N

GoodwaterDouble Bridges

King’s Bridge

Boulder IslandN 32° 56’ 27.9” W 86° 13’ 25.9”

Cahaba LiliesN 32° 56’ 39.6” W 86° 14’ 16.0”

Privet CoveCampsiteN 32° 56’ 20.5”W 86° 13’ 11.8”

Big DropN 32° 57’ 52.3” W 86° 11’ 04.6”

Sycamore RestN 32° 58’ 24.7” W 86° 10’ 59.1”

Big BendN 32° 58’ 59.0” W 86° 09’ 32.5”

231 DamCampsite N 32° 56’ 46.0”W 86° 12’ 29.2”

Dunnam’s HalfwayCampsiteN 32° 59’ 24.3”W 86° 08’ 55.8”

Mermaid Rock N 32° 59’ 18.7” W 86° 08’ 56.4”

Dunnam’s Flat RockN 33° 00’ 37.0” W 86° 08’ 29.2

Grist MillCampsiteN 33° 01’ 34.4”W 86° 07’ 48.7”

Cahaba LiliesN 32° 58’ 02.8”W 86° 11’ 01.8”

Goodwater Train Trestle

County Rd 66 Launch 2N 33° 03’ 28.8”W 86° 06’ 43.1”

Goodwater Hwy 511 Launch 1N 33° 04’ 53.5”W 86° 04’ 59.9”

Hwy 280 Launch 3N 33° 02’ 12.2”W 86° 07’ 24.0”

Last Big Drop N 32° 52’ 10.1”W 86° 19’ 16.0”

Goodwater Hwy 511 Launch

Old Power Plant (231) DamN 32° 56’ 49.9”W 86° 12’ 31.3”

Humpback RockN 32° 54’ 38.7”W 86° 17’ 00.1”

Sandbar IslandN 32° 54’ 28.6” W 86° 17’ 04.1”

River Birch BeachN 32° 54’ 08.6” W 86° 17’ 51.0”

Rock GardenN 32° 53’ 26.1” W 86° 18’ 36.6”

First DropLast Cahaba LiliesN 32° 51’ 57.3”W 86° 19’ 28.2”

Goodwater DamN 33° 04’ 12.1” W 86° 05’ 40.1”

Hwy 231 Launch 4N 32° 56’ 37.5”W 86° 12’ 12.3”

King’s Bridge Launch 5N 32° 55’ 02.6”W 86° 16’ 09.4”

Double Bridges Launch 6N 32° 51’ 40.8”W 86° 20’ 19.9”

Lawson’s Left HookN 32° 53’ 02.7” W 86° 18’ 57.7”

Old Grist Mill

231

231

280

229

49

66

52

511

66

To Sylacauga To Sylacauga

To Alexander City

To Clanton

49

511

Hatchet CreekA Note About GPS

GPS locations represent latitude (degrees above or below the equator) and longitude (degrees east or west of the prime meridian). GPS readings are represented in degrees, minutes, and seconds. One degree latitude is about 69 miles, one minute is 1.15 miles, and one second is about 100 feet. Example: N 25 07 27 is about 1733.5 miles above the equator (25x69=1725 miles, plus 7x1.15=8 miles, plus 27x100 = 2700 feet or 0.5 miles). Coordinates can also be represented in decimal terms. All three below are equivalent:

N 25.124167 (.124167 degrees x 60 minutes per degree = 7.45 minutes)

N 25 07.45 (0.45 minutes x 60 seconds per minute = 27 seconds)

N 25 07 27 (degrees, minutes, and seconds)

Longear SunfishRedeye Bass Bluegill

Goodwater Train Trestle

Lower Hatchet Creek

Cahaba Lily

Important Contact NumbersCoosa County Extension Office (256) 377-4713Coosa County Sheriff’s Office (256) 377-2211Coosa Valley Medical Center (256) 401-4000Alexander City Rescue Squad (256) 825-4264Alabama Forestry Commission (800) 492-3711(To Report Wildfires) Geological Survey of Alabama (205) 247-3636(Topo Maps)

