Cahaba, Hargrove Shoals Section

Have you ever floated through a tilted sea of rare 2-foot-tall flowers? This section of the Cahaba River is your big chance. Three long shoals serve as ideal habitat for the Cahaba Lily. The lily is white-and-yellow flower that grows right in mid-stream. The blooming season is between about Mother's Day and Father's Day, normally peaking around May 20. The third set of shoals down from the put-in (Hargrove Shoals) is the largest stand of these flowers in the world.

This part of the Cahaba is wide and is suitable for paddlers of any skill level. The shoals are straightforward class I-II. The three main shoals slope fairly evenly, with one abrupt 24" drop at the end of Hargrove. Stay generally to the left on the first two shoals, generally to the right on Hargrove. Hargrove is about 1 mile long. After this, it gets deeper and easier for the most part. Tandem canoes are at home here; take a fishing pole if you wish. There are plenty of threatened fish and snails. Good swimming abounds with a rope swing 150 yards above the take-out.