Conecuh National Forest

Located along the Alabama-Florida border in Covington County, Conecuh National Forest protects one of the finest remaining longleaf pine ecosystems in the Southeast across 83,000 acres of gently rolling Coastal Plain terrain. The 20-mile Conecuh Trail loops through open pine savannas maintained by prescribed fire, passing spring-fed ponds like Blue Lake and Open Pond that provide excellent bass and bream fishing. The forest provides critical habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher tortoise, and the eastern indigo snake, one of the largest non-venomous snakes in North America. Conecuh's understory is rich with carnivorous pitcher plants, sundews, and native wiregrass that thrive in the fire-maintained ecosystem. Established in 1935, the forest was heavily replanted by the Civilian Conservation Corps after decades of unsustainable logging and turpentine production had degraded the original longleaf pine stands. Today, the forest serves as a model for longleaf pine restoration efforts throughout the Gulf Coastal Plain.