Walls of Jericho Alabama HikingTrailhead — Attraction in Winchester

Great hike, but be prepared for the home back out lol. I just recently picked up hiking, and my first official hike was work my son to see the Walls of Jericho. I'm 46 and in decent shape, and the hike back up the trail was one hell of a workout. It was definitely worth it though. Starting at the trailhead you have a couple of surprisingly clean portajohns in the gravel parking lot. The trail is very well traveled and marked throughout with blue blazes (blue spray painted spots on trees to mark the trail). Most places I looked online said the trail was a little over 6 miles, but my phone said it was more like 8.5 miles. The first roughly 3 miles are a breeze. It's all downhill and you're walking in the shade from the trees. The day we went it was sunny and 82 degrees. When you get to the bottom you will cross two bridges and after the second bridge a sign that points towards the walls of Jericho 0.5 miles away. The trail continues along the left side of the creekbed and is still well traveled, but it's a lot of short up and down sections, and if it's wet trekking poles come in very handy. A small thunderstorm rolled in when we got to this section making the rocks on this part of the trail really slick. The trail runs you into the creek bed after a little over half a mile where you come to a large pool of water fed by a waterfall on the right. Looking up on your left is a cliff face that seemed to go straight up over a hundred feet. This is a great place to take a dip in the water to cool off, but it's not the end of the trail. Go across the creek bed and the trail picks up on the right side of the creek and takes you past the waterfall too the places you've seen in pictures online. It was raining so hard on us we didn't get our phones out to take any pictures but it's a beautiful spot. I already knew what was in store for us going back out and it was every bit as strenuous as I thought it would be. The train didn't help matters, and I will say that I was happy I had brought trekking poles for the walk along the creek and the hike back out. I gave one to my son and even he found it helpful along the way trail by the creekbed and on the climb back out. Take plenty of water or you can fill up at the bottom of you have a filter. For experienced hikers, cross country runners, or folks in good shape this trail won't be any problem at all. I had to stop for several minutes 3 or 4 times on the way back out to take my pack off and give my back a break. Felt great to get back to the truck. Legs were a good kind of sore for a couple days, but we enjoyed it and we'll be going back with my daughter pretty soon. Oh...almost forgot to mention I took my 9 year Australian cattle dog with me. I kept him on leash going down in case we ran into anyone else with dogs, but let him loose on the way back out and along the creek. He did great. We walk did increase our walls at home to about 4-6 miles a day leading up to this. Even he slipped on the rocks going back out along the trail by...

this hike is NO JOKE , definitely not for those out of shape , ill equipped , your age / physical fitness level , experience will all be major factors in how this hike goes for you , others have suffered broken ankles , torn ACL & Meniscus knees , become lost hikers , had snake bites , experienced near drownings , it's all happened here before . The old log bridges are being replaced as people kept falling off & wanting to sue someone for their injuries !.There is NO Ranger Rick to rescue you . Do not be the one that has to be rescued by the local volunteer Fire Dept ! The Trail is much LONGER than the signs at trailhead lead you to believe !! Walls of Jericho Trail is a approx 9 mile out & back trail located near Scottsboro, Alabama that features a waterfalls ( depending on time of year ) , natural amphitheater , an epic COLD swimming hole and more , and is rated as DIFFICULT . The trail is best used from March until October. Expect super wet slick muddy conditions in Spring with stream crossings by mid to late summer it dries up , but the upper gorge & spring fed swimming hole are worth the effort even when Turkey Creek is dry as a bone ! Take plenty of water & a filter to resupply and flashlight in case you don't make it back by dark ( give yourself 5-6 hrs to enjoy ) , plenty of snacks , TP ,& more water - it's a 1000' elevation DROP on the trail down into the gorge which means you CLIMB back 1000" to get out and it is NOT easy UNLESS you are in great athletic shape . We camped out overnight in the gorge over Labor Day , took our time , enjoyed it and climbed carrying our packs , while warning & watching the ill prepared in flip flops of all ages descend . Trail seems to busy weekends & holidays . PLEASE remove ALL your trash back home with you ! Enjoy ! FYI - Highly likely your cell phone will NOT work in the gorge ( part of the wonder of...

Kiosk nearby says 3 miles out + back, + additional .5 to the actual falls. Fairly easy downhill hike, earth, roots, some rocks. Damp from an earlier rain, I recommend extra shoes, especially during rain season, 💯 feet will get wet. Levels at bottom where bridge #1 is, expect large puddles nearby. Bridge #2 is right before the extra .5 mile trek, where it gets a lil more interesting, single path, more rocks, more steep, so tread carefully. Rain made the falls more powerful, I did cross the creek tho it's quite shallow and not slick, in my handy water shoes. Sadly a storm and lots of rain was unleashed and I tried to hurry back to the trail. There's an island of sorts in the middle of the creek, to see the main falls you must either cross it to the other side or wade out to the center - you'll see as you go. The dry hill streams were full water heading back, trail itself had way more puddles and standing/running water. I'd done gave up trying to stay dry lol. Think this trip was 5 hrs, I'll blame the rain & taking shelter for a spell with 2 other traveling hikers. I did opt to take the Bear Den 5 mile loop cause someone put a note on the kiosk saying it had views. Lame. Very overgrown, single path, briars, poison ivy, trees down everywhere, even on the trail itself, you will lose it a few times so def watch for the red blazes. If you get lost easy, Do Not take this trail! Another very wet one to boot, took me about 2 hrs. You will notice a few cave like areas and few small waterfalls after a rain but no real views outside of the forest. Seriously should have not done it all it was that bad. Huge parking area btw and porta johns that actually didn't stink. Listen for birds and watch for millipedes. Excellent trail for...