Canoes provide transportation, but the only way to go from the river bottoms is up. Hunters will have to hike up some steep terrain to get on the same or higher elevation as a gobbler to have a chance at success.

There are a number of hiking, horseback and birding trails throughout Bankhead, as well as gravel roads entering the perimeter of the national forest. Hunters can use the trails designated for other uses and vice versa. But hunters should be aware that there are other users throughout the forest who may interfere with their hunting, so it's best to use the trails for access and then move away from them while trying to work a gobbler into range with a call.

Some good turkey hunting access to the main block of Bankhead NF is located off Brown Road near Ashridge, in the southwestern corner of the forest. There are also many smaller outparcels located south of the main block of national forest land that could easily be overlooked by visiting hunters, and they have plenty of road frontage for easy access. Land practices on adjoining private properties may boost turkey numbers on the national forest outparcels, but they do receive a lot of local hunting pressure.

Numerous turn-offs and gated trails off the major roads in the main block of Bankhead, such as State Highway 33 and paved roads 6 and 60, lead to food plots or fields. Anytime a hunter sees a turnout, it's worth investigating. Many of these trails are planted with food sources for turkeys and have relatively easy walking, so they offer some of the best opportunities for hunting during the early season. Standard practice is to park at a gate, with your vehicle announcing to other hunters that someone has already ventured ahead of them into the woods. It is only courteous and safe to allow anyone parking at a gate to hunt without interference. Most hunters end their hunts early after prime gobbling time. But that does not mean hunters going down the same roads later in the morning cannot have good success.

Sipsey Wilderness has a system of long trails that provide access to those who want to get away from the roads. Turkeys are not found in the wilderness in the numbers that can be found in areas with habitat manipulation. But Sipsey can offer good chances for success because the gobblers have heard fewer turkey hunters' calls, or even none.

Higher concentrations of gobblers in the Black Warrior WMA attract the most hunters. Pine Torch Trailhead is located off State Highway 33 by turning onto road 246, which is also called Pine Torch Road. Farther along Pine Torch Road near Pine Torch Church, road 254 provides access to the Brushy Loop Trail on the east side of the road. Brushy Creek, Key Mill Creek and Owl Creek, located in the lower elevations, are accessible by Brushy Loop Trail, and the creek bottoms have excellent turkey hunting. Continuing along road 254 to the intersection of road 249, Leola Road, and turning right and then making another right onto gravel road 262 will bring a hunter to Key Mill Loop Trail, which provides access to Key Mill Creek on the west side of 262 and Brown's Creek on the east side.