JANUARY 3, SATURDAY, 8:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings [Dayhike]
Where: Cahaba River Park in Western Shelby County north of Montevallo
Details: The Cahaba River is among the most scenic and biologically diverse waterways in the United States, and the public now has access to a portion of the river in Shelby County. Cahaba River Park is a relatively new 1,500-acre park near the Bibb County line in western Shelby County. Please come with us for our seventh, moderately easy 3 or so mile hike in this newly created park.
River Park includes two sectors: a larger sector on the north side of the river and a sector on the south side of the river that allows for motorized access.
The river splits the park into two sections with different amenities. The north side, which is called the Helena/Hoover Sector, includes most of the park’s acreage. The sector comprises 1,212 acres of Forever Wild property and 127 acres of county property. The south side of the river, which is called the Boothton/Montevallo Sector, comprises 188 acres of Shelby County property.
Cahaba River Park is a Shelby County venture that has being developed in conjunction with the Forever Wild Land Trust, an initiative of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Improvements to Shelby County 251, or River Road on the north side of the Cahaba River, are now complete. The Park offers about 15 miles of professionally designed and constructed trails for mountain biking, hiking and trail running; multiple parking locations at trailheads; several canoe launch sites that will allow for short trips or runs as long as 7 miles; 2 sets of pavilions and restroom facilities; and a caretaker’s house for a law enforcement officer.
Our hike in the Helena/Hoover Sector on January 3 will include walking on several trails. The park’s trails offer a nice blend of forest, river and creek views including a good view of the area’s elevation.
Please bring your picnic lunch and water with you on the hike. Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and older able to walk up to three miles without complaining are welcome to participate in this trip.
Please meet at 8:45 a.m. in the parking lot behind the McDonald’s on U.S. Highway 31 at the Riverchase Galleria. We plan to depart from there at 9:00 a.m.
Admission to the park is free.
Information and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com, landline 205/631-4680
JANUARY 10, 2026, SATURDAY, 1:45 p.m.
Southeastern Outings Spectacular Dayhike
Where: Upper Quillan Creek, Sipsey Wilderness, Bankhead National Forest
Details: Moderately strenuous, 4-mile dayhike in a highly scenic location, Upper Quillan Creek Forest Area. Most of the hike is off trail, there are lots of ups and downs, and several rock-hopping crossings are required across small creeks.
We’ll walk along two creeks and on an old road. At a beautiful waterfall we’ll visit the site of an old mill. On this hike we’ll see several small waterfalls on side creeks and tributaries to Quillan Creek. We will visit at least three very pretty waterfalls on Quillan Creek itself along the way. We expect to see a minimum of a total of twelve lovely waterfalls on this trip.
Please bring picnic lunch and water for the day. We expect to finish hiking about 4:00 p.m. Optional dinner after. Well-behaved, properly supervised children age 9 and over able to walk 4 miles off trail without complaining are welcome.
Reservations Required: If you wish to participate in this outing, you are required to call Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680 or email your reservation to southeasternoutings@gmail.com by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 8, 2026. When you contact Dan, please be sure you leave your phone number and/or email address. This outing is limited to 10 people in order to comply with U.S. Forest Service regulations. We hope the limitation will not prove to be a problem.
If you make a reservation with Dan to come on this trip and then for any reason decide later to not come on this outing, please telephone Dan, 205/631-4680 right away. If we have 10 people signed up on the day of the hike and, for example, we have two people on the waiting list and then two people who signed up don’t show up for the hike, those two no-show people have in effect deprived the two on the waiting list from participating. Please don’t be a no-show. If you aren’t coming after making a reservation, please notify Dan.
At a later date leader will advise meeting time and place only to those who have signed up and been approved for this trip.
Information and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, southeasternoutings@gmail.com, or phone 205/631-4680
JANUARY 11, SUNDAY, 12:45 p.m.
Southeastern Outings Second Sunday Dayhike]
Where: Oak Mountain State Park
Details: Enjoy a moderate 4-mile walk in the woodlands near Birmingham on a Sunday afternoon. This is an excellent outing for introducing your friends to Southeastern Outings and for making new friends who enjoy the outdoors. Parts of this hike may be off the color-coded trails. There will be some ups and downs.
Well-behaved, properly supervised children age eight and up able to walk the distance of about 4 miles and complete the hike are welcome.
Share an adventure! Bring a friend.
Please meet at 12:45 p.m. in the Oak Mountain Park office parking lot. We plan to depart from there at 1:00 p.m.
Please bring $5/person ($2.00 seniors and children) park admission fee plus your drink.
Information and Trip Leader: Randall Adkins, 205-719-7719
JANUARY 17, SATURDAY, 9:40 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Cave Tour and Woodland Hike
Where: Cathedral Caverns State Park, Woodville, Alabama
Reservations Required
If you want to come on this outing, you must call trip leader Dan Frederick, 205-631-4680 before noon on Friday, January 9, 2026 so that we can abide by the Park’s group tour reservation deadline policy.
Please give Dan your name, telephone number including area code, and email address if you have one. Cave tour admission arrangements for participants who register by this deadline will be compliments of Southeastern Outings. This means that Southeastern Outings will pay your $20 per adult and $9 per child cave admission charge, provided that you make your reservation with Dan Frederick, trip leader, before noon on Friday, January 9.
Details: Tour one of Alabama’s largest developed caves. After we arrive at the park, you can use the restrooms. We then are required to assemble together at 11:45 a.m. right outside the cave entrance for our tour which starts at 12:00 noon sharp. The cave, which maintains a constant temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit, includes a very large entrance and several beautiful formations. Please be sure to bring with you an upper outdoor garment like a warm winter shirt, a sweatshirt or a lightweight jacket to wear so that you will be comfortable while you are in the cave.
The cave tour walk with tour guide is 1.5 miles in length and takes 1.5 hours. Following the cave tour, we will enjoy having our lunches on the park porch. Then we will hike in the park through hardwood forests on gentle slopes and through grassy meadows.
Please bring your picnic lunch and water with you.
Optional dinner in Guntersville after the outing concludes.
Please meet 9:40 a.m. at the Cleveland Chevron, 36320 AL Highway 79, Cleveland, AL 35049. We plan to depart from there at 9:55 a.m.
Remember—If you want to not pay the $20 per person cave tour admission fee, please be sure to make your reservations for this outing before noon on Friday, January 9!!
Information and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com, landline 205/631-4680
