Southeastern Outings River Beach Walk, Swim and Picnic at Barton’s Beach in Perry County, Alabama

Barton’s Beach, the largest sand and gravel beach on the entire Cahaba River, is a property owned by the Alabama Nature Conservancy.  It is indeed a beautiful sight to behold!  Enjoy a beach gathering on this scenic, fine-grained sand beach in Marion, Alabama.  The scenery is spectacular.  The floodplain broadens and creates areas of bottomland hardwood forests, oxbow lakes and extensive sand and gravel bars.

You can float on the river from the upper end of the beach to the lower end of the beach and then carry your float and walk on the beach back up to the upper end and repeat that real fun experience as many times as you like during the day.  You may bring whatever flotation device you wish on this outing.  Dan will bring a float air pump to the beach.  See float note below for information about flotation devices.

Note-To view photos of what we will see on this trip, please click on this link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pU10HMGLRVZt0iXw1

Please be sure to click on the link and view the photographs.

Please bring with you your swimsuit, towel, picnic lunch and water, soft drink or fruit juice to drink.  Wading shoes with substantial soles are recommended.  A change of clothes (dry underwear also advised) to be left in the car is also recommended if you would like to wear dry clothes for the drive home and/or to go out to dinner with us.

A restroom is available at Perry Lakes County Park where we’ll park our cars.

The approximate 1/3-mile walk from the Perry Lakes Park parking lot to Barton’s Beach is easy since the terrain is level and the walk is all on trails.  Interpretive nature trails (fire lanes and primitive paths) make walking through the woods fairly easy and fun.  The two properties adjoin each other so we can walk readily back and forth between them.

Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and older able to swim are welcome, but parents are responsible for all risks to their children.  All participants must be able to swim to come on this outing!

Depending on the time we leave the beach, we might go for an optional dinner after the outing is concluded.

Please meet 9:45 a.m. at the McDonald’s Galleria.  We plan to depart from there at 10:00 a.m.

Info: Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com or phone 205/631-4680

River Float Note

Substantial, fabric-covered, inflatable, vinyl, rectangular floats like you use to ride the waves at the Gulf of Mexico work best.  Trip leader Dan Frederick now has for sale 72-inch floats for $23 each and 60-inch floats for children for $15 each at the start of each of our river floats.  Please pay either with exact change or a check made out to SEO.  First come, first served.

Dan will provide hand float pumps to pump up your float at the start point of the river float.

DIRECTIONS TO MEETING PLACE

McDonald’s Galleria-1731 Montgomery Highway, Hoover, AL 35244. Parking lot behind the McDonald’s Restaurant across U.S. 31 from the main entrance to the Riverchase Galleria Shopping Mall.

DESCRIPTION OF SOUTHEASTERN OUTINGS

Do you wish you had friends who share your active lifestyle and enjoyment of outdoor activities?  Then become active with Southeastern Outings (SEO), a nonprofit organization committed and created to serve people who enjoy being active in the outdoors.  The organization plans, organizes and leads outings such as dayhikes, easy kayak and canoe trips, stream and waterfall walks, bicycle rides, lake events and other fun activities to beautiful sites in our natural environment.  From time to time we also sponsor potluck suppers and other socials.  All events and activities of the group are open to the public.  Participating in SEO activities is a splendid, simple way to make congenial new friends who enjoy the outdoors.

NO DOGS OR SMOKING ALLOWED, PLEASE, ON ANY SOUTHEASTERN OUTINGS EVENTS.

The organization currently has over 250 members.  We scheduled eighty-seven events during calendar year 2022 for an average of 7 fun events per month.  We enjoy the outdoors in all seasons throughout the year.

SEO does not charge for participation in any of its outings.  You do not have to be a member to participate in one or two SEO activities.  Dues are only $10 per family or household.  Please contact Dan Frederick, President, 205-631-4680, or southeasternoutings@gmail.com for more information and to obtain three free monthly newsletters with membership application and a complete description of all our outdoor events.

Southeastern Outings now has a website.  Just go to seoutings.org to find announcements of our upcoming outings scheduled plus some brief, general information about Southeastern Outings, a membership application and 1500 lovely photographs from most of our outings.

Thank you.