Splinter Hill Bog

Length: 2.3 miles (out and back with a loop)

Drive from Mobile: About 40 minutes

Who wouldn't want to walk among plants that eat bugs? That's exactly what you get to do at the Splinter Hill Bog Preserve, located north of Bay Minette in Baldwin County. Splinter Hill is home of five species of pitcher plants. If you look inside these beautiful plants, you can see the carcasses of the insects they have recently eaten. (Or, correction: They don't actually "eat" the bugs. They trap the bugs, which cannot climb out and eventually dissolve. The pitcher plants then soak up the bugs' nutrients. Yum.) That was pretty cool in our book. As was the little bit of squishy mud we got to walk through because we were in a bog. Wear shoes that you don't mind getting muddy and long pants. Bring bug spray.

Scenery: The unique and rare plants you will find here, according to The Nature Conservatory, have the coolest names and include: Chapman's butterwort, white-topped pitcher plant, Wherry's sweet pitcher plant, purple pitcher plant, parrot pitcher plant, yellow trumpets, sundews, spoonflower, pineland bogbutton, Drummond's yellow-eyed grass, Chapman's yellow-eyed grass, and more.

Wildlife: My youngest son thought he saw a snake. But when we took a closer look, we - as in my husband, a biologist - noticed that it was actually a legless glass lizard. You don't see those every day. We saw many yellow butterflies flittering about and an orb weaver spider. We also found evidence of deer (tracks, as well as deer stands). But my crew was pretty loud, so any wildlife would have heard us from a mile away. Animals you may see here include: Bachman's sparrow, Florida pine snake, gopher tortoise, and several types of warblers (prairie, yellow throated, pine, and prothonotary).

Highlight(s): Carnivorous plants. No need to say more. You have to see these for yourself. They are beautiful.

Trail markings: We used Google to find the trailhead, which sneaks up to you on Rabun Road/County Road 47 (from Mobile, we took I-65's exit 37). Where there are forks in the trail, you can look up to see metal diamond trail markings nailed to the trees with arrows pointing you in the right direction.

About the trail: We are very thankful that The Nature Conservatory is preserving this land, as it is a unique habitat that is crucial to our Gulf Coast. The Conservatory has acquired over 2,100 acres surrounding this trail and is working with Alabama's Forever Wild Program to acquire and manage more land in the area. The Conservatory uses periodic prescribed burns to control invasive species, and you can see evidence of the burns on the trees. There are signs along the trail explaining how important burns are to areas like this. The bog was renamed in 2014 in honor of Mary Ruth McClellan Abronski, who along with her husband Dick, donated her estate to conservation.

L says: I liked how it was a nice, easy trail with cool animals and cool plants. Also, if you come after it rains, you can have fun squishing in the mud.

G says: It was a very fun and beautiful hike. I like that we saw the legless lizard.

For more information about this trail and about the Nature Conservatory's work, visit: https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/splinter-hill-bog/