William B. Bankhead National Forest

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William B. Bankhead National Forest
IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area)
Location	Winston, Lawrence, and Franklin counties, Alabama, USA
Nearest city	Decatur, AL
Coordinates	34°14′14″N 87°20′4″W / 34.23722, -87.33444
Area	181,230 acres (733 km²)
Established	June 17, 1942
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service

The William B. Bankhead National Forest is Alabama's largest National Forest, with 181,230 acres (733 km²), ^[1] and is home of Alabama's only National Wild and Scenic River, the Sipsey Fork. It is located in northwestern Alabama, around the town of Double Springs; it is named in honor of William B. Bankhead, a longtime U.S. Representative from Alabama.

Known as the "land of a thousand waterfalls," this vast monument to nature and man is popular for hiking, horseback riding, hunting, boating, fishing, swimming, canoeing and more. Within the forest lies the Sipsey Wilderness with a host of wildlife and an abundance of swift streams, limestone bluffs, and waterfalls. Native American relics abound in Bankhead, one of the Southern United States's premier sites for petroglyphs, prehistoric drawings, and rock carvings.

The forest is headquartered in Montgomery, as are all four National Forests in Alabama (Conecuh, Talladega, Tuskegee, and William B. Bankhead). There are local ranger district offices located in Double Springs.

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[edit] External links

• William B. Bankhead National Forest

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