Turnipseed Campground

Turnipseed Campground is a primitive style campground operated by the forest service within the Talladega National Forest.  When I first started roaming the area near it I stayed just up the road at Cheaha State Park, but I’ve grown more fond of solitude and more capable of going with amenities so this was worth a try.  You get a vault toilet at the location, a fire ring and grill in each campsite, and that’s it.  No running water (no water source present at all), no power, no reservations, nothing.  There was an unexpected perk however, since this location was based on my wants to run around and explore the Talladega.  That perk is a cell tower must be somewhere near by because I got reception, allowing me to research waterfalls and hiking trails while there, which I didn’t expect as I set out for the experience.

The campground itself is nothing more than a drive of a few hundred feet off the main road going through the forest.  Blink and you will miss the turn.  That main road is AL-281 which you get very familiar with when exploring these parts.  Luckily Google Maps can find it.  It’s just south of Cheaha State Park and immediately next to a parking lot for a Chinnabee Silent Trail trailhead.  The campground actually has a parking area / trailhead within it for the Chinnabee Silent Trail and the Pinhoti Trail.  So people come and go in the day accessing those or passing though and you can enjoy seeing hikers from your camp.  By contrast the people vanish at night, and even the main road is quiet because there’s no reason for lots of traffic to be in the area, and that’s when maybe you get my experience of hearing coyotes call out randomly from all directions, which is kind of cool.  But otherwise, this place brings the solitude and peaceful vibes quite well.  Being a national forest campground in Alabama it only costs $5 a night too at the present time as I write this, and that’s pretty great compared to what state parks cost, just saying.

If you’re curious about who camps at a primitive camp like this, it looked like this over my time there:  A few sets of tent campers.  Two fifth wheel campers that were highly respectful and didn’t run generators. A few people who camped in their truck beds.  Two different sets of people that clearly crashed in their cars and only used it as a trail access.  All very quiet, all silently respecting that anyone out there was there to avoid the touristy state park type vibes and chaos.  Nature lovers.   Also of note there was plenty of firewood, because this is a little used and therefor not picked over place in a national forest.  I was able to grab a 14 foot log about 6 inches wide, drag it into my camp and saw at it to make plenty of firewood.  I’d also like to mention that if you go in early Fall you may get a spectacular display both in the campsite and the greater forest.  In the picture below of my obsessive collection of Nalgene bottles that went with me that’s them sitting on a table in the Turnipseed Campground.  Gorgeous place.