Officials of the June 18, 2008 opened Alabama Scenic River Trail announced THE 631 PRIZE, including one thousand dollars, which was rewarded to the first paddler, Ardie Olson, a kayaker to complete the 631 mile Trail on October 22, 2008, which he completed in 12 days. The 631 Prize is named for the number of miles in the Trail’s length, the longest such river trail in a single state. The Trail begins in the Coosa River at the Georgia state line east of Cedar Bluff and ends 631 miles downstream at historic Fort Morgan where Mobile Bay joins the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to winning the prize, Ardie paddled and enjoyed a great variety of beautiful scenery from the mountains of northeastern Alabama to the tranquil waters of the Delta, the second largest river delta in the United States.

The Alabama Power Company and the US Army Corps of Engineers have worked with the Alabama Scenic River Trail Association to create portages around the Power Company’s six dams on the Coosa River and the Corps’ three dams on the Alabama River.  Marker buoys upstream at each dam indicate the portage trail location to use at that dam.

The basic rules of the competition for the 631 Prize were as follows:

Paddlers vying for the 631 Prize could not start down the Trail before 9:00 a.m. October 1, 2008. Each paddler had to register with the ASRT in advance of the trip and comply with any requirements of property owners and legal authorities along the route. As Ardie Olson was the first to register and first to finish he completed the challenge superbly.