Gulf State Park
#6
Hurricane Ridge
Trail
Located on the Alabama gulf coast, white sun-kissed beaches, a
surging surf, seagulls and seashells are here to greet you at Gulf
State Park. Consisting of 6,150 acres with 2 miles of sugar white
sand beaches, Gulf State Park has modern and primitive camping,
cottages, trails and fishing. What more could you ask for? How
about tennis, group pavilions, nature programs and picnic areas?
Yes, they have that too! You will also find an 18-hole championship
golf course and Lake Shelby, a 900 acre lake with an abundance of
freshwater fishing, skiing and swimming.
Prior to Hurricane Ivan in 2004, this was our favorite trail in
the park. The trail was named, appropriately, Hurricane Ridge. It
was constructed after Hurricane Frederick hit the Gulf Coast in
1979. Frederick created a natural ridge by depositing sand, twigs,
and vegetation from the force of the tidal surge. The above picture
with the trail name was taken prior to Ivan. As you can see at the
cache site, Ivan took out a lot more than just the sign. Please
note the trail itself is still closed due to the damage caused by
Hurricane Ivan.
Gulf State Park is the site of the annual Alabama Open
Invitational, Alabama’s largest geocaching event. This year, the
event (GC12MQJ) will be held on the weekend of September 28-30,
2007. We hope to see you there!