Top Things to do in Alabama
Top Hotels in Alabama
- 1. Best Western Premier The Tides
- 2. The Lodge at Gulf State Park, a Hilton Hotel
- 3. Perdido Beach Resort
- 4. Drury Inn & Suites Huntsville at the Space & Rocket Center
- 5. Best Western On The Beach
- 6. Drury Inn & Suites Birmingham Grandview
- 7. Hotel Capstone
- 8. Hyatt Regency Birmingham - The Wynfrey Hotel
- 9. Hampton Inn & Suites Birmingham-Downtown-Tutwiler
- 10. Drury Inn Mobile
The 10 Best State Parks in Alabama, United States
If you head for the hills in the state you’ll end up in the northern sector where the inspiring mountains and attractions like the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, the Blue & Gray Museum in Decatur and the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman represent the diversity of experiences available in the area. In the middle of the state you’ll find Birmingham, an urban center with great attractions and museums, and Tuscaloosa, the quintessential college town and home to the University of Alabama. For beach lovers, sandy destinations like Dauphin Island near Mobile, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach offer beautiful beaches, superb golf, fantastic seafood restaurants and heaping helpings of Southern hospitality.
For those who love to chase the white dimpled ball, Alabama offers one of the best golf values anywhere. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, a collection of 468 holes at 11 different sites across the state, features top-notch, championship style courses at affordable rates.
Restaurants in Alabama
1. Gulf State Park Nature Center
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 4 reviews
Reviewed By Lkn4me - Knoxville, United States
We stumbled upon this gem while visiting Orange Beach this month. The kids loved seeing turtles,hawks, and owls. Seeing two baby alligators was an added bonus! The staff was very friendly! Would highly recommend a stop in if you're in the area.
2. Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 137 reviews
This park is built around the ruins of Birmingham's first 19th-century iron factory.
Reviewed By carolinabonny - Florence, United States
Another of Alabama beautiful park. We camped at Birmingham South because Tannehill doesn’t take reservations. It has very nice facilities but when your out of state you want to be assured of a campsite. We toured the park saw the historic iron furnace and forge. It has a grist mill. It has a River . Lots of craft houses that sell their ware. Bought a lovely child quilt. Very shady area. trade fair was going on with yummy sausage sandwich. They also have a creamery and the best ice cream ever! Friendly staff!
3. Gulf State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,366 reviews
Gulf State Park's two miles of beaches greet you with plenty of white sun-kissed sand, surging surf, seagulls and sea shells, but there is more than sand and surf to sink your toes into. Inside Gulf State Park there is a brand new Gulf Front lodge and Conference Center, beach pavilion, National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World Cottages, tennis courts, camp sites, 28 miles of paved/enhance trails and a fishing pier that is 20-feet wide and extends 1,512 feet into the Gulf. This and much more make Gulf State Park the perfect in-state vacation or out-of-state adventure.
Reviewed By cyberbubba - Gulf Shores, United States
Gulf State Park is just more beautiful spot to add to the long list of amazing places to see in Gulf Shores, AL. The pier is all new and twice as big since the last hurricane with a great bar/restaurant and a great place to enjoy the sights and sounds of the beautiful Gulf. There's an awesome campground with a ton of amenities, trails and more trails, bike trails, State park hotel resort by Hilton with amazing restaurant, beach front parking with boardwalk vendors and so much more. I would check several other reviews as the Gulf State Park has much more to offer than I covered here. The area is very well maintained and very scenic. There is ample parking and lots of people for fishing off the pier or on the beach with their families and friends. There is tons of beach access for miles and miles. The Gulf State Park Pavilion, for example, has terrific huge beach access. Love it, love it, love it!! We were on this beach when they ran us off @ 5pm a few weeks ago. We were here when for the re-open @ 5pm. Absolutely perfect beach day with 78° sunny day with nice northerly breeze, sweet!!! There's lots of parking and everyone is just happy to have our feet in the sand, wind in our faces & those waves. Ahhhh This uncrowded, natural beach is six miles east of Highway 59 on Beach Pkwy, with beautiful crystaline sand dunes and sea oats. There's lots of room to spread out, making it a great place for families with lots of gear. Surf fishing is a popular activity here. The beach pavilion features air-conditioned restrooms, private showers, a snack bar, plenty of shady spots to sit and eat, and even a huge fireplace for chilly days. There is a $6 fee to park all day ($12 for large vans) (residents park free so do veterans just see Beach Pavilion attendant or pick up an annual pass at Park office headquarters) and there's plenty of spaces, and lots of room for large vehicles and RVs. There's also a BBQ joint seasonally :-) The pavilion is also popular for weddings, reunions and other gatherings but you must call the Park HQ for rental information. The hours are 7:00 a.m. to Sunset, 7 days a week Bottom line; Gulf State Park's beautiful Beach Pavilion is a great place for you to enjoy a day at the beach! SWEET!
