Overview

The Chief Ladiga Trail is Alabama’s first rails-to-trails project.

View Chief Ladiga Trail Map in a larger map

The 33-mile trail stretches from the Alabama-Georgia state line to Anniston, Alabama. The Chief Ladiga (pronounced La-die-ga) is on the same rail corridor as the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia and connects a 95.5-mile corridor available for non-motorized travel from just west of Atlanta, Georgia to Anniston, Alabama.

The Chief Ladiga Trail starts at the Alabama-Georgia state line and travels west to Piedmont then on to Jacksonville and Weaver before ending in Anniston, Alabama. It travels through beautiful wetlands, across streams, through forests and farmlands, and includes a gorgeous horizon filled with the Talladega Mountains. There are several bridges and both new and restored railroad trestles.

Alabama’s rails-to-trails project began in 1990 when the Calhoun County Commission and the city of Piedmont purchased 22-miles of abandoned railroad corridor. It was completed in 2007.

On Dailey St. in Piedmont you’ll find the Eubanks Welcome Center, a restored 1800′s house that serves as a welcome center for the trail. The house was restored by a group of volunteers and the city. Good conversation, water and restrooms are available at the house. The volunteers are a dedicated group of individuals who love to talk about the trail and the surrounding communities.

The Chief Ladiga Trail is open to all forms of non-motorized travel including bicycles, inline skates, walking, baby carriages, and wheelchairs. Pets are allowed as long as you clean up after them. Equestrian participation is limited to the Cleburne County section. The unpaved Cleburne County segment is also perfect for mountain bikers and hikers. The Chief Ladiga Trail crosses the 60-mile long Pinhoti Hiking Trail here.

The best place to start a trip on the Chief Ladiga Trail is either in Anniston or Piedmont. Anniston is 64 miles east of Birmingham and 90 miles west of Atlanta on Interstate 20. Piedmont is located on U.S. 278. See the TrailExpress maps and driving directions for complete details on how to reach all trail access points.

The Chief Ladiga Trail, named after a famed Indian Chief, is a wonderful recreational resource for the state of Alabama. Built on a former rail line that once ran from Atlanta to Birmingham (in the South, that is,) it continues from the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia at the Georgia-Alabama state line and continues some 32.5 miles to Woodland Park, Alabama, just outside Anniston, Alabama. It traverses the beautiful mountainous areas of the Pinhoti National Forest in Eastern Alabama and through the farmlands, fields and woods of Northeast Alabama.

It travels in two counties in Alabama: Cleburne County and Calhoun County.