I am unaware of any species of lizard that is native to Northern Alabama that sports a red hue. In spite of that there is a trail named after this non existent reptile.
Getting There
To access the Red Lizard trail park on Elk Meadows Drive and walk across Williams and Broad Drive through the ditch to the trailhead. The start is not marked but is easily found through the ditch directly across from Elk Meadows Drive.
At only .4 miles Red Lizard is a short trail but don't let that fool you it is one of the more difficult and rocky trails on Monte Sano. It can also be hard to follow at times but unlike some of the other private land trails this one features red lizards spray painted on various rocks and trees helping you navigate up the rocky path. The trail terminates at the Warpath Ridge trail but you may not know it since the intersection not marked but you'll probably have a a pretty good inkling that you are close when you start to see the opening of the power line cut.
If you coming down Warpath Ridge its a pretty common mistake for runners to accidentally end up on Red Lizard. My only tip to prevent this is as you are getting close to the intersection between the two trails, at the 1-1/4 mile point of Warpath, be looking for a red lizard trail markers that is spray painted on a tree on the right side of the trail. This is where the trail takes a hard left toward the Flat Rock.
Any of the trails on Monte Sano that are not owned or managed by either the State Park or the Land Trust should not be used during hunting season. Most trails that run through sections of private land are marked with signs informing you that they are closed from October 1st - January 31st. Even if the trail that you are running is not marked with those aforementioned signs it is a good practice to avoid them during hunting season or you risk the chance of being mistaken for deer who happens to be wearing a tech shirt and a camelback. For the sake of 100% clarity Red Lizard should not be used during hunting season which is October 1st - January 31st.
{gallery MonteSano/RedLizard/gallery|Red Lizard}