4. Oak Mountain State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 413 reviews
Reviewed By Marvelouslymischief - Pensacola, United States
We are new to RV camping. We decided to make Oak Mountain our maiden voyage for our new rig. We a weekend 4 hour drive to get to Oak Mountain and stayed Friday night and Saturday, leaving Sunday mid-morning. We booked a reservation on Thursday night and drove in after work on Friday. We knew we would arrive after "closing" for the day so we called ahead to find out if that would be a problem. We were told not at all; there would be someone at the 24 hour manned gate and we could check in there. We did checking with the friendly individual at the gate, who shared lots of details and made us a map. We found our campsite easily from the maps and got busy setting up. Mind you this is the first time we've done this but had researched on blogs online, etc. The park ranger came around about 10-15 minutes into the process and stopped to talk. He was very friendly and offered to help. We did not need anything, but he gave us his number in case we needed anything. We quickly got set up, showered, and off to bed for a bright start in the morning. The campground was peaceful, well designed, and clean. In the morning, we hiked to the falls by route of the white to blue trail connection. This section was listed as a moderate hike and around a 1.6 mile hike overall. It was definitely a challenge bringing the dog along on this one. Lots of rocks to climb down and then back up. We are inexperienced hikers and managed it. But won't bring the dog on this trail again.The fall was small this time of year with it being a dryer season. It was still beautiful. We headed back to camp for lunch and to drop the dog off in the RV. Then set out to hike the blue trail from the trail head. We hiked to the king's chair which was breath-taking. The hike was moderately difficult for an inexperienced hiker, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Then we took the red blue connector to hike back to the trail head. The red trail was wide and easy sloping. Easy-peasy and glad we took the red back instead of the blue. Overall we ended up hiking around 10 miles on Saturday. It was exhausting and camp at the end of the day was a welcomed relaxation. We woke up Sunday morning took a short hike around the grounds to see the sites close by the camp ground. Then made a leisurely breakfast and packed up camp. The entire experience was excellent. I will refer all of my friends and return for a future stay!
5. DeSoto State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 376 reviews
In the rustic tradition of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), mountainous Desoto State Park is accented by many rushing waterfalls and fragrant wildflowers. The park was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s and the atmosphere of the CCC enhances many areas, including the Lodge, restaurant, and Cabins. Lodging to choose from: Log Cabins, Rustic CCC cabins, Chalets, Motel Rooms. Camping options: Camping Cabin Improved campground with full hookup campsites (for RVs & tents) Primitive Camping, Backpacking Campsites. Amenities include a restaurant, meeting rooms, pavilions, picnic area,playground, swimming pool (seasonal), Benefield Nature Center, a CCC museum, and much more. A large selection of events are available such as campfire talks, classes, demonstrations, etc. DeSoto State Park is located eight miles northeast of Fort Payne, Alabama. DeSoto Falls, a 104ft waterfall, is one of DeSoto's biggest attractions, located about 7 miles north near Mentone, AL
Reviewed By cman477 - Spring Hill, United States
This is a beautiful area, great scenery. Only thing finding your way around is not easy, the park is very poorly signed. I also it had information about the history of the area. But it was a great place to hike.
6. Chewacla State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 231 reviews
Reviewed By LacrosseTraveller - Tucson, United States
On a long road trip we booked this park for a 1 night layover. Wow. We totally wish we could’ve stayed longer. As we were driving there the boys were searching for a basketball court nearby. Well, amazingly we pull into our spot and there is a court right there! Well the games were on. We dragged them away from the game for a walk across the street to the pond and all of a sudden they see a dock in the middle of the pond with a high dive! BTW, the only one left in Alabama. Well the shirts went flying off and they were diving in. So fun! We got there kind of late so dinner was a concern. Big Tip - Use Tiger to Go service. They deliver to the park if you give them the gate code. Lots of good restaurant options. The next morning went on a great hike to beautiful waterfall, pretty short hike. Unreal. And if you can, check out their beautiful cabins for rent right on the water. Next time bringing our bikes and staying longer. Must see stop!!
7. Gulf State Park Fishing Pier
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,089 reviews
The Gulf State Park Pier offers features such as indoor seating for concession area, indoor retail area for tackle and souvenirs, comfort stations at the midpoint of the pier (seen in picture above) and wheelchair accessible rail fishing. The new pier has 2,448 feet of fishing space available along the rails.
Reviewed By LynnzieLu - Dallas, United States
The hubby went out on this pier to go night fishing and it was very safe and he had plenty of other people there to keep him company. He was able to catch a ton of catfish, pulling them in practically every few minutes! Downside is that once the sun goes down, the pier was covered in HUGE COCKROACHES trying to steal his bait! The next day, we went swimming on the beach and was able to set up chairs and a blanket under the pier for shade right next to the water - perfect spot to watch the kiddos play in the sand. It was very convenient to have the restaurant and bait shop on the pier to order food and snacks - we plan to return the next time we vacation in Gulf Shores
8. Wind Creek State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 115 reviews
Reviewed By jkowalewska - Two Rivers, United States
We stayed two nights ( planned to stay only one) in the month of November. It was cold but sunny and scenery just breathtaking! Personnel was very nice and helpful, check in was easy, sites nicely leveled but no pull through sites at all.There were just few campers scattered around this large park, everyone was quiet and respectful of the state park rules. We mostly hiked taking in beautiful scenery, it was very peaceful and relaxing. Having said that we noted park has capacity for 500+ so no doubt it gets very busy during summer months when water level is high. When we were there lake was already drained but we still seen people fishing and boating. Would love to come back in September!
9. Monte Sano State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 443 reviews
Reviewed By dreimer043 - Naples, United States
I came here with my two sons 21 and 25 for a day hike. The trail we chose was difficult but beautiful, it was by a waterfall. After we also went across the street into the Japanese Garden and drove by the scenic overlook. We spent a lovely afternoon here and I highly recommend if in the area. The cabins looked cute for renting.
10. Frank Jackson State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 34 reviews
Reviewed By amandachend - Opp, United States
Excellent camp grounds! Love the walking trails and Scarecrows in the Park in October and November. Great place for me to put my kayak in the water and paddle for a while! Such a beautiful state park!
