Local outdoor enthusiasts now have a unique way to enjoy the state’s wildlife and historic sites via the Alabama Scenic River Trail.

The 631-mile track is the longest river trail in the country and highlights Alabama’s unique assortment of history and nature.

The trail begins at the Alabama-Georgia border at the Weiss Dam and ends at historic Ft. Morgan at the mouth of the Mobile Bay. Though the trail runs the length of the state, it is meant to be enjoyed in sections.

The St. Clair area is also featured in the trail. Boaters can enjoy the central section of the trail via the Logan Martin Dam entrance that runs through Lake Logan Martin and also travel through to the Coosa River area in Shelby County.

Each section of the trail has entry points that were made available by Alabama Power at five of its dams. Information on where the entry points are can be found by visiting the trail’s website at: www.alabamascenicrivertrail.com

The route has been made available to all kinds of boating craft from kayaks to powerboats. The mission of the trail is to “introduce people to the hidden beauty of the State of Alabama, exploring a world that can be seen only from the water, and whose primary objective is environmental stewardship and conservation.”

The trail is also set to become an eco-tourism destination for those who wish to take a more environmentally friendly approach to travel.

The trail is the brainchild of Anniston jeweler and boating enthusiast Fred Couch, who said he “just got lucky” when it came to setting up the trail in just under two years.

Couch, who spends a great deal of his time working on civic projects said that after taking a 155-mile boating trip that traveled along portions of Lois and Clark’s route that he returned home wanting to create a historic route in Alabama.

“It’s a lot like cabin fever, I just had to get it out of me,” Couch said.

So he contacted various people about getting the groundwork done. That snowballed into eventually having 248 volunteers working on various portions of the trail to get it accessible to the public.

Couch said everything from creating entry ports for boaters to gain access to the waterways to having buoys put in the water have been done by volunteers.

When he contacted Alabama Power about gaining access to the waters around their dams, Couch said that not only did it grant his request, but it also pitched in $7,000 in seed money for the trail as well as $3,000 for buoys to be floated at entry ports.

“Everyone I’ve asked has said, ‘Yes,’” Couch said.

He was able to talk to the Boy Scouts director in Birmingham and they agreed that the organization would help to install portage signs at entryways as well as perform yearly maintenance on the trails that lead down to the water.

Though the trail is complete, Couch said that there are still two more portage trails to be cut and some buoys are not installed at some entry points.

The trail’s route takes boaters through many rural areas and crosses 39 cities in 18 counties.

The rural routes that the trail takes are a benefit to local economies. Couch said he used a study published a few years ago to push local governments to enact decrees supporting the trail while it was being mapped out and funded. He said that having local governments sign proclamations supporting the trail has help enormously.

“What [the study] showed is that most of these river trails in the country go through rural area and they don’t follow the highways,” Couch said. “And anybody who goes down them are purchasing things that help out the rural areas. All the infrastructure along trails, campsites, people visiting museums and things like that helps rural areas economically.”

The study showed that for trails that bring in anywhere from 1,600 to 22,000 paddlers a year and on average could yield upwards of $100 million to the states that housed them.

Coach hopes the same will hold true for the Alabama Scenic River Trail.

For more information about boating along the trail, visit: www.alabamascenicrivertrail.com