Horse Pens 40 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Horse Pens 40
Horse Pens 40
Location	St. Clair County, Alabama
Nearest city	Steele, Alabama

Horse Pens 40 is a special outdoor park in St. Clair County, near Steele, Alabama. It sits high up on Chandler Mountain, which is part of the Appalachian Mountains.

This park is super famous among people who love rock climbing, especially a type called bouldering. It's known as one of the best bouldering spots in the American Southeast. Horse Pens 40 is also a "Bluegrass Park." It hosts fun music festivals several times a year, with the biggest one happening on Fourth of July. You can also go RV camping or primitive camping (which means basic camping) here.

The state of Alabama even calls Horse Pens 40 "The Home of the South's Bluegrass Music." The park got its name from an old land record. It talked about "the home 40, the farming 40, and the horse pens 40." Each of these areas was about 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land.

Every year, the park hosts a part of the "Triple Crown" bouldering competition, which is a big deal for climbers!

A Look Back: Horse Pens 40 History

The natural rock shelters at Horse Pens 40 have been used by people for over 15,000 years! That's a really long time.

Ancient Times and Native Americans

This area has ancient Native American burial grounds. These date back to the very first people who lived here. The Creek and Cherokee tribes used the natural rock formations in many ways. They used them to trap and hold horses. The rocks also made a natural fort during wars. In peaceful times, it was a safe village area. It's even where the only peace treaty between the Creek and Cherokee tribes was ever signed.

Civil War and Early Settlers

During the American Civil War, Horse Pens 40 was a secret hiding spot. People hid their horses and themselves from soldiers. Later, Confederate forces found it and used it to store supplies.

In the late 1880s, the Hyatt Family from Georgia settled here. Their old land papers mentioned "the home 40, the farming 40, and the horse pens 40." This is how the park got its unique name. Some of the Hyatt family's descendants still live nearby on the mountain.

Birth of Bluegrass Music Festivals

Around 1958, a man named Warren Musgrove discovered something amazing. The natural rock area had fantastic sound quality, like a perfect concert hall! He started using the park for bluegrass and Gospel music concerts. It was one of the first outdoor bluegrass music festivals in the country. By the 1970s, it became one of the biggest in the world!

Many famous bluegrass musicians played here, like Bill Monroe, Charlie Daniels, Ricky Skaggs, and Lester Flatt. Even Emmylou Harris had her first public performance at Horse Pens 40. Because of this rich music history, the state of Alabama officially named it "The Home of the South's Bluegrass Music."

Horse Pens 40 is a private property owned by the Schultz Family. This means they set the rules for visiting and staying there.

Nature and Ancient Wonders

Horse Pens 40 is home to many different kinds of rare birds, animals, and plants. It also has ancient burial mounds.

Natural Features and Wildlife

The park is like a natural stone fortress on top of a mountain. Native Americans used it as a safe village and a special place for ceremonies for thousands of years. There are areas where they lived and worked, and also burial sites. These go back to very old times, over 12,000 years ago! The boulders in the park are incredibly old, between 400 and 600 million years old. Some parts might even be over a billion years old!

You can find many animals here, like field mice, foxes, badgers, black bears, coyotes, raccoons, deer, groundhogs, and squirrels. There are also many birds, including hawks, owls, turkey vultures, and rare birds like the red-cockaded woodpecker.

Bouldering Adventures

Horse Pens 40 has one of the most concentrated areas of boulders in the world. These boulders are made of "ancient erosion carved sandstone." Most of them are strong enough to climb. However, some are made of softer sandstone that can crumble. Some climbing routes even use this softer rock to make the climb harder!

Climbing Challenges and Competitions

Bouldering problems at Horse Pens 40 usually range from V0 (easy) to V11 (very hard). There are even some problems that are harder than V11! The park is famous for its "slopers" (smooth, rounded holds) and tricky "top-outs" (getting to the top of the boulder).

Horse Pens 40 hosts several bouldering competitions each year. This includes the biggest part of the Triple Crown competition. There's also the "Sloperfest Slap-N-Jam" and the Chandler Mountain Challenge. You can boulder all year, but the best time to climb is from early fall to late spring. This is because the weather is cooler.

Visiting and Camping

If you want to boulder for the day, it costs about $6.50 to $8. This covers you from 8 AM until sunset. If you want to camp overnight, primitive camping costs $13 to $15 per night. This price also includes bouldering access. Night bouldering is free for campers and is very popular when it's warmer. The cooler night temperatures make the rock easier to grip.

Famous Bouldering Routes

Here are some well-known bouldering routes at Horse Pens 40:

• Crisifix (V4)
• Brawn (V4)
• Wasp (V2)
• Slider (V9), Super Slider (V10) and Slider Sit (V10)
• Uniball (V4)
• Thumbalina (V5)
• Man With The Slow Hand (V4)
• Red Arrow (V3)
• Stretch Armstrong (V6)
• Spirit (V3)
• Genesis (V3) - This was the very first route set up at the park!
• Bumboy (V3)
• Millipede (V5)
• Mortal Combat (V3)
• Pope In A Cowboy Hat (V4)

Images for kids

• 

  "Lookout Point" at sunset

• 

  "Elephant Rock"

• 

  From left to right, "Mushroom Rock", "The Stone Fort", and "The Horse Pens"

• 

  One of the many vertical rock faces at Horse Pens 40

• 

  Bouldering at Horse Pens 40

• 

  One of many unusual rock formations at Horse Pens 40

• 
•