Decatur gets new grant to extend Dinsmore Slough trail

A look outside of the Wheeler photo blind. Dinsmore Slough — The Dinsmore Slough bike and walking trail at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge will be extended. (McCarley Northway/ Hville Blast)

Good news for Decatur walkers and cyclists: the Decatur City Council accepted a $321,129.60 grant to extend the Dinsmore Slough bike and walking trail located at the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.

The Council voted unanimously for the extension at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026.

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The new section will include a 1.5-mile, 8-foot-wide crushed stone path and connect the existing trail to the Alabama School for the Deaf and Blind, and will include a trailhead parking lot.

The trail grant, administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs through the Recreational Trails Program, will help fund the Dinsmore Slough trail extension. The city’s required $80,282 contribution will come from previously approved grant match funding.

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