Alabama

PLAN YOUR ROUTE | up North | In the Middle | down South

Alabama

Up North

Music, music, music. Even if Florence, Tuscumbia, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals don’t ring a bell, chances are that you’ve heard hit music recorded in this two-county region in northwestern Alabama.

The Shoals Cities

Alabama’s large cities are full of incredible offerings that are just a plane ride away – but if you want to explore the state’s smaller cities and towns, you’re going to want to hop in the car. Not only will you get to create your own schedule (no 5 a.m. wake-up calls, unless that’s your jam), but you can literally set the pace of your exploration and linger where you want to. Spend time learning about the musical history in the Shoals cities and stop for a bit of barbecue (here, there and everywhere) or see quirky monuments in the Wiregrass area and rest your head in historic locations around the state. Here is our guide to seeing some of our favorite small towns in the northern, central and southern regions of Alabama.

In downtown Florence, stroll along the Tennessee River and make a beeline for Odette to get the flavor of the neighborhood. Using locally and sustainably-sourced ingredients, Odette serves elevated American fare with southern and international influences (think grilled lamb meatballs and herb-roasted chicken breast served with a side of gemelli-Gruyère mac and cheese).

The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield and FAME Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals made the area the “Hit Recording Capital of the World” in the 1960s and beyond. Hit songs by The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Etta James, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin and Lynyrd Skynyrd were all recorded here. Learn more about the state’s great musical heritage at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, which is open to visitors Tuesdays-Saturdays.

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Depending on your entourage, you can rent one room or all 10 at the all-suite GunRunner Boutique Hotel in downtown Florence. Each suite is individually decorated to celebrate the music, fashion, art and history of the Shoals area and is located within walking distance of downtown shops and restaurants.

Stay

Muscle Shoals to Anniston, Oxford & Gadsden

Anniston & Oxford

The gateway to the Appalachian Mountains, this eastern area is especially known for outdoor adventures like hiking the Pinhoti Trail and biking Coldwater Mountain.

The Shoals Cities

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Cheaha State Park is a 2,799-acre mountaintop retreat that is the highest point in Alabama. Full of hiking and biking trails, the real must-do in the park is to head to Pulpit Rock and check out the panoramic views of Talladega National Forest, a nearly 330,000-acre area at the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains.

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Founded in the 1850s, Oxford wasn’t named after the English city, but rather after the narrow crossing of the local creek. Get some caffeine in your system to explore this city full of museums, hiking trails, mountain biking and river rafting with a stop at Southern Girl Coffee Company. What started as a backyard hobby using a converted gas grill is today a food truck on Choccolocco Street beside the buildings downtown.

Hotel Finial, BW Premier Collection is in a Queen Anne Victorian mansion set on a hilltop in Anniston. An upscale boutique hotel with five suites and 56 rooms, the hotel is close to the Anniston Museum of Natural History, Coldwater Mountain Bike Trail and Cheaha State Park.

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Anniston & Oxford

The Shoals Cities

Anniston & Oxford

The gateway to the Appalachian Mountains, this eastern area is especially known for outdoor adventures like hiking the Pinhoti Trail and biking Coldwater Mountain.

If you’re traveling with a group, you can rent the five rooms at Opelika’s Heritage House Lodging & Events and have the historic home to yourself. Over in Auburn, stay at The Collegiate, or the CoHo as the cool kids call it. Once known as Wittel Hall, a women’s dormitory, today it is a 40-room boutique hotel down the block from Toomer’s Drugs. If you've brought Fido along on this road trip, stay at The Hotel at Auburn University, which also lets you dine with your dog on the Ariccia Cucina patio.

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See

Aside from walking the main streets, head to the Donald E. Davis Arboretum, covering 13.5 acres of Auburn University’s campus. Nationally accredited for its southeastern native oaks collection, this botanic garden is free and open every day. While you’re strolling around the university campus, one must-see is the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art which holds about 2,500 works of art ranging from traditional to modern.

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Toomer’s Drugs is an old-fashioned soda fountain at the edge of the Auburn University campus in Auburn, serving sandwiches and shakes in a historic corner drugstore dating back to 1896. It’s worth stopping for the fresh lemonade here, and if there's toilet paper hanging from the live oak trees nearby — it means the beloved Tigers just won a big game.

Auburn & Opelika

Tuscaloosa & Bessemer

Auburn & Opelika

Use your rewards points here as there are plenty of options when it comes to chain hotels. Hotel Indigo Tuscaloosa Downtown is the city’s first waterfront hotel, overlooking the Black Warrior River, which is a nice backdrop for the rooftop bar.

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At the Paul W. Bryant Museum, located on the campus of the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, you can check out photographs, uniforms and other sports memorabilia that celebrates more than 100 years of Alabama football.

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You’ll be a bit spoiled for choice while driving around here. In Bessemer, you can dine at The Bright Star, Alabama’s oldest restaurant still in operation. Started by Greek immigrants in 1907 and still family-run, The Bright Star serves Greek-style snapper and steak, signature seafood gumbo and pies such as lemon ice box, peanut butter and chocolate almond. For some authentic southern barbecue, go to Bob Sykes BBQ, also in Bessemer. Founded in 1957, it is locally owned and operated by three generations of the Sykes family, who begin cooking fresh pork shoulders at 3 a.m. every day over a natural fire of hickory coals. There’s another favorite barbecue joint dating back to the 1950s in Tuscaloosa: Dreamland Bar-B-Que is well-known for its legendary ribs (which you can even ship to your home if you fall in love).

Auburn & Opelika

Small-town charm and cozy traditions practically ooze out of the sidewalk here in the college town of Auburn and its neighbor, Opelika. (Case in point: there is an annual Victorian Front Porch Christmas Tour where 60 historic homes transform back to 1899 each December.)

Within an hour’s drive southwest of Birmingham, you’ll find these two destinations. Bessemer is known for its rich history with the iron and steel industry while Tuscaloosa is home to the University of Alabama and its Crimson Tide football team.

Tuscaloosa & Bessemer

In the Middle

Tuscaloosa & Bessemer to Auburn & Opelika

Within an hour’s drive southwest of Birmingham, you’ll find these two destinations. Bessemer is known for its rich history with the iron and steel industry while Tuscaloosa is creating sports history as home to the U of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team.

There is a wide selection of chain hotels here to stay loyal to your favorite brand. Or if you want to try something a bit quieter, head to Magnolia Creek Lodge; with 6 rooms, you can either stay in the lodge or in a cabin. It’s nature’s way of charming you, as you sit in a rocking chair on the back porch, listening to rustling leaves and singing birds as well as croaking frogs in the nearby creek.

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This area has plenty of quirky things to delight you and your Instagram followers. Dothan is home to the world’s smallest city block. You can find peanut statues scattered throughout the town, which has become known as the “Peanut Capital of the World” and now hosts an annual peanut festival. In Enterprise, there is a monument dedicated to the boll weevil, one of the most destructive pests in the region, which ruined the cotton industry but heralded in the more profitable peanut one.

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You might wonder what the buzz is in Wiregrass about the restaurant known as KBC. Serving comfortable, upscale Southern food for lunch, brunch and supper, KBC stands for Dothan native, Kelsey Barnard Clark, who was the first southerner to win the title of Top Chef in Season 16. She was also the fifth woman to win the title. Dine on menu items like “Yes Sir, Yes Ma’am” (French hot ham and cheese croque monsieur), “KBC Steak & Eggs” (beef tenderloin, fried egg, smoked gouda, remoulade and a bagel) or “Snapper Pontchartrain” (pan seared snapper, smoked gouda grits, lump crab and beurre blanc). If you’ve got room for dessert, head on over to Milky Moo’s for some homemade ice cream in Enterprise.

Wiregrass Region

The southeastern portion of Alabama is known as the Wiregrass region, thanks to the native Aristida stricta, called “wiregrass” due to its texture.

If you’re in southwestern Alabama, that’s known as the Gulf Coast region, known for its white sand beaches and turquoise waters as well as its museums and historic towns.

Gulf Coast Region

Wiregrass Region

Set on 550 acres, the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection in Point Clear bills itself as the “Queen of Southern Resorts”. Since it opened in 1847, it has played host to U.S. presidents and world leaders. There are two 18-hole championship golf courses on site, part of the famed Robert Trent Jones Trail.

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Directly north of Mobile Bay, the Mobile-Tensaw Delta encompasses 260,000 acres of diverse ecosystems, making it Alabama’s largest wetland ecosystem and the nation’s second largest river delta. It’s approximately 45 miles long and averages eight miles wide. Take an airboat ride for a closer look at the hundreds of plant and animal species that call this place home.

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No matter which direction you turn, you’re sure to find a seafood restaurant in this part of the state. Pair views of Mobile Bay with live music Tuesday-Sunday at Blue Gill Restaurant, known for its flaming oysters. Pro tip: if you come by boat, you can save 10%. If you’re looking for more land-based meals, head to Panini Pete’s Café and Bakeshoppe, a local institution in Fairhope’s French Quarter. Dine on Angus beef burgers, hand-cut fries, beignets and sandwiches.

Wiregrass Region

The southeastern portion of Alabama is known as the Wiregrass region, thanks to the native Aristida stricta, or “wiregrass”, due to its texture.

If you’re in southwestern Alabama, that’s known as the Gulf Coast region, known for its white sand beaches and turquoise waters but also its museums and historic towns.

Gulf Coast Region

Down South

Fairhope, Daphne & Port Clear to Dothan & Enterprise

How to Road Trip around

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PLAN YOUR ROUTE | up North | In the Middle | down South

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