Alabama trails · Thompson Creek Wild Hiking
Thompson Creek Wild Hiking
A 3.3-mile out-and-back in Alabama, with 268 ft of climbing. Reaches Needles Eye. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 91% of the ascent, between mile 2.2 and mile 3.3.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Needles Eye (summit)
Heads up
Getting there
Thompson Trailhead — parking nearby. About 1 h 42 min drive (48 mi, 5 of them unpaved) from Hartselle. 34.34090, -87.47054 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:29 a.m., the sun rises at 6:54 a.m. and sets at 6:17 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:42 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 23 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 6.6-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 44 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:37 a.m. — 8 h 39 min before sunset.
Loop options
- THOMPSON CREEK WILD HIKING + SIPSEY WILD HIKING TRAIL + BUNYAN HILL WILD HIKING TRAIL — 11.8 mi loop, 1,613 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Sipsey Wild Hiking Trail — 5.2 mi
- Pine Torch Horse Loop — 9.1 mi