Flagg Mountain

Everyone who visits Flagg Mountain falls in love with it. For some it's the serenity and solitude of the place. The mountain is still a "secret," tucked away deep within Coosa County and the Weogufka State Forest. For others, it's the wide variety of wildflowers and species of trees and plants that can only be found on the mountain.

Still others relish in the history. Flagg was to have been another state park constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The C.C.C. built log cabins and a towering stone tower, the second in the state (the other being atop Cheaha Mountain).

Construction was halted, however, when World War II began and the property and work of the C.C.C. was handed over to the State, which immediately made it into a state forest. The site was manned by the State until the 1980s when they abandoned it, left to decay and disappear into history. That is where the story could have ended but, instead, a group of locals who grew up in the shadow of the fire tower took matters into their own hands and created the Coosa County Conservation Corps (C.C.C.C.) These volunteers single-handedly rebuilt the fire tower and many of the cabins atop the mountain.

Today, Flagg is getting noticed as being a key piece in the Eastern Continental Trail, the 5,500-mile-long path that travels from Key West, FL, to Cape Gaspe, Canada. The mountain marks the first climb over 1,000 feet for thru-hikers.

The Alabama Hiking Trail Society is currently working on this section of the E.C.T. and also a loop trail around the summit of Flagg. The first section of trail was completed and yellow blazed in February 2004. While work continues on this portion of the trail, you can still enjoy Flagg on this loop.

Along the road walk portion on the dirt C.C.C. Camp Road you will pass culverts built by the Corps to prevent erosion of the road to the top. The tower itself and cabins are a magnificent example of the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the views from around the summit are wonderful, especially in the fall, when you can see the lights of Montgomery on the horizon, and on a clear day the state's highest mountain, Cheaha.

Please remember that the C.C.C.C. leased this property from the State of Alabama to do restoration work. Because of insurance requirements, to visit the tower it is best that you contact the C.C.C.C. before heading out. Many times, one of their volunteers will meet you at the top and will be glad to take you on a personal tour of the history that is Flagg Mountain.