Float Terrapin Creek.

If you live in or around Piedmont or Spring Garden you've likely either done it, thought about doing it or know someone who has. The Piedmont City Council passed a resolution last week that would give permission to the Alabama Scenic River Trail (ASRT) to build an access ramp into Terrapin. The ramp's proposed location is behind the water plant on County Road 33 off U.S. Highway 278.

It's not a done deal yet. ASRT recently submitted a grant application to the state's Recreational Trails Program, but if it is successful the ramp could provide a major boost to tourism in the area.

A group known as Friends of Terrapin Creek brought the idea for the ramp to the attention of ASRT.

Jim Felder, Executive Director of ASRT, said they'd been invited by the Friends of Terrapin Creek to paddle the creek with them about a month ago.

"I loved it," said Felder. "The intense paddling experience of the Terrapin rates with the top experiences anywhere in Alabama and would be considered one of the crown jewels of the (Chief Ladiga) Trail."

ASRT president and founder Fred Couch joined up with the folks at Friends of Terrapin Creek and began roaming the proposed access points with county commissioners and county engineers in Cleburne, Calhoun, and Cherokee counties.

And there's talk of a possible triathlon event.

Terrapins' proximity to both the Chief Ladiga Trail and the Pinhoti Trail could provide additional tourism opportunities.

"A triathlon event as we are now planning to involve these three major trails could have enormous potential," said Felder. "In any event, the Terrapin is an overlooked and significant addition to the trail that I would put up against any stretch of stream or river in the state."

Felder said Terrapin was surely on par with the much-celebrated Cahaba and Locust Fork rivers. He added, "If we get to create our planned improvements, with an order of magnitude better access by the public."

Terrapin Outdoor Center operates a family-owned paddle sports specialty shop on Terrapin Creek in Piedmont. According to Felder, the center puts 6,000 people in the river every summer.

"Our proposal would certainly allow that figure to expand," said Felder.

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, ASRT is "the nation's longest one-state river trail." Beginning in the Coosa River and stretching down to the Gulf of Mexico, the trail provides boaters of all kinds 631 miles of recreation.