Keel Mountain (Alabama)

A 360-acre nature preserve managed by the Land Trust of North Alabama is located on the south side of the mountain. The preserve has four short trails, that total under 2 miles in length. The preserve contains a large waterfall, one of the largest in Madison County.^[2]

In 2021, the United States Department of the Interior added the Bethel Spring Recreational Preserve Trail System to National Trails System's list of National Recreational Trails.^[3][4]

A 310-acre nature preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy is located on the west side of the mountain's south-facing slope.^[5][6] Within the preserve is a two-mile trail that leads to the Lost Sink, a large sinkhole with a small waterfall that flows into it.^[7]

The preserve was established to protect the federally endangered Clematis morefieldii, commonly known as the "Morefield's leather flower".^[5][6][7]