Alabama trails · Yellow Horse Trail
Yellow Horse Trail
A 12.0-mile out-and-back in Alabama, with 317 ft of climbing. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 47% of the ascent falls between mile 8.0 and mile 12.0. It gives back about 705 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Getting there
YELLOW HORSE TRAIL access. 33.78228, -85.58262 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:49 a.m., the sun rises at 6:15 a.m. and sets at 7:09 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:35 p.m. (CDT) — 12 h 54 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 24.0-mile round trip takes roughly 9 h 11 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 3:26 p.m. — 3 h 43 min before sunset.
Loop options
- YELLOW HORSE TRAIL + WHITE HORSE TRAIL — 13.8 mi loop, 1,625 ft gain
- RED HORSE TRAIL + YELLOW HORSE TRAIL + BLUE HORSE TRAIL — 5.4 mi loop, 791 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Blue Horse Trail — 0.0 mi
- Boundary Trail — 12.2 mi
- Chilhowee — 18.1 mi
- Southern Traverse — 18.2 mi