Parker Canyon displays a rugged and spectacular chaos, including large eastern hemlocks, sweet birch, American holly, and bigleaf magnolia; great boulders, an abundance of wildflowers in spring, and high bluff sides that permit only a few entrance and exit routes. The overhead canopy supports uncommon birds, such as the yellow-throated vireo and cerulean warbler.
There is no trail. The clumsy, impatient, and fainthearted should go elsewhere. Recommended equipment includes fast drying socks, waterproof or neoprene boots, as mandatory creek crossings occur at several points where vertical bluffs squeeze the stream from one side. Also recommended is the Bee Branch topo quadrangle. And watch for snakes in warmer weather.
There are several ways to reach Parker Branch Canyon. The fastest and most popular is to travel Hwy 195 northwest from Double Springs, Alabama to Rabbittown. Turn north on FS Road 210 and continue until the pavement ends. At the top of a hill that ends at Kinlock Falls stop and park at a logging road to your right. Bear left on the old roadbed across a clear-cut toward the higher tree line. When you reach it, follow the tree line until you see a volunteer trail winding left toward a small stream. Follow the stream to where it plunges into the canyon. At this point you can safely work your way down. Parker Branch Falls is about two hundred yards to your right.
Another approach is to begin where Parker Branch flows under Cranal Road (County Road 60) just north of Rabbittown. This will be at the first dip in Cranal Road as you drive east. Park on the shoulder. From here it′s a tumultuous two miles to the mouth of the canyon.
Many people access Parker Canyon from FS Trail 201 to the east. The trailhead can be found on Cranal Road about 1.2 miles from the FS Road 210 intersection. This route should only be attempted with someone who has been that way before, as it′s difficult to know exactly where to leave FS 201 and strike out to the west. Some hike FS 201 to King′s Cove and then up Hubbard Creek, approaching Parker Canyon from its mouth.
A final, least plausible but still possible, way to reach the mouth of Parker Canyon is by canoe. At higher water in the winter and spring you can launch below Kinlock Falls, but you should be aware that there is no place to take off until you reach the Sipsey Picnic Grounds some ten miles away. And log jams on both Hubbard Creek and the Sipsey Fork could pose a hazard to inexperienced canoeists. Allow a long day for the canoeing itself and another day in Parker Canyon.
Rewriting my first line: You can′t capture anything at Parker Branch. It captures you.