Little River Canyon National Preserve
Managed by National Park Service
767 acres12.8 mi of trail
Orange TrailFamily Bike LoopWhite TrailSilver Trail+1
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Alabama Great Southern Railroad Passenger Depot · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Fort Payne
Fort Payne has 902 acres of parks, 60 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Little River Canyon National Preserve (12.8 mi). 46% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Fort Payne’s land is conserved, about 1,176 acres.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #23 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
1,176 acres · of 56.4 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
902 ac
60 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,594 ft
Castle Rock
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fort Payne have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fort Payne is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #23 of 187 in Alabama. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Payne’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land60 acres of park per 1,000 residents (902 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home46% of residents within a half mile of a park · AL 36% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 58%
LessMore
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 88%
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Fort Payne’s 3% is ahead of 81% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Little River Canyon National Preserve, with 12.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dekalb County VFW Agricultural Fairgrounds
Park
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Williams Avenue School Athletic Facilities
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hawkins Spring Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Little River Canyon National Preserve767 acres · 12.8 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsAlabama Music Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
City Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDekalb County VFW Agricultural Fairgrounds15 acres
DirectionsWilliams Avenue School Athletic Facilities7 acres
Hawkins Spring Park4 acres
Spring Grove Park3 acres
Patriots Park2 acres
Who protects it
1,176 conserved acres
3% of Fort Payne’s land. Who manages Fort Payne’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks716 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits209 ac
Town or city163 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)160 ac
Private owners21 ac
National Park Service6 ac
State Park · 716 acUnknown Easement · 199 acConservation Easement · 170 acLocal Recreation Area · 131 acLocal Park · 32 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 270 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeSoto State Park State Park | State parks | 716 | Open |
| Desoto Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 62 | Open |
| Fort Payne Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| Hawkins Spring Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Little River Wildlife Management Area Private Conservation | Private owners | 21 | Closed |
| Wills Valley Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Williams Avenue Athletic Facilities Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Little River Canyon National Preserve Conservation Area | National Park Service | 6 | Open |
| Alabama Walking Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Douglas Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Fort Payne
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Fort Payne
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Fort Payne
Azalea CascadeIn Little River Canyon National Preserve
DirectionsIndian FallsIn Little River Canyon National Preserve
DirectionsLaurel FallsIn Little River Canyon National Preserve
DirectionsLodge FallsIn Little River Canyon National Preserve
DirectionsLost FallsIn Little River Canyon National Preserve
DirectionsPeaks in Fort Payne
Castle Rock1,594 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Fort Payne
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Fort Payne
Desoto State Park Improved CampgroundFee · In Little River Canyon National Preserve
DirectionsTrails & water
18 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.8 miHorses · 0.7 miUnpaved · 9.5 mi
Orange Trail1.7 mi
Family Bike Loop1.6 mi
White Trail1.5 mi
Silver Trail1.4 mi
Blue Trail1.3 mi
Never Never Land Mountain Bike Trail0.9 mi
Desoto Scout Trail0.9 mi
Road 50.7 mi
Path to Learning Trail0.5 mi
Green Trail0.4 mi
8 more trails
Red Trail
0.4 miOrange Silver Connector
0.3 miRed Trail/Talmadge Butler Boardwalk
0.2 miOld Silver Trail
0.2 miPurdy Drive West
0.2 miViolet Trail
0.1 miBridge Trail
0.1 miChalet Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Family Bike LoopBike route
1.6 miSilver TrailBike route
1.4 miCourts & fields
12Tennis
10Baseball
5Tracks
2Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Fort Payne Opera HouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itAlabama Great Southern Railroad Passenger DepotBuilding · listed 1971
About itCherokee PlantationBuilding · listed 1984
About itAlabama Builders' Hardware Manufacturing CompanyBuilding · listed 1986
About itFort Payne Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988
About itFort Payne Boom Town Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1989
About itFort Payne Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1989
About itAlabama Builder's Hardware Manufacturing Company ComplexBuilding · listed 1992
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Fort Payne: April to June and August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 54 | 62 | 70 | 77 | 84 | 86 | 86 | 81 | 71 | 60 | 52 |
| Rain (in) | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 6.1 |
August is the driest month (4.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 6.1 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Fort Payne →
Next door
Fort Payne and its neighbors
Fort Payne has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Payne | 3% | 0.3 | 60 | 46% | B |
| Valley Head | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fort Payne
Where can I hike in Fort Payne?
The longest trail networks: Little River Canyon National Preserve, 12.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fort Payne is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 1% for an Alabama town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Fort Payne’s trails?
Little River Canyon National Preserve and Dekalb County VFW Agricultural Fairgrounds don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Fort Payne?
13,669 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fort Payne or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 903 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Fort Payne have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #23 of 187 in Alabama. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Fort Payne neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →