Distance: 1 mile (loop) with option to add 2 miles
Drive from Mobile: 45 minutes
If you want to take a Sunday ride in the country - as we did to avoid the Christmas shopping crowds and COVID-19 - then the Lucedale Greenway makes for a fun family outing. That is, if you pair it with a visit to Haven's Down Home Creamery, a nearby dairy farm where you can get ice cream almost straight from the cow. Talk about fresh!
Scenery: The first half of the hike (if you take a right at the fork) has you following a sandy creek called Depot Creek, which runs alongside a train track. It's a wooded hike with 25 different types of trees, some of which are labeled along the trail. We noticed some interesting groundcover including moss, clover and rattlesnake weed. Some of the trails were soggy and looked like they may wash out with heavy rains. There are several benches and picnic tables along the way if you would like to bring a lunch. Some trees were down due to the recent hurricane, but we - including the dog - had fun climbing over them. We were a little disappointed by the amount of litter on the trail.
Wildlife: We didn't see wildlife here, except for some minnows swimming in a stream off the creek. But at Haven's, we were able to park our car just a few feet from cows, which my boys (and I) thought was pretty cool. The cows watched as we ate our ice cream, and we had fun guessing which one provided the milk for our treats.
Highlights: There were three geocaches on the trail, all micro-sized. We found two. Also, we thought it was cool that Lucedale set aside and is maintaining this land as a greenway. The greenway was established in 2013. It sits on more than 40 acres of land and has a Boy Scout campsite.
About the trail: From U.S. 98, take a left onto Beaver Dam Road. Immediately after crossing over a railroad track, you will see a very small parking area and the trailhead on your right. We were the only people on the trail this day, so the parking was adequate. But parking could be an issue on a busier day. There's a map at the trailhead that is pretty easy to follow. Walk into the woods, go over a bridge, and then decide whether to take a left or right at the loop. This part of the greenway trail system is only 1 mile, but you can add another 2 miles to your hike by crossing the road and following the trail into town and back. (We didn't do that because we made this trip late in the day and it was starting to get dark).
About the creamery: We recommend taking the 15-minute drive to Haven's Down Home Creamery, located off Bushy Creek Road north of U.S. 98. Check Haven's Facebook page for hours of operation, and note that they are closed on Saturdays but open on Sundays. We ordered scoops of peppermint, eggnog, sweet cream, and cookies and cream ice cream, and all were delicious. They also sell milk, cheese, ice cream and all sorts of beef: ground beef, chuck roast, stew meat, steaks, and brisket. So bring a cooler and stock up. (This was a spontaneous side trip for us, so we did not have a cooler, but everything stayed cold for the 45-minute drive home). Also we hear Haven's has an ice cream trailer that sometimes comes to Mobile, so check their Facebook page and look for it to come to town. I know we will.
L says: It was a nice, easy trail. You can go to the ice cream place when you are done for some delicious ice cream.
G says: I really liked it, especially how some of the trees were down and we had to take an adventure to get over them.
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