The Alabama Trails Foundation (ATF) and the U.S. Forest Service, finalized our participating agreement in October 2024 to cooperated in moving forward with the proposed Jogloma-Scott Lake improvement project. This agreement increases our ability to help the U.S. Forest Service fulfill their mission of providing dispersed and developed recreation opportunities in the Talladega National Forest, including improving the Pinhoti Trail.
The ATF’s creation, as directed by the Alabama legislature, is to work beyond the traditional reaches of government to build capacity in support of a sustainable state-wide trail system. The Jogloma-Scott Improvement Project will help mediate erosion caused by unauthorized OHV use and more effective road closure devices, while providing safer access to the shoreline for ecological education, all while improving the trail experience for Pinhoti Trail hikers.
Beginning in 2017, the Forest Service, ATF and other stakeholders have worked to strategically plan and improve the sustainability of the Alabama portion of the Pinhoti Trail. Within that effort, ATF worked with professional landscape designers and stakeholders to complete The Alabama Pinhoti Trail Built Environment Master Plan. The Master Plan, released in 2019, provides an inventory supported by GIS metadata and built environment condition assessment of the Alabama Pinhoti Trail and many of its spurs that form the Alabama Pinhoti Trail System (Trail). This Trail traverses six Alabama counties as it crosses the multiple ownerships including the Weogufka State Forest, Talladega National Forest, Cheaha State Park, Indian Mountain Forever Wild lands, as well as private lands. It has approximately 18 miles of road walks not meeting the criteria of a trail.
