Alabama's Coastal Connection

A couple wanders the trails leading through the lush vegetation that provides exceptional birding opportunities in the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge.

Birders search the trees of the maritime forest, one of the varieties of habitats offering sanctuary for migratory and indigenous birds.

The Estuarium, brightly lit and inviting, includes aquaria, touch tanks and interpretive displays.

The colors of the sunset over Alabama’s beaches range from subtle to dramatic.

The multi-use Eastern Shore Trail, paralleling the Coastal Connection along the Scenic Highway 98 section, is lined by green trees and is covered in sunlight.

Orange Beach Waterfront Park offers picnic areas, water access, and a pier on Wolf Bay. It is representative of similar parks on Dauphin Island and on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay.

Bright pink Azaleas blossom next to the pristine Mirror Lake and effulgent greens at Bellingrath Gardens.

A couple lies on a section of Alabama's two-and-a-half miles of sugar-white sand beaches, preserved as part of Gulf State Park and the state’s number one tourist attraction.

Visitors walk through the casements and see authentic cannons of the Civil War era at Fort Morgan.

In addition to the historic structure and static interpretive displays, Fort Gaines has regularly scheduled living-history events and a battle re-enactment in August each year.

Beautiful streetscapes and local shops make Fairhope’s unique downtown a delight for visitors.

Wild bottlenose dolphins are a frequent but always thrilling sight on a sunset cruise from an Orange Beach marina.

The colorful Pitcher Plants are just one of the many species of plants seen and interpreted at the Weeks Bay Reserve.

The last ferry of the day offers a variety of sunset views during different seasons of the year.

Bayou La Batre provides safe harbor for the boats of its shrimping industry as well as coastal birds, such as the pelican that rests on a wooden pillar amongst the boats.

A sweet potato/pecan pie is presented for a delicious meal.

Walkers push a baby carriage and chat as they enjoy a stroll across a shady bridge on the Eastern Shore Trail on a sunny day.

Four men pause for a break from their bike ride in a shady spot along the Eastern Shore Trail in Alabama.

A vibrant pink, red, and green pitcher plant traps a fly for dinner.

Two men enjoy a leisurely recumbent bike ride along the paved Hugh S. Branyon Back Country Trail.

The expansive paved trail provides two cyclists with a view of Alabama's scenic back country.

A couple takes a break and parks their bike at a resting point along the Hugh S. Branyon Back Country Trail.

A Prothonotary Warbler rests on a branch.

A bronze statue of a woman is the centerpiece of fountains in a water feature in front of the Daphne City Hall.

A glittering chandelier graces the entrance to the historic Hotel Magnolia in Foley, Alabama.

A banner on a streetlight on a tree-lined road in downtown Foley proclaims the town to have been established in 1915.

Two golfers contemplate their next putt on the golf course at Gulf State Park.

A marker on the grounds of the Daphne City Hall introduces the history of this Alabama town.

A historic marker at the top of the boardwalk to the beach at Steadman's Landing, part of Baldwin County Parks System reads:

Established in 1852 and used as a community wharf until destroyed by the 1916 hurricane. The wharf was an important factor in the life of the Montrose community. Located in an inward curve of Mobile Bay, the wharf was quite long because it had to reach the natural deep water traveled by the bay boats along the eastern shore. The wharf began at the foot of Sibley Street, where the bluff was about fifty feet high requiring a gradual slope downward. The slope allowed the freight car to go down the wharf by its own momentum on wooden tracks. This was a flat car for general use with portable sides used for certain commodities such as pottery ware. The return trip up the wharf with loaded car or cart was pulled by mule or ox.

A white car drives past wet, mowed grass and a paved pathway on a rainy day on Alabama's Coastal Connection.

White sands flanked by blue waters and beach grasses curve into the distance beneath a sunny sky dotted with clouds on the north side of Dauphin Island.

A single golfer walks back to the clubhouse across the greens at Isle Dauphin Country Club, pulling his golf bag behind him.

Several men watch an alligator from the safe heights of a viewing platform at a inlet of Alligator Lake in the Audubon Bird Sanctuary on Dauphin Island (the alligator is the black line in the water to the right of the platform.)

An alligator floats through reflections in the water at Alligator Lake in the Audubon Bird Sanctuary on Dauphin Island.

A Southern sunset sets over the Estuarium on Dauphin Island.

A couple admires the many plants in bloom inside the hothouses at Bellingrath Gardens.

Planted with a variety of different grasses, the Great Lawn at Bellingrath Gardens is several acres of smooth green edged by mature trees and flowerbeds.

A series of small ponds edged by lawn and rock flow gently toward a red-roofed shelter on a path in a Japanese Garden.

A roofed interpretive sign for Site 23 on the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail describes bird-watching opportunities on the Eastern Shore. Fairhope Pier reaches out into Mobile Bay behind the sign and a purple martin house stands in the water.

Recent rain glistens on the brick walkway leading to the road from the lion-flanked entrance of the Hotel Magnolia in Foley, Alabama. Across the street is a park in which a historic train can barely be seen.

A large white sign announces the start of Gator Alley, a nature and hiking path in Daphne, Alabama renowned for its alligator population.

A large alligator rests on the shoreline across the water from Gator Alley in Daphne, Alabama.

A hiker looks up at the raised boardwalk ahead on Gator Alley.

Two cyclists ride the smooth paved path of the Gulf Oak Ridge Trail in the Hugh S. Branson Back Country Trail system near Gulf State Park in Alabama.

A woman hikes a shady part of the Gulf Oak Ridge Trail in the Hugh S. Branson Back Country Trail system near Gulf State Park in Alabama.

Two cyclists ride past a picnic area on a curve on the Gulf Oak Ridge Trail in the Hugh S. Branson Back Country Trail system near Gulf State Park in Alabama.

A turtle lays its eggs in the ground next to the Gulf Oak Ridge Trail on the Hugh S. Branson Back Country Trail system near Gulf State Park in Alabama.

A lone hiker walks past trees on a sunny part of the Gulf Oak Ridge Trail, while a group of cyclists approach from behind.

A motorboat leaves the waters of Terry Cove past the piers at the end of Marina Road in Orange Beach, Alabama.

A waterbird, tentatively identified as a young Great Blue Heron, wades in the shallows of the boat launch at the end of Marina Road in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Various boats are docked at one of the many piers at marinas in Orange Beach, ready for their next trip.

A boardwalk on leads across pure white sand dunes tipped with grass to the blue waters of the Gulf.

Families enjoy sun and surf on the white sands of Orange Beach in Alabama.

Great rolls of hay can be seen along Alabama's Coastal Connection in hayfields such as this one. Pecan orchards are also common sites along the rural inland areas of Alabama's Coastal Connection.