Find your path here. Whether you’re looking for civil rights history, a deep dive into the natural world found in America’s Amazon or the world of wintering waterfowl along the Tennessee Valley, want to experience the world’s greatest biscuits or listen in at the studio where the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Elton John made recording history, you’ll find a trip to match your passion.
Alabama was the epicenter of the Civil Rights struggle and our state capitol holds an important place in the struggle for those voting rights. After all, the State Capitol served as the stopping point for the third march for voting rights from Selma. Montgomery holds much more of an important role than just that, though. There are many museums and memorials to the Civil Rights Movement. Be sure to explore Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s church and where Rosa Parks was arrested.
Selma, the start of the famous Selma-to-Montgomery March, played a transformational role in our nation’s history, and propelled the plight of Black people to the forefront of the world in the 1960’s. Safe-houses, the locations of tragic murders, and the birthplace of future protests are found throughout the Black Belt.
If it’s birds and nature you’re looking for, we’ve got you covered there, too. With over 430 documented bird species, Alabama is also one of the most bio-diverse states in the country. Alabama’s Tensaw Delta has been called America’s Amazon because of plant and animal biodiversity. Swallow-tailed Kites, Snowy Plovers, Prothonotary Warblers breed here. Hundreds of species pass along this flyway each spring heading north to disperse across North America. But, before they leave, they eat. And sing. And court.
The Mobile River basin is one of America’s greatest treasures. Little known and explored mostly by locals, it is a cradle of North American bio-diversity.
Alabama’s Gulf Coast is a paradise not only for birders, but for visitors with many different outdoor interests. We’ll be making multiple stops along The Coastal Birding Trail, which features six birding loops in Baldwin and Mobile counties totaling over 200 miles.
Dauphin Island is one of the most popular places on the Gulf Coast for birding during spring migration. As a classic migrant trap, it can be an overwhelming experience during a spring fallout when a cold front moving southward brings rain and northerly winds that cause birds to literally fall from the sky. Birding can be equally good in the fall but seems to linger longer.