Your Town Alabama

Designing Alabama's Future

Tourism

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2014 Alabama Trails Conference

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The 2014 Alabama Trails Conference, “Celebrating 75 Years of Service of Alabama State Parks” will be held April 10 – 11, 2014 at the beautiful Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge located in Guntersville, Alabama.  The conference is the third trails conference highlighting Alabama’s top trails from the initial development through the entire growth process.

You will learn how trails have become successful all the way from the Red Mountain Park in Birmingham, AL to the nationally known Hatfield-McCoy Trails in West Virginia. Learn more and register online by visiting landoftrails.org

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Alabama State Parks Celebrate 75 Years of Service in 2014

From the beaches of the Gulf Coast to the Appalachian foothills, Alabama State Parks reflect every facet of the state’s rich natural landscape and in 2014 the state’s park system will celebrate a milestone — its 75th anniversary. Throughout the year, Alabama’s 22 state parks will host a variety of hikes, nature walks and programs, dining and camping specials and various other events highlighting 75 years of service to the people of Alabama.

“Alabama State Parks recently launched a public relations campaign acknowledging the many partners we have in our parks,” said Greg Lein, Alabama State Parks Director. “We hope the 75th anniversary celebration will strengthen our connection with all the visitors and other partners who make these parks possible. Alabama’s park system exists thanks to their support and we need it now more than ever.”

The acquisition of land for public use has deep roots. The National Forest System began in 1891. In 1916, the National Park Service was established to oversee a growing network of parks that included icons such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and Sequoia National Park.

Alabama’s park system began in the 1920s with Cheaha State Park being the longest continually operating facility. There were 11 state parks in Alabama by 1933 including Bromley, Cheaha, Fort Toulouse, Geneva, Little River, Panther Creek, St. Stephens, Sumter, Talladega County, The Lagoons and Weogufka. Many of the original park structures and infrastructure were built by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and can still be seen when visiting a modern Alabama State Park. The Division of State Parks, Monuments, and Historic Sites was created to oversee management of the park system in 1939.

See more information about the Alabama State Parks 75th Anniversary Celebration at www.alapark.com during the coming months.

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Alabama Road Trips book released

More than 100 cities across the state and their attractions are featured in a new book titled Alabama Road Trips.

The colorful 144-page hardcover book was produced by The Birmingham News/Alabama Media Group in cooperation with the Alabama Tourism Department and covers the state by geographic region, starting in North Alabama and ending with the Gulf Coast.

The book is designed as a guide for great two or three day getaways, said Lee Sentell, state tourism director.  Included in the book are road trips featuring the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, the scenic beauty along the Lookout Mountain Parkway, Birmingham’s historic Five Points South neighborhood, a BCS Football Championship Tour of Tuscaloosa and Auburn, the Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights Trail, a romantic getaway to Mobile and family fun on the white sandy beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

“We have 52 great road trips in the book for travelers to enjoy, one for every week of the year. Each highlights the attractions, lodgings, restaurants and special events of an area. Travelers will also find a lot of great behind-the-scene type of advice since each of the road trips was written by one of our veteran tourism department staff members or by a local travel writer,” Sentell said.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rick Bragg wrote the foreword to the book and relates his own story about trips he took with his family growing up in Alabama.  The book’s cover features a vintage Cadillac cruising down Oak Street in Magnolia Springs.  The vintage Cadillac can also be seen in a series of road trip inspired print ads and television commercials produced by the state tourism department.

Alabama Road Trips is available at Books-A-Million stores across the state and online at www.alonlinestore.com and Amazon.com.  Alabama Road Trips can also be purchased at the Governor’s Mansion Gift Shop and at The Goathill Museum Store inside the Alabama State Capital in Montgomery. The retail price of the book is $20.

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16 of the best birding sites around Alabama

Alabama's Birding Trails
Alabama’s Birding Trails

Originally for Outdoor Alabama (ran in the Sept. Oct. 2013 magazine), now included on the Alabama Birding Trails website! 16 of the best birding sites around Alabama–all part of the Alabama Birding Trails!

With over 430 bird species documented in Alabama, there’s more to see here than you can imagine. Watching a Bald Eagle feeding babies in the nest near Guntersville State Park? Check! Sitting quietly as dozens of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks literally crash-land into the nearest tree on Dauphin Island. Absolutely! These are just two of the stops along this series of 8 trails and over 260 stops.

Ask ten bird-watchers to name the top 10 bird-watching spots in Alabama for spotting birds and you’ll likely get ten different answers. It depends on the time of year, they’ll say. It depends on what types of birds you want to see, they’ll argue. But some of the same spots show up in every birder’s secret list of places. Here are some of the the best bird-watching hot spots in Alabama, all located along one of Alabama’s Birding Trails:

http://www.alabamabirdingtrails.com/2013/10/30/birding-hotspots/