Appalachian Highlands Scenic Byway
Appalachian Highlands Scenic Byway is a State Scenic Byway in Alabama. Within Alabama it covers roughly 80 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Appalachian Highlands Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Alabama's Appalachian Highlands Scenic Byway runs about 80 miles from Heflin to Fort Payne, crossing Cleburne, Calhoun, Cherokee, and DeKalb counties. It follows Alabama Highway 9 south to north, joining US 78 through the Talladega National Forest before splitting off again through the community of White Plains, the Choccolocco State Forest, and the Dugger Mountain Scenic Drive. It links two extremes of Alabama topography: Cheaha Mountain, the state's highest point, near its southern end, and Lookout Mountain and Little River Canyon, the deepest canyon east of the Mississippi, toward the north. Fort Payne traces its name to a US Army stockade built by Captain John Payne in the 1830s on a site the Cherokee had settled in the 1730s, shortly before the tribe's forced removal to Oklahoma. Lush Appalachian forest, rock outcrops, and small mountain communities define the drive, which serves as one of the more physically dramatic scenic byways in a state better known for its coastal and Black Belt routes.
- Cheaha Mountain
- Little River Canyon
- Fort Payne
- 80 miles
- Talladega National Forest
- Dugger Mountain Scenic Drive
- Cherokee removal history
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What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Appalachian Highlands Scenic Byway
4 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Appalachian Highlands Scenic Byway.
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