North Alabama Attractions

Huntsville - The Rocket City

Huntsville is a city rooted in the 19th century with an eye toward the future. Huntsville was the first English-speaking town in what would become the state of Alabama and served as the capital of the Alabama-Mississippi territory. In 1950, it was still a small cotton town of about 16,400 people, but that would soon change with the arrival of Dr. Werner Von Braun and his team of German rocket scientists to Redstone Arsenal. Huntsville's population exploded to over 150,000 people in less than ten years, peaking around the time Neal Armstrong set foot on the moon. Industry has diversified since the Apollo era; however, Huntsville remains the high technology center of the state and the surrounding region. The city's role as the cradle of the American space program earned Huntsville the nicknames "The Rocket City" and "America's Space Capital". Today, Huntsville is home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (the lead center for the International Space Station), Redstone Arsenal, and US Army Missile Command (MICOM), as well as a thriving electronics and communications industry.

US Space and Rocket Center

While the thunder of Von Braun's rockets are no longer heard throughout the Tennessee Valley, you can still experience America's exciting space program at the US Space and Rocket Center. The center consists of a space museum and rocket park, space-oriented amusement park rides, the SpaceDome IMAX theater, and US Space Camp. Former astronaut and US Senator John Glenn described the Rocket Park as "the finest rocket collection in the world." The park includes examples of every American spacecraft and most guided missiles. The most notable examples are a lunar lander and rover, the Apollo 16 command module, a space shuttle, an SR-71 Blackbird, and a complete Saturn V rocket.

The center features many hands-on simulators and activities. See what it is like to be in the command module on an Apollo mission to the moon in the Apollo Cockpit Trainer. Fly a helicopter through the neighborhood in the Helo Simulator, or take a giant leap for mankind in the Lunar Lander. Learn more about the red planet in the Mars Mission and scale part of Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system, on the Mars Climbing Wall. Take an amazing fly-through journey of the space station in SpaceWalk. Experience three times the force of gravity as you spin in the G-Force Accelerator. Enjoy the thrill of a rocket launch in Space Shot. You'll experience forces of 4Gs as you ascend 140 straight up in 2.5 seconds, followed by 3 seconds of weightlessness and then a 1G freefall back to Earth.

In the SpaceDome IMAX theater, you'll experience images up to eight stories high and wraparound 12,000 watt digital sound. Currently showing are "Space Station", the first IMAX 3D space film ever created, and "NASCAR 3D: the IMAX Experience". Guided bus tours of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center take visitors through hangars where engineers and technicians are building the nation's first permanent space station, then visit the giant outdoor test stands where America's rockets are test fired.

Directions: From I-65, exit #340, take I-565 East to exit #15, then turn right on Tranquility Base.
Address: One Tranquility Base, Huntsville, AL 35805
Web Sites: http://www.ussrc.com http://www.spacecamp.com
Phone: 256.837.3400

Historic Huntsville Depot

About 4 miles East of the Space Center is downtown Huntsville and the historical district. Here you will find the historic Huntsville Depot, Alabama Constitution Village, and EarlyWorks children's museum. The Historic Huntsville Depot, build in 1860, is one of the nation's oldest railroad structures. Visitors can climb aboard locomotives, see Alabama's largest public model railroad and listen to Andy Barker, the robotic ticket agent, tell of life on the railroad in 1912. Visit the Civil War exhibit and see graffiti written by soldiers over 140 years ago.

Directions: Take I-565 to exit #19c. The depot will be on the immediate right.
Address 320 Church Street, Huntsville, AL 35801
Web Site: http://www.earlyworks.com/
Phone: 256.564.8100

Alabama Constitution Village

At Alabama Constitution Village, visit the actual site where forty-six delegates gathered to forge the way for Alabama statehood in 1819. The village consists of 8 reconstructed Federal style buildings. Watch as villagers in period clothing practice their crafts using 19th century tools. Hear the whirl of the spinning wheel and smell the aroma of freshly baked bread.

Directions: Take I-565 to exit #19c. Continue South on Jefferson Street for six blocks to Gates Avenue. Constitution Village will be on the left and EarlyWorks will be on the right.
Address 404 Madison Street, Huntsville, AL 35801
Web Site: http://www.earlyworks.com/
Phone: 256.564.8100

North Alabama Railroad Museum

Just North of Huntsville in the historic Chase community is the North Alabama Railroad Museum featuring over 27 pieces of rolling stock and three historic locomotives. The centerpiece of the museum is the restored Chase depot, the smallest union depot in the country since it served more than one railroad when in service. If you visit the museum on a day when the train is running, you can ride a vintage train over the museum's own Mercury & Chase Railroad. The museum is only open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9:30AM to 2:00PM.

Directions: Take I-565 East until it becomes US-72. Continue East to Moores Mill Road. Turn left and travel North 0.9 miles to Chase Road. Turn left and travel 0.5 miles. The depot will be on the left.
Address 694 Chase Road, Huntsville, AL
Web Site: http://www.suncompsvc.com/narm/
Phone: 256.851.6276

Point Mallard Park

Point Mallard Park is a 500-acre family park located in Decatur, just East of US-31. The park facilities include an aquatic center, camping, hiking and biking trails, tennis courts, batting cages, an 18-hole golf course, and an ice skating center. The aquatic center features an Olympic-size pool and diving complex, three-flume water slide, and America's first wave pool. The aquatic center will be open the weekend prior to LOG-24 but will close for the season afterwards. Consult the web site for the schedules for other activities.

Directions: From I-65 exit #340, travel West on US-72 for 3.7 miles to US-31. Continue South on US-31 for 1.7 miles to Church Street. Turn left on Church Street and travel Southeast for 1.1 miles. Continue on 19th Avenue 0.4 miles to Point Mallard Drive.
Address 1800 Point Mallard Drive SE, Decatur, AL 35601-6764
Web Site: http://www.pointmallardpark.com/
Phone: 256.341.4900

Clarkson Covered Bridge

Approximately 9 miles West of I-65, exit #308 is the Clarkson Covered Bridge, the longest surviving covered bridge in the state of Alabama with a span of 270 feet (290 feet including the approaches). The bridge was built in 1904 and continued in service until the early 1960's when a modern concrete bridge was constructed adjacent to it. The covered bridge was constructed using a design called the Town Lattice Truss developed by Itiel Town of Connecticut and patented in 1820. This unique design allows the bridge to be virtually self-supporting and capable of withstanding substantial loads, while only putting vertical forces on the supporting piers. Due to the strength of this design, the bridge originally needed only one supporting pier in the center to span 270 feet.

The Clarkson Covered Bridge was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Shortly thereafter, reconstruction of the bridge began as a part of the American Bicentennial Project. In addition, a county park was built around the bridge including hiking trails, a picnic area, a dam, and two period structures: a dogtrot cabin which houses restrooms and a souvenir shop, and a working grist mill driven by a water wheel. The picnic area features tables carved from solid limestone (typically 6" thick). The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset. Admission is free.

Directions: From I-65, exit #308, take US-278 West for 7.1 miles to CR-1117. Turn right on CR-1117 and travel North 0.7 miles to CR-1043. Turn left on CR-1043 and travel West about 0.5 miles. The bridge will be on your right.
Web Site: http://www.cullmancountyparks.com/clarkson.htm
Phone: 256.734.3369

North Alabama Restaurants

Greenbrier Restaurant

Hickory-smoked pulled pork barbeque with a spicy vinegar sauce, pork ribs, barbequed chicken with a white sauce unique to the region, fried catfish, seafood, and a bottomless basket of hush puppies (corn fritters). Prices are very reasonable. Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
Directions: From I-65 exit #340, take I-565 East to exit #3, Greenbrier Road. Travel North on Greenbriar Road 2.2 miles to Old Highway 20. Greenbriar Restaurant is at the corner on the right.
Address: 27028 Old Highway 20, Madison, AL 35756-5534
Phone: 256.351.1800

Johnny's Barbeque

Hickory-smoked pulled pork barbeque with a spicy, slightly sweet red sauce, barbequed chicken with a white sauce unique to the region, baked potato stuffed with barbeque, fried catfish. Renown as the best pork barbeque and red sauce in the world, Johnny's is the pinnacle of porcine perfection! The Internet Barbeque Review gives them 5 pigs for pork and sauce. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10AM to 9PM. Moderate prices.
Directions:From I-65 exit #308, travel 1.1 miles East on US-278. Johnny's will be on the left at the corner of 4th Street and Denson Avenue.
Address: 1401 Fourth Street SW, Cullman, AL 35055
Phone: 205.734.8539

Ol' Heidelberg

Excellent German cuisine featuring jaeger schnitzel, beef rouladen, a variety of sausages, and hearty homemade bread, as well as delicious desserts including Black Forest torte. Good selection of German beers and wines.
Directions: From I-65 exit #340, travel East on I-565 to exit #14, continue towards Rideout Road and AL-255 North. Travel 2.5 miles North on Rideout Road to US-72W. Travel 0.3 miles West on US-72 to Perimeter Parkway. Make a U-turn and travel less than 0.1 miles East on US-72. Ol' Heidelberg is in a strip mall on the right.
Address: 6125 University Drive NW, Huntsville, AL 35806
Phone: 256.922.0556

North Alabama Golf

Hampton Cove

Hampton Cove in Huntsville, part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, features 36 championship holes and an 18-hole short course. See "Alabama: A Golfer's Paradise" for more information about the golf trail.

Directions: Take I-65 to exit #340. Take I-565 East to exit #17B and exit onto Governor's Drive. Go 11 miles and turn left on Old Highway 431 South (between mile markers 325 & 326). Go 1 mile to the entrance on the right.
Address: 450 Old Highway 431 South, Huntsville, AL 35763
Web Site: http://www.rtjgolf.com
Phone: 256.551.1818

Hampton Cove is just one of the many courses in North Alabama. For a listing of golf courses by city or county, see Golfable.com or click on one of the following counties along the I-65 North corridor: Blount, Cullman, Limestone, Madison, and Morgan.