Many Auburn students know the beauty of Chewacla State Park, located just nine minutes from Auburn. However, a similar location, also not too far away, provides the same beauty and even more activities.
In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the Tuskegee National Forest, only 26 minutes from Auburn's campus.
This year, the United States National Forest Service will bring together all the national forests to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.
This event will celebrate 50 years of wilderness preservation.
Tuskegee's founding was comparatively late to some of the other national forests in Alabama, such as Bankhead National Forest which was founded in 1918 and Talledega National Forest in 1936.
"The only thing I would want to express to patrons is that Tuskegee National Forest is not for offroading vehicles," said Thurmond, "There are off road trails at Bankhead and Talledega, but not Tuskegee."
National Resource Conservation Service took over management of Tuskegee National Forest in an effort to save one of the most abused and eroded wastelands in Alabama, according to Dagmar Thurmond, district ranger for the forest.
Also according to Thurmond, Tuskegee's forest currently ranks as the smallest in the Alabama National Forest System.
While Tuskegee's Forest spans only 11,000 acres, it seems relatively small when compared to the average size of 150,000 acres, Thurmond said.
The park, despite its size, Thurmond said, still offers many activities for the park's patrons to enjoy.
Some of the many on-site opportunities include hunting and fishing areas, hiking and horseback riding trails and the Uchee Shooting Range.
The small, dedicated staff works to preserve the forest and watch over the activities patrons participate in.
Two of the most used locations are the William Bartram National Recreation Trail and the shooting range.
"The William Bartram National Recreation Trail is one of our most popular trails, attracting one the highest rates of visitors last year," Thurmond said.
The Bartram Recreational Forest runs eight and a half miles "passing through various types of forest wildlife habitat," according to the Tuskegee National Forest website.
The Uchee Shooting Range is a unique part of the Tuskegee National Forest, allowing firearm owners to use their weapons in a safe and monitored environment. Passes for the shooting range are available at the Torch 85 Auto/Truck Plaza, Money Mizar Pawn and Jewelry and Firing Pins. Passes can be purchased for both daily and annual use.
Tuskegee National Forest has also recently participated in a program used by the US Forest Service called the National Visitor Use Monitoring Program, which is a survey that counts how many people use the park daily and annually.
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