Helpful WebsitesCoosa County Extension www.aces.edu/counties/CoosaGeological Survey of Alabama www.gsa.state.al.us/publications.aspx (Topo Maps) U.S.G.S. (Alabama Stream Flows) www.waterdata.usgs.gov/al/nwis/rtAlabama Scenic River Trail www.alabamascenicrivertrail.com/Outdoor Alabama (ADCNR) www.outdooralabama.com/Google Earth www.google.com/earth/index.html

HATCHET CREEK ACTUAL FLOAT DISTANCES

Section 1 Hwy 511 to Co. Rd. 66 3½ milesSection 2 Co. Rd. 66 to Hwy 280 3 milesSection 3 Hwy 280 to Hwy 231 13 milesSection 4 Hwy 231 to Co. Rd. 18 6½ milesSection 5 Co. Rd. 18 to Co. Rd. 29 9 miles

Information in this publication is intended for recreational use and is subject to changes and possible inaccuracies.The Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Coosa Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council are providing this information as a public service. Anyone using this document must assume all personal risk and liability.

Project team: Roger Vines, County Extension Coordinator, Coosa County; Bruce Dupree, Extension Specialist, Art Design, Auburn University; Chuck Browne, County Extension Coordinator, Lee County; Shane Harris, County Extension Coordinator, Tallapoosa County; David Kelley, Volunteer; and Fred Couch, Alabama Scenic River Trail President.

Published by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University), an equal opportunity educator and employer. New July 2011, ANR-1400

@ 2011 by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. All rights reserved.

Distances to Coosa County from around the SoutheastBirmingham 66 miles Montgomery 42 miles Huntsville 167 miles Mobile 212 miles Atlanta 146 miles Chattanooga 175 miles

A Look Back

Traveling along the shoals and white- water stretches of Hatchet Creek is

more than a wilderness adventure—it’s a history lesson. In the 1830s, the earliest settlers to the region recognized the creek and its tributaries as prime power sources and built dams and mills for grinding corn, ginning cotton, sawing lumber, and weaving cloth. The foundations of these remain today as moss-covered stone reminders of the day when Hatchet was the industrial artery of Coosa and Clay Counties. Early settlers also took respite from their long work days to relax along the creek. Best known among the fun spots was Traveler’s Rest, a combination blacksmith shop, distillery, and barroom. The coming of the War Between the States brought life-altering changes to the people of the region, while the creek rolled on, responding only to the march of the seasons.

In the following years—in good times and bad—the creek remained the common thread that wove the scattered farms into a community. The present railroad trestle built in 1910 near Goodwater was the highest railroad bridge in the United States at that time. Sentries were posted on both banks of the creek during World War II to guard against German saboteurs. A new use for the swift-flowing waters of Hatchet Creek came in 1905 when hydroelectric plants were built along the banks. While moss-covered evidence of these remains today, the later construction of large and efficient power plants on the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers made them obsolete. Today the scenic creek has returned to a basically free-flowing stream inviting adventurers to embrace the serenity of its unbroken walls of green and the roar of its rapids.

www.aces.eduMountain Laurel American

Water-WillowGoldenclubYellow Coneflower

N 32° 54’ 47.2” W 86° 16’ 50.7”

Hat ch e t C r e e k

Socapa t o r y C r e e k

280231

21

65

65

20

20

Coosa County

A L A B A M A 85

C o o s a C o u n t y , a l a b a M a

Ha tche t C

reek

To Montgomery

Hat ch e t C r e e k

Hwy 280 Bridge

Walleye Spotted Gar

Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey of Alabama

22

18

1829

29

22

RockfordSpotted Bass

Lawson Mill BridgeN 32° 53’ 05.2”W 86° 19’ 07.3”

Goodwater/Hwy 511 Launch Site

For larger, more detailed images of locations along the creeks, go to Google Earth.