Traveling on Alabama’s Coastal Connection Scenic Byway and taking in the scenery is always enjoyable. If you follow our Connecting with Nature itinerary, you’ll be guided to get up close and personal with our coastal environment. Several stops along the way include boardwalks for easy access and to protect the fragile natural habitats.
Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary is one of the stops along the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail. Visitors can travel from the parking lot to Gaillard Lake on a 1,000-foot, handicap-accessible boardwalk. A raised boardwalk through the Tupelo Swamp is another part of three miles of trails in the 137 acres of maritime forest, marshes and dunes.
The Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Jeff Friend Trail is a one–mile, universally accessible trail through a maritime forest and wetlands that skims the western edge of Little Lagoon.
Gulf State Park features 28 miles of paved trails and boardwalks, featuring the seven trails of the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail. Visitors can explore nine distinct ecosystems within the park boundaries.
Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is home to some of the most sensitive and ecologically important habitats on Earth. The Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog is among the most popular stops along the Coastal Connection. The Kurt G. Wintermeyer Nature Trail allows easy boardwalk access for viewing these carnivorous plants in their delicate habitat.