Alabama Road Trip Ideas: 11 Best Road Trips + Itinerary

Alabama is a fascinating state with small-town charm and big-city attractions. And there is no better way to get to know the state than with a road trip. Whether you spend a day in Muscle Shoals and then hop over the Tennessee River to Florence to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Rosenbaum House or your idea of the best road trips in Alabama includes an epic trek across the entire state to see every waterfall, here are a few interesting Alabama road trip ideas you can add to your bucket list.

1-Day Road Trip In Alabama

Three George's Candy Shop Inc/Facebook

• Route: Huntsville > Decatur > Birmingham > Mobile > Fairhope > Gulf Shores
• Distance: 426 miles
• Trip Time: 7 hours driving time

Is anyone up for the ultimate chocolate lover's road trip? You may think seven hours for a little chocolate?! But the sweet tooth wants what the sweet tooth wants. Are we right? If you really wanted to you could cut the trip in two and make a couple of day trips out of it, or just put the peddle to the mettle and get 'er done. With some of Alabama's best chocolatiers waiting to show off their award-winning confections, this trip should go on your bucket list right about now. Put this chocolaty Alabama road trip itinerary in your GPS and we'll meet you there.

3-Day Weekend Road Trip In Alabama

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• Route: Tuscumbia > Mooresville > Houston > Selma > Gulf Shores > Mobile > Moundville
• Distance: 725 miles
• Trip Time: 13.5 hours driving time

Alabama played a significant role in many historical events from the Civil Rights Movement to the Civil War, and even iconic Martin Luther King Jr. speeches. If you are fascinated by history, this long weekend road trip will delight you with historical treasures. From the oldest log jail in Alabama from 1868 to the Edmund Pettus Bridge infamously known for the Bloody Sunday attack on civil rights demonstrators, and even the USS Alabama which played a crucial role in World War II. Each of the stops on this road trip has a unique part they played in our history.

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Alabama State Park Road Trip

Christopher Barry/Google Reviews

• Route: Valley Grande > Clio > Opp > Camden > Silas
• Distance: 367 miles
• Trip Time: 7.5 hours driving time

If you are ready for an outdoor adventure, pack the car with your favorite gear and hit the road as we check out five of Alabama's best state parks. On one of the best road trips in Alabama, we'll start out at Paul M. Grist State Park in Valley Grande and the beautiful 100-acre Valley Creek Lake. Blue Springs State Park is another cool spot with two spring-fed pools that remain a cool 68 degrees year-round. We hope you've packed your fishing gear because Frank Jackson State Park is a great place to fish, and the wooden boardwalk is pretty nifty too. Some camping might be in order at Roland Cooper State Park. And just a little hop west we'll hit Bladon Springs State Park which has a fascinating history as a private Civil War-era spa.

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Alabama Haunted Road Trip

Kelly Verdeck/Flickr

• Route: Selma > Kinston > Gulf Shores > Camden > Demopolis > Birmingham
• Distance: 725 miles
• Trip Time: 13.5 hours driving time

The deep South is the perfect place to meet up with a few spooky encounters. In a state with so much history and a pivotal spot on the Civil Rights Trail, there are bound to be a few ghosts lingering where they shouldn't be. If you love feeling the hairs on the back of your neck march down your back like a wiggly jiggly spider, you'll dig this haunted road trip. Perhaps you'll meet the ghost of Jessie James in Selma. Hear the creepy echo of a haunted fiddle in Kinston. Or, run into a dozen or so disgruntled ