Alabama trails · Sipsey Wild Hiking Trail
Sipsey Wild Hiking Trail
A 6.6-mile out-and-back in Alabama, with 305 ft of climbing. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 59% of the ascent, between mile 4.4 and mile 6.6. It gives back about 216 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Heads up
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:56 a.m., the sun rises at 6:22 a.m. and sets at 7:17 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:42 p.m. (CDT) — 12 h 55 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 13.3-mile round trip takes roughly 5 h 13 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 11:34 a.m. — 7 h 42 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Sipsey Wild Hiking Trail + Old Thompson Creek Trail — 5.9 mi loop, 296 ft gain
- RANDOLPH WILD HIKING TRAIL + SIPSEY WILD HIKING TRAIL + RIPPEY WILD HIKING TRAIL — 8.7 mi loop, 1,044 ft gain
- BORDEN CREEK WILD HIKING + SIPSEY WILD HIKING TRAIL + BUNYAN HILL WILD HIKING TRAIL — 12.5 mi loop, 1,464 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Thompson Creek Wild Hiking — 5.2 mi
- Pine Torch Horse Loop — 6.7 mi
- Key Mill Horse Loop — 9.8 mi