Preserve High Cliffs Loop

Hoover’s Moss Rock Preserve offers a number of hikes passing waterfalls, rock outcroppings, boulders and more. The red trail is the shortest trail within the park and can easily be combined with other trails for a longer, more scenic hike. The red trail starts just past the boulder field along the white trail. Following the trail, you will cross Preserve Parkway by stepping over a guardrail and then enter the main trail on opposite site of the road. From here, you ascent up a steep incline just below some new house construction. At the top, the trail takes you along the ridge, crossing a single bridge before returning to Preserve Parkway. The trail passes a few rock outcroppings, but not much more. There is a stream between the trail and parkway but the trail remains uphill and during summer months, the stream is not visible. As you cross Preserve Parkway, you will come to the start/ends of the blue and white trails just below Suffer Springs trailhead. To complete this hike, I took the blue trail along the upper part of the park and then turned back down at the blue/white connector. For more details on the blue and white trails, see there posts on Exploring Alabama.

Of all the trails available at Moss Rock, this is probably the least scenic and most stringent hike. If you’ll looking to get out in nature, it’s a good hike; but for visual elements, I would recommend either the blue or white trail in the Preserve.