Kinlock Falls & Kinlock Shelter - Bankhead National Forest

The Kinlock Falls Trail is a scenic trail that's located along Hubbard Creek in North Alabama's Bankhead National Forest near Haleyville.Show more

This 0.3 mile loop trail has an easy rating, which makes it the perfect hike for all skill levels. Also, its main feature is Kinlock Falls, a little-known waterfall.

Kinlock Falls has a 15-foot drop and a span of more than 20 feet. It truly is one of Alabama's hidden gems.

Other than its scenic beauty, one of Kinlock Falls' best features is its pool at the bottom. Over the years, this spot has become one of the area's most popular swimming holes.

By following the trail further downstream, you'll experience a different view of Kinlock Falls and encounter another beautiful waterfall.

An important landmark in the Bankhead National Forest is a natural rock shelter called the Kinlock Shelter, a cultural spot for Native Americans. The place is one of the most important in the United States. Throughout the area you can find petroglyphs, prehistoric drawings, cave drawings and other indigenous markings.

The place was first used by the Yuchi tribe, which used the shelter for ceremonies and celebrations of the solar cycle. The markings and designs on the stones were used as part of a trance induction process and as a ceremony in recognition of the different solar cycles. According to research, the Kinlock Shelter was also used by other tribes, including the Cherokees.

The trail that leads to the Kinlock Shelter is only 1 mile long, but the final course has a steep climb that leads to a valley where the shelter is located. The place consists of a huge stone wall and a cave. The cave itself is fascinating, but the walls deserve every highlight - and will certainly steal all the attention! Petroglyphs carved out thousands of years adorn the sandstone surface.

Among the rock images, one of them depicts turkey footprints, a bird easily found in the forest at that time. On many stones there are a number of marks and "scratches" resulting from the time tools and weapons that were sharpened.

The Kinlock Shelter is a protected historical site and can be visited only during the day. Because of its importance, it should be treated with a lot of respect.