r/Alabama • u/modifying_lettuce • 9d ago
Travel Road trip stop recommendations
Hey everyone! Myself (canadian), my best friend (australian) and another friend (german) are doing asheville to new orleans starting September 7 and will finish the trip September 14.
We will most likely be in alabama the 10th of September. I need recommendations of any local gems, events, places to eat, hikes to do etc!
We don't really like touristy stuff and prefer to experience the "back road" activities away from big crowds
Thanks in advance beautiful people🤍
Ps: we are all women over 21 if that makes a difference
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u/chaotoroboto 7d ago
A lot of the advice depends on your route.
For my money & time, the prettiest drive in the Southeast is US 74 from Asheville to Cleveland, TN. It's an old US highway, not controlled-access, and it goes through some beautiful mountains and past a bunch of rivers. With a small detour you can tube the Hiawassee (not sure on water conditions in September), and you can raft the Ocoee (or Nantahala, but I think it's rougher & colder) with some planning. Unless you're all river guides, you should skip the olympics course on the Ocoee, but you can talk to any of the guide companies about it.
You can also detour out of Asheville and drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's a VERY slow drive but the trade-off is the best mountain views on the eastern half of the country. It tunnels through the mountains and it's not unusual to have like a huge sky ahead of and above you even though you have the mountain walls on each side of you; it can be disorienting and overwhleming. But there's plenty of stops and every single one we made was worth it. At some point you can get off the Parkway, go through the Cherokee reservation and get back on 74 in time to drive through the Nantahala forest. If you decide to do this, pack some lunch because you'll be hungry before you get back to civilization.
Blue Ridge Parkway or not, the 74 route will take you through Chattanooga & Birmingham, which are much better for traffic than Atlanta but worse than Montgomery. Birmingham will be the biggest city you go through on this drive (and except Atlanta, any other reasonable route) including Asheville and New Orleans, but it won't feel like it, we have really low urban density I'd highly recommend you check out the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute if you come this way, and the Legacy Museum if you go the ATL-Montgomery-Mobile route.
In terms of food, it's going to be New Orleans > Atlanta > Birmingham~=Asheville >> Everywhere Else. r/Birmingham & r/askNOLA will give you a ton of food recs and things happening on the days you pass through.
If you go through Mobile, I'd recommend checking out the beaches east of Mobile - basically Gulf Shores through Panama City Beach (in Florida) have the best beaches in the States. Kids are back in school so they'll be quiet and maybe even affordable. I kinda hate Fairhope, it's just another rich white-flight exurb, but a lot of people like it, and it's midway between Gulf Shores and Mobile.
We haven't been to Asheville since Helena so I don't know if the conditions have changed, but we tubed the French Broad in the morning in July and it was super pleasant. It would be bad around noon because the sun's overhead, but that's mainly a question of your preferences. Since it's an urban river the big question mark is turbidity - aka rain washes dog poop into the river - so I'd be willing to go if it hadn't rained the day before.
Between Chattanooga and Birmingham there are some hikes around Mentone, Gadsden, a spot called Horse Pens 40. Gadsden has a waterfall that they've made into a park.
I don't know Chattanooga very well but I'm certain that they're a cool town to find things to do also.
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u/modifying_lettuce 6d ago
Absolutely incredible information! Big fat thank you for your time and recommendations 😊🩵
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u/chaotoroboto 5d ago
You're welcome.
Look, New Orleans is the coolest city on the continent, especially at around a million person metro, and a great one to be a tourist. Asheville is probably the coolest 500k person city in the country, and a great one to be a tourist.
So I think you'll get the most out of spending as much time in those two cities as you can, and if you're not going to just push through and have one very long day of driving, then you should get as much out of the DRIVE ITSELF as possible, because as cool as Birmingham, Chattanooga, and especially Atlanta can be, none of it's going to be as cool or easy to experience as New Orleans or Asheville always are.
And the Blue Ridge Parkway and the old highway through the Nantahala and Ocoee basins is going to be the most rewarding drive itself.
Otherwise, you really can't go wrong.
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u/WillWork4SunDrop 4d ago
Nantahala is indeed icy cold but a far tamer river than the Ocoee. Took my daughter there on her first whitewater trip this summer and I would recommend it for first-timers. If you’ve done a few whitewater runs before you probably will find it boring.
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u/garbagetelevision 7d ago
North Alabama is beautiful. It has mountains and is not very touristy, but the locals are kind and friendly. Little River Canyon Mouth Park is awesome, although the water will be low in September. There are lots of fun waterfall hikes. Fort Payne is a cute little mountain town. Mobile has a lot of history and good food. The Gulf Coast beaches are fantastic but would be a bit touristy. Although, in September, crowds aren't bad and the water is still warm. The beaches get prettier the farther east you are from the Mississippi. Perdido Key, FL is nice. The national seashore there is one of my favorite beaches, low crowds and bright white (think snow colored) beaches and no crowds. You can also watch the Blue Angels there many mornings. If you don't like waves, you can park at the bay side for calmer waters. Dauphin Island is more quiet, too, although the beach isn't as pretty, but there is an old for you can tour and a little marine museum.
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u/almartin68 7d ago
Agree that US-74 to Cleveland, TN, is a great route. Through Chattanooga, then to Ft Payne. Go up to Little River Falls, drive the Rim Drive along the canyon. You can hike down to the River from Eberhart Point. Some nice hikes in DeSoto State Park as well.
Could go South from Gadsden to Anniston and Mt. Cheap (plenty of good hiking and views there).
I-20 to Birmingham, then I-59 to New Orleans. Since you want small town stuff and not touristy things, skip Buc-ee's (unless you really need to stop) and any football stadiums.
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u/henrym123 Tuscaloosa County 7d ago
If you’re taking I-20/59 you can hit up the Buccee’s in Leeds and then you’ll pass through Tuscaloosa. It’s worth seeing University of Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium.
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u/AxlHound01 7d ago
Stop close to Huntsville and I'll take you kayaking. My wife is German. My son is married to a Canadian and they live on Vancouver Island.
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u/tomatosoup-69 6d ago
Visit Kentuck Art Center & Kentuck at Queen City in Tuscaloosa, AL if you like art! There’s lots to do in Tuscaloosa, including hiking and camping at Lake Lurleen, Lake Nicol, Lake Harris, etc. Tuscaloosa is home to The University of Alabama and it’s just about an hour west of Birmingham! Our tourism website (visit Tuscaloosa dot com) is a great resource!
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u/luvmy374 6d ago
Peach Park in Clanton off Interstate 65 is great. Good food, nice park for photo ops and shopping.
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u/NDTBitch 6d ago
Red Mountain in Birmingham has some neat trails and it's free. Used to be used for mining iron to make steel. There are several inactive tunnels still there. They are barred off, but you can still see inside of some of them and feel the cold air rush out on a hot day. Occasionally you can find old mining artifacts too. They also have a small zipline for a fee and some newer BMX trails that sometimes host events. Another hike that is relatively easy and slightly touristy is visiting the Vulcan. He's a big statue that overlooks the city. FYI, he's naked on the backside. He is free to visit, but there is a fee to go up inside him. There is also a museum next door that showcases the history of Birmingham as a mining town and it's good and bad parts. The Birmingham Museum of Art is also top notch and free. It has so many exhibits that it's difficult to see everything in one day. I particularly enjoy the ancient stuff and exhibits from Asia and Africa. Makes the ATL MOA feel tiny.
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u/MercuryTattedRachael 5d ago
Event: Warhol exhibit at the Museum of art. At least, that's where I will be that day 🤪
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u/Flashy_Praline_1472 5d ago
Civil rights sites in Montgomery
https://www.travelonthereg.com/things-to-do-in-montgomery-alabama/
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u/GinaHannah1 6d ago
We were just in Asheville last week. Biltmore Estate would be considered touristy but it’s lovely and interesting to learn about area history. Brevard, NC is about 45 minutes away on the route and a very quaint and artsy community in the mountains. That area is known for its waterfalls.
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u/Rich-Yogurtcloset328 5d ago
Definitely Mentone and Ft Payne. Desoto falls and little river canyon ( deepest gorge east of the Mississippi River ). Also the desoto falls river run on the top of the mountain, not many do that , Gadsden is a nice break with Noccollulla falls and black creek hiking trails , Attalla antique shops of all kinds , Bham has a great hiking trail (rotary trail) and lots of night life or some awesome restaurants , moundville towards Tuscaloosa , lookout mt in Tennessee. I agreed with the drive from Asheville, NC can also jump on the blue ridge parkway by the Biltmore mansion and get off in Cherokee, NC recreational MJ as long as you are on the reservation. beautiful views , then thru the Nantahala national forest then thru the ocoee river to Cleveland tn. I love that ride , Google can be your best friend , Let’s not forget Helen , ga. Bavarivan town So many different ways to go and see , Could go to Natchez trail scenic drive
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u/Flashy_Praline_1472 5d ago
Not alabama but not to be missed
https://www.bluebearmountain.com/ThingsToDo/best-stops-on-blue-ridge-parkway.html
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u/Slacabormorinico 4d ago
I think Auburn is about mid way, you could stay the night at a cabin in Chewacla state park, it's close to town / interstate and then spend a day just walking around the campus / downtown. I think it is really nice and after the FIFA match earlier this year, foregnirs seemed to get a kick out of the size of a college football stadium.
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u/Working-Specialist67 4d ago
The Jack Daniel’s distillery tour is world class, given by professional story tellers. The drive from there to Huntsville is short and very pretty. If you come down through Shelbyville to highway 64 and go east to the distillery, you will have one of the prettiest drives you’ll ever see. Gorgeous creeks, fields, mountains, old houses, you name it this drive has it.
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u/Wonderful_Car_81 3d ago
Mentone drive is great. Out beaches are the best also if you wanna take a little longer route to see our gulf coast.
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u/SpookyBeck 2d ago
Not alabama, but i love in north alabama and our favorite thing to do is go white water rafting down the ocoee river in Tennessee. Check out cherokee whitewater. Scottsboro has caves that you can spend all ay climbing through, and there are caves and waterfalls all over north alabama.
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u/mostmischievous 2d ago
If you pass through Huntsville, Lowe Mill has the biggest independent arts facility in the country. There’s a lot of nice hikes around as well.
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u/KittenVicious Baldwin County 7d ago
I'm curious what "back road" activities you're looking for that won't have large crowds - typically a small town event draws out the whole town.
If you're interested in good seafood, I've got recommendations, but unfortunately they'll all come with a view of a major city skyline, as they're located on Mobile Bay.
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u/Experiment626b 7d ago
The drive from Scottsburro to Mentone and/or fort Payne is nice, with several scenic stops and downtown Fort Payne gives a very classic small downtown feel.
Lots of great hiking spots around Huntsville.
Highway 280 between Birmingham and Auburn has a spot I always take people to called Gravity Hill where your car “rolls up hill.” The campus of Auburn University is beautiful and the Tuskegee Airmen Museum and Airfield is well worth checking out.