7 Best Places to Experience Fall in Alabama
Even if the calendar turns to autumn in late September, just like in New England and the Midwest, down South in Alabama, it only really starts to feel like fall in late October at the earliest. But autumn in Alabama is worth the wait! The peak fall foliage, usually in late October and early November, is spectacular, and Alabamans enjoy celebrating the somewhat cooler weather with festivals and fairs. And, to top things off, fall is the season for the state’s favorite pastime, college football. Check out our list of seven great places to welcome the arrival of fall in the Yellowhammer State.
Alabama National Fair
The Alabama National Fair has been celebrated in Montgomery since 1954 and now runs for ten days in early to mid-October. Mid-fall is ideal fair weather in Alabama, when it is warm but not oppressively hot, and the leaves are beginning to reveal their autumn colors. The fair has the expected assortment of fun attractions, like midway rides, food vendors, stage shows, livestock exhibits, floral displays, and artistic competitions. After enjoying the fair, be sure to explore Montgomery, Alabama’s second-largest city. As the original capital of the Confederate States of America and a key center for the Civil Rights Movement, the city oozes with history and cultural significance.
Cheaha State Park
Cheaha State Park covers nearly 3,000 acres in the eastern part of the state and includes Alabama’s highest point, Cheaha Mountain. During the peak fall foliage season around Halloween, the vantage point from Bunker Tower, a stone lookout structure on the mountaintop, offers unparalleled leaf-peeping. Campsites are available on the mountain, meaning you can both start and end your day enjoying the spectacular view. The park was developed as a public works project by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and also offers cabins, pavilions, swimming areas, a hotel and restaurant, and other amenities. If being surrounded by fall colors is your goal, Cheaha State Park is the place to be!
Cherokee Rock Village
Cherokee Rock Village is the name of a rocky outcropping on Lookout Mountain, as well as the privately operated recreation park of which it is a part. Rock climbers flock here for both the climbing options suited to all skill levels and the seemingly endless views that await them. The park also offers a playground, pavilions, camping, and 14 miles of hiking trails. Beyond Cherokee Rock Village, Lookout Mountain provides one of the most impressive panoramas found anywhere, especially in autumn, with as many as seven different states within view under ideal conditions. For history buffs, Lookout Mountain also includes battle sites from the American Revolution, Cherokee Removal, and the Civil War.
DeSoto State Park
Like Cherokee Rock Village, DeSoto State Park is located along Lookout Mountain, which is, more accurately, a long ridge. The state park does contain some rock climbing sites, and it is best known for its 30+ miles of hiking and biking trails, including an accessible boardwalk trail. These trails often lead to the park’s numerous waterfalls, the largest of which, DeSoto Falls, cascades down more than 100 feet. Suppose you prefer to stay in your car while leaf peeping; a drive through DeSoto State Park offers excellent foliage views along the forest-lined access roads. Continue your drive to the nearby town of Fort Payne to check out its historic architecture from the late 1800s.
Green Mountain Nature Trail
The Green Mountain Nature Trail is a 72-acre oasis on the southeastern side of the bustling city of Huntsville. The park’s 1.5-mile walking trail passes by Green Mountain’s Centerpiece, the serene Sky Lake, which beautifully reflects the fiery fall colors on a clear day. During the peak season, around late October and early November, the park’s elms, azaleas, dogwoods, and other trees reveal a soothing yet invigorating mix of colors. After your respite in nature, head back into fast-growing Huntsville, nicknamed “Rocket City” because of its deep ties to space flight and missile technology fields. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center is the city’s most popular tourist attraction.
National Peanut Festival
If you are a fan of peanuts or just a fan of quirky community festivals, make plans for a fall trip to the small city of Dothan in southeastern Alabama. As the self-proclaimed “Peanut Capital of the World” (although competitors like Suffolk, Virginia, beg to differ), Dothan hosts the annual National Peanut Festival each year in early November. Spanning ten days, the sprawling festival includes live entertainment, midway rides, agricultural displays, livestock shows, and lots of peanut-related foods and activities, including a “Miss Peanut” competition. Dothan is also home to a museum dedicated to George Washington Carver, the famous agricultural scientist who invented hundreds of new uses for the peanut.
The University of Alabama
While cooler weather and colorful leaves are welcome signs of autumn, for many Alabamans, the main fall attraction is the arrival of college football season. College football is a huge deal all over the state, especially in big-time university towns like Auburn, but the city of Tuscaloosa stands alone because of the sustained success of the University of Alabama’s football team, which has won six national championships since 2009. Fall football Saturdays bring 100,000 fans to Bryant-Denny Stadium and tens of thousands more to the surrounding area, transforming Tuscaloosa into a football mecca that is hard to match anywhere else. Even if you are not a big college football fan, gameday is a sight to behold!
Alabama's Autumn Allure: A Season of Southern Splendor
Weeks, after the fall foliage season has peaked in the northern states, Alabama’s autumn colors are just hitting their stride right around Halloween. This is also when the summer heat finally starts to chill out, making mid-fall the perfect time to visit the Yellowhammer State. Whether you prefer forest hikes, rock climbing, college football, or peanut festivals, plan to visit Alabama in the fall—you will not be disappointed!
