles to Coleman Lake. The same reviewer mentions the Laurel Trail Shelter and the Shoal Creek log cabin church and cemetery, from around 1890, between the two lakes. An Atlanta Outdoor Club outing described the church with its attached graveyard as coming just after the lake.

Treeline Review describes the treadway staying graded along Shoal Creek until the first of three dammed lakes, with tall golden grass meadows mixed with pine and deciduous forest. It says Pine Glen Campground has basic amenities, and that Coleman Lake Campground is more comfortable, with flush toilets and electric hookups, open seasonally from March 15 to December 8.

Conditions change with the weather. One AllTrails reviewer who hiked it wet fell four times on slippery clay and warned that the bridges were also slippery. The same reviewer called the trail well marked, very winding near Sweetwater Lake, hilly in parts but not too bad, and narrow along the mountainside, with a few downed trees.

Treeline Review adds a caution from farther north: its writers spent a night at the Choccolocco Shelter and were woken at midnight by an SUV driving laps near the creek, a reminder that some shelters sit close to forest roads.

North of Coleman Lake, the Pinhoti continues toward the Choccolocco Shelter and eventually the Dugger Mountain Wilderness. For that section, see Dugger Mountain. For the Pinhoti’s southern start, see Flagg Mountain.

Tips

Camping

The Laurel Trail Shelter sits about midway, which the Forest Service calls the Pinhoti’s first trail shelter. Dispersed camping is allowed in the national forest; AllTrails says no permits are needed for backcountry camping on nearby Pinhoti sections, but confirm with the Shoal Creek Ranger District (256-463-2272). The Forest Service says Pine Glen is first come, first served. A Forest Service order limits stays at Coleman Lake, Pine Glen, and nearby Warden Station to 14 days.

Inside Intel: The Laurel Shelter is the natural overnight stop, about 4.6 miles from Pine Glen by trail-sign mileage. Be ready for bugs, though: one AllTrails reviewer who stopped at a shelter on this route found the mosquitoes so bad they wouldn’t want to camp there.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Dinner at the Laurel Shelter:

Halfway along the Pinhoti's lake district, a good trail meal makes the shelter feel like home. See which meals testers keep coming back to.

Read the full guide →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.