Reviewed by: Lauren Perry
WorldAtlas names 8 most scenic road trips in Alabama
Reading time: 5 minutes
With winter break and holiday travel on the horizon, WorldAtlas has named the eight most scenic road trips to take in Alabama. Keep reading for inspiration for your next Alabama road trip.
1. Talladega Scenic Drive
“Talladega Scenic Drive is a backroad. So strap up for a drive through the peaceful quiet of the countryside in a trip that spans 26 miles. As to how long it will take, well, that depends on how many times you will need to pull over at the many scenic overlooks on this unbelievably picturesque stretch. As a heads-up, this route will transport you to another underappreciated state wonder: The 400,000-acre Talladega National Forest.”
WorldAtlas
Some features along this drive that WorldAtlas recommends include:
- Marie’s BBQ House
- Horseback Mountain Scenic Overlook
- Peaha Mountain
Find more information about this road trip.
2. Lookout Mountain Parkway
“Lookout Mountain has been immortalized across the planet in a speech many regard as among the best in modern history. ‘Let freedom ring,’ thundered Martin Luther King Jr., ‘from Lookout Mountain in Tenessee.’ Well, it turns out that Tenessee boasts only about three miles of Lookout Mountain. Compare this to Georgia’s 35— and Alabama’s 50—and you will start to understand why this stretch of Alabama is a must-do.”
WorldAtlas
Some features along this drive that WorldAtlas recommends include:
- Noccalula Falls Park
- Little River Canyon
Find more information about this road trip.
3. Alabama’s Coastal Connection
“Alabama may not boast the 1,350 miles of coastline that Florida flaunts—but its 53 miles are just as spectacular. The best way to connect to this panoramic coastline is by taking a road trip through the appropriately named Alabama Coastal Connection. This trip is a 130-mile shoreline drama that almost completely encircles Mobile Bay, a shallow Gulf of Mexico inlet tourists do not get enough of.”
WorldAtlas
Some features along this drive that WorldAtlas recommends include:
- Bayou La Batre
- Dauphin Island
- Magnolia Springs
Find more information about this road trip.
4. Appalachian Highlands Scenic Byway
“Most people associate the Appalachian Mountains with Virginia and a couple of northeastern states. Well, the truth is that the Appalachian Mountain System runs all the way from Alabama to New Hampshire. For about 80 miles, trippers will experience a maelstrom of goosebumps while traveling through one of the most picturesque sections of the state. Expect to encounter heart-ravishing greenery, quaint communities, and historic towns.”
WorldAtlas
Some features along this drive that WorldAtlas recommends include:
- Benge Route Trail of Tears Historic Marker
- Historic Fort Payne
Find more information about this road trip.
5. Natchez Trace Parkway
“Many believe this road started as a narrow trail for bison herds and giant sloths thousands of years ago. Native Americans would later use this enormous stretch— as did every other species of human beings: preachers, bandits, enslaved people, name them. While this road trip spans a mind-boggling 444 miles and proceeds in a northeastern trajectory from Mississippi to Tennessee, the Alabama section is only about 33 miles long.”
WorldAtlas
Some features along this drive that WorldAtlas recommends include:
- Birthplace of Helen Keller
- Alabama Music Hall of Fame
Find more information about this road trip.
6. Selma to Montgomery March Byway
“This mind-bending stretch is as much a visual feast—as it is a historical feast. While Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation way back in 1863, almost a century later, African Americans could not exercise meaningful voting rights. All that was to change, however, in 1965 — when Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act, considered among the most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation in American history. Well, the pressure behind this epoch-making legislation was the Selma March, also called Selma to Montgomery March. As the world watched, African American protesters, shielded by National Guard troops, walked the 54-mile route from Selma to the state capital—in a tense, 3-day drama that trapped the nation in a vortex of unease.”
WorldAtlas
Find more information about this road trip.
7. Barbour County Governor’s Trail
“Barbour County Governors’ Trail is just that— a governors’ trail. The 55-mile tract celebrates up to eight Alabama governors that hailed from Barbour County. Meandering through spell-binding vistas, trippers will gasp at the woods and the greenery in a county well-known for its pecan trees.”
WorldAtlas
Some features along this drive that WorldAtlas recommends include:
- Clio (a small town)
- Eufaula (another small town)
- Octagon House
- Blue Springs State Park
- Lake Eufaula
Find more information about this road trip.
8. Tensaw Parkway
“No other road could be a more fitting capstone to this list. Tensaw Parkway runs in a south/north direction from Mobile, Alabama, a charming town that is an amazing attraction by itself, to Little River, Alabama, named for a river that uniquely flows for most of its length atop Lookout Mountain. Snaking its way for approximately 58 miles, Tensaw Parkway provides access to an impressive number of waterways where trippers can take a much-needed dip to escape the Alabama heat. For perspective, the water flow in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta is, except for, the Mississippi River Delta, the largest river system in the United States. Spanning 300,000 acres of swamps, marshes, and river bottomlands, this stretch has been validly designated a National Natural Landmark. Then again, this area is also a cultural melting pot and shows imprints of Spanish, French, and British settlements.”
WorldAtlas
Find more information about this road trip.
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