attractions

Outdoor Activities & Spectator Sports

Alabama is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and a diversity of natural and scenic wonders to compliment every vacation, family adventure or business trip. From the beautiful mountain splendor of the Appalachian foothills in the north to the world’s purest, whitest and sun-kissed Gulf Coast beaches to the south, all of the state’s natural amenities are within an easy day’s drive from anywhere in the state.

The state features challenging year-round golf in every region. The renowned Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is the largest public golf system in the world. Alabama is also home to four National Forests and 22 beautiful State Parks. The State Parks are scattered throughout the state and offer boating, golf, hiking and fishing.

Alabama has long hunting seasons, low license fees, and a variety of big and small game including deer, turkey, quail, dove, duck, geese and other game. Alabama has dozens of wildlife management areas with controlled hunting and plenty of accessible private land. The state continues development, maintenance, and management of hundreds of thousands of acres of land for hunters. The state also has a year-round fishing season, one of the largest river systems in the country, lakes covering hundreds of thousands of acres and a world of bass, bream, trout and other sport fish. Plus, Alabama’s Gulf Coast provides a full range of saltwater fishing.

In Alabama, sports are a way of life. Enthusiastic crowds attend major college football and basketball events and four communities have Double A baseball franchises. The Talladega Superspeedway, the site of major NASCAR events each year, is known as the fastest track in the world. The Barber Motorsports Park and Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is considered to have the largest and best motorcycle collection in North America and possibly the world. The new 2.38-mile, 45-foot-wide road racing track has 17 turns. Barber Motorsports Park is the exclusive site of the Porsche Sport Driving School, and is also home to world-champion motorcyclist Kevin Schwantz’s Driving School.

The Arts & Other Attractions

Alabama is host to a variety of arts, festivals and museums. The Alabama Ballet and a number of symphony orchestras in the state are examples of the full range of artistic talent Alabama has to offer. The state is also home to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, a 975-seat theatre that attracts patrons from all over the world.

Mobile, the first capital of the Louisiana Territory, celebrates the country's oldest Mardi Gras. A few of Alabama's other festivals include the National Shrimp Festival, Gulf Shores; the Tale Tellin' Festival, Selma; and the Azalea Trail Festival, Mobile. Alabama also has numerous music festivals - such as City Stages, the W.C. Handy Music Festival, and Bayfest - that draw people from all over the Southeast.

Alabama boasts the largest space museum in the world, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Its annual Space Camp draws children from around the world. The state is also host to the Civil Rights Museum Trail with monuments, museums and other landmarks that commemorate the pivotal historical events in the struggle for racial equality.

For complete information on Alabama’s attractions, visit www.touralabama.org.