This cache is located along the Hugh S. Branyon Back Country Trail. This wonderful network of trails is a collaborative effort between the Gulf State Park and the City of Orange Beach. The trails consist of approximately 9.5 miles of paved trails, which run through the Wildlife Reserve in Gulf State Park. They are great for hiking, all types of bicycles, and even roller skates. You can find a trail map here. Android phone users can also find an App for the Back Country Trail here. iPhone users can find an app here.
You will find this cache on the "Gulf Oak Ridge" section of the trail. I would recommend that you start at the trail head on County Road 2 in the Gulf State Park. You will find a very nice wooden bridge marking this trail head. This is my favorite trail in the State Park, as it takes into an area of beautiful live oak trees covered in Spanish moss.
In route to this cache you will find a nice wooden deck overlooking an alligator pond. There was a beautiful 6 foot gator on the far side of the pond the day we placed the cache.
The cache is located at what I think is the highest "natural" point on the island. From here you can view other parts of the park, including the campground, Middle Lake, the Beach Pavilion, and the Gulf of Mexico. There is also a very nice porch swing at this location, where you can enjoy the view while swinging.
The actual cache is a large camouflaged coffee can which is located 120 feet off the trail and should be easy to find for most cachers. Please replace the cache where you find it.
We have preloaded this cache with a variety of tradables for the kids and two travel bugs for my boys. Enjoy!
I hope you have enjoyed all the geocaches we have placed in Gulf State Park, along with the rest of your experience here Please consider giving us some feedback here. We would appreciate it if you would include something about your geocaching experience. We hope to show the bosses in Montgomery how many people geocache, in hopes that they will encourage other Parks to invest in it like we have, here at Gulf State Park. Thanks, Dothenumbers.