Horse Pens 40 Rocks

Most people don’t think of boulders in Alabama but they exist. Horse Pens 40 is known as a  world-class bouldering destination. I had been here several times before at a child with my parents, probably during some craft festival but didn’t remember what it looked like even when my sister and I stopped by in March. I don’t remember the big rocks although I wasn’t much into rock climbing as a child and that was well over 40 years ago. It was cool to walk around and they have some great easy trails if you don’t want to climb around. My favorite is the last picture of the big rock with the small sign that says “Rock” in case you were confused.

There were a few people there rock climbing although the park was mostly deserted due to the recent rains.

Along the trails.

From the top.

We only stayed for about 2 hours.  We were already tired from walking around another park so we didn’t go to far on the trails. The dark clouds were just starting to break up so the weather turned out nice. I would love to come back here and stay for a night or two. In a cabin though, not a tent.

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Horse Pens 40 Park

Horse Pens 40 Park sits at the top of Chandler Mountain in northern Alabama, the 3rd highest elevation in the state in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. I hadn’t been since i was a toddler so I didn’t have any memory of being there. On the way home from  hiking around Noccalula Falls, my sister and I decided to stop in for a quick walk. The park has cabins and trails and is known for holding music festivals during the summer. The park was originally settled in 1880 and the name comes from the deed containing the amount of land the horses were kept on, horse pens 40 for 40 acres.

Looking down the mountain.

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