Chief Ladiga Trail


The Chief Ladiga Trail is a rail trail in Alabama that stretches for from Anniston to the Alabama-Georgia state line. It is the state's first rail trail project.

History

Trail background

The Chief Ladiga is on the same rail corridor as the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia as far as Piedmont, Alabama. From there it parallels an abandoned Southern Railway line for a few miles west of town until it leaves the old Seaboard rail line, heading south on the Norfolk Southern Railway route until the trail ends just north of Anniston. In 2008, the Ladiga and Silver Comet trail were connected. A new gateway marks the connecting point at the state line. Now that the Chief Ladiga and the Silver Comet trails are connected, there is a paved corridor for non-motorized travel from just west of Atlanta, Georgia to Anniston, making it the 2nd longest paved trail in the U.S.

Chief Ladiga

Chief Ladiga was a Muscogee chief who relinquished his tribe's lands when he signed the Treaty of Cusseta in 1832. The Treaty was part of a broader policy of indian removal perpetrated by the Jackson Administration. Ladiga sold half his land to speculators for $2000.

Route

The Chief Ladiga Trail starts at the Alabama-Georgia state line. At about mile marker 7.0, the trail crosses the Pinhoti National Recreation Trail.
It travels west to Piedmont then on to Jacksonville and Weaver and finally ending at Mike Tucker Park in north Anniston. It travels through wetlands, across streams, through forests and farmlands, and includes a horizon view of the Talladega Mountains. There are several bridges and both new and restored railroad trestles.