Joe Wheeler State Park: Champion, Wheeler River, and Day Use Trails (Blog Hike #952)

Trails: Champion, Wheeler River, and Day Use Trails
Hike Location: Joe Wheeler State Park
Geographic Location: west of Rogersville, AL (34.81160, -87.33247)
Length: 2.8 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: May 2023
Overview: A semiloop with good Wheeler Lake views passing 2 state champion trees.
Park Information: https://www.alapark.com/parks/joe-wheeler-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=935611
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: In northern Alabama, take I-65 to US 72 (exit 351).  Exit and go west on US 72.  Drive US 72 west 22 miles to the entrance for Joe Wheeler State Park on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, and drive the winding main park road to the park's lodge at the road's end.  The trailhead is located at the far (west) end of the lodge parking lot.

The hike: At 72 feet high and 6342 feet long, Wheeler Dam in northwest Alabama is the longest of the 9 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) dams on the Tennessee River.  Like most TVA dams, Wheeler Dam was built in the 1930's for the main purpose of hydroelectric power generation, and it is capable of generating up to 411,800 kilowatts of electricity.  The dam forms Wheeler Lake, which at 68,300 acres is the second largest lake in Alabama (second only to Lake Guntersville, another TVA lake located 60 miles upstream).  The park, lake, and dam are all named for U.S. Representative Joseph Wheeler, who represented this area in the late 1800's.

            Joe Wheeler State Park came to be when the State of Alabama purchased 2550 acres from the TVA in 1949.  The park underwent a major upgrade to resort park status in 1973, and the results of the upgrade still entertain visitors today.  Amenities include a fantastic resort lodge and restaurant, an 18 hole golf course, a 140-slip marina, and a developed campground.  For hikers, the park features several trails including the Champion Trail, which is named for 2 state champion trees that the trail passes.  Combining the Champion Trail with 2 other trails forms the barbell-shaped semiloop described here.

Trailhead near lodge

            Only a small triangular sign with the universal hiker symbol marks this trailhead, but the dirt trail heading into the woods is obvious.  Marked by blue rectangular paint blazes, the Champion Trail climbs a short distance before splitting to form its loop.  To get to the state champion trees quickly, I continued straight and used the trail going left as my return route, thus hiking the Champion Trail counterclockwise.

Hiking the Champion Trail

            A state champion tree is simply the largest tree of its species in the state, and soon you come to the Alabama state champion September elm, which is marked by a small official-looking sign.  The American elm population has been decimated by Dutch elm disease, but this elm is doing better than most.  After topping the ridge, the trail descends steeply while crossing the park's cottage access road.  Look for the blue blazes downhill and across the road to stay on the trail.

Wheeler Lake

            At 0.4 miles, the Champion Trail turns left where a spur trail to the lakeshore exits right.  First take the spur trail to the right, which leads to a nice (and windy, on my visit) viewpoint along the shore of Wheeler Lake.  Back on the main trail, the trail climbs moderately to pass the state champion Chinkapin oak at 0.7 miles.  This oak is indeed quite impressive, although I have seen larger oak trees in other states.

State champion Chinkapin oak

            0.8 miles into the hike, you reach a trail intersection.  The Champion Trail continues to the left, and you could go that way now if you are running short of time or energy.  To see more of this park's trail system, turn right to begin the Wheeler River Trail.

Starting the Wheeler River Trail

            Marked with yellow rectangular paint blazes, the Wheeler River Trail dips through three steep but fairly shallow ravines.  Despite this trail's name, only partially obstructed views of the lake emerge through the trees to the right, and there are no more large trees like the ones you saw on the Champion Trail.  After climbing out of the last ravine, the Wheeler River Trail ends at an intersection with the Day Use Trail, which goes left and right.  Turn right to begin a counterclockwise journey around the Day Use Trail.

            Marked with red rectangular paint blazes, the Day Use Trail passes through the park's disc golf course, which has its own system of unmarked trails.  At 1.6 miles, you reach a sunny grassy ridgetop area that overlooks a parking lot and picnic shelter with the lake in the background.  Continue around the Day Use Trail to complete its loop, then backtrack on the Wheeler River Trail to get back to the Champion Trail.  Some benches on the Wheeler River Trail invite you to sit and rest on your way back.

"Overlook" of day-use area

            Upon returning to the Champion Trail, turn right to continue the Champion Trail's loop.  The trail crosses one final low ridge, and it crosses the cottage access road one more time.  Upon closing the loop, turn right and walk the short entrance trail back downhill to the lodge parking lot to complete the hike.