Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail - Rosemary Dunes Trailhead — Attraction in Orange Beach

The Hugh Branyon Backcountry Trail is a really great walk (or jog/bike). We walked only 3 miles round trip of it while at least 25 people were smarter than us riding past us on their bicycles. That would have been a great idea for us too but we were walking with 2 dogs. We did this hike on Fri. 9-23-22 and it was in the 90s but felt like 100. My car said 102 when I left. It was a really hot walk and I do not recommend walking all the way back to the campground or the nature center or the beach from the main parking lot... unless the weather is in the 80s or cooler cause the 90s was absolutely too hot to do all that walking. You are walking in 100% SUN 🌞 (if it's sunny) no shade until you come across the bridges with the overhangs and benches etc. So be prepared if walking...I truly recommend biking over walking. There's a lot more to the park than what we got to do if you ride a bike instead of walking, you will be able to see a LOT more...

I spent about half a day hiking on the High S. Branyon backcountry trail through Gulf State Park. The network of trails are paved or boardwalk (not really backcountry) and lead past the spring-fed lakes with access to the beach. I started on Catman Road and continued on Rosemary Dunes Trail to Beach Mouse Bypass and the campground to access the beach. Didn't see any alligators, but did see several nine-banded armadillos. The white sand beaches are really beautiful and the trail provides easy access. One access was not complete so I had to continue through the campground, but soon there will be more access points. Besides hiking, the trails are also open to bikes and Segway tours. Overall, a great set of trails...

This trail was a large part of the reason we chose to stay where we did. There are numerous trails of varying distances from which to choose. It's a boardwalk that goes over the water, and you can see the map of the trails at the parking area. There are restrooms at the entrance we parked at (which were very clean, by the way). The boardwalk is very nice and wide, which is good because apparently bicycling is very popular! Very beautiful walk. *It would be very bad to drop your phone/keys/wallet, as there's a lot of water under most of the trail we walked. I'd leave important things in the vehicle or keep them in a backpack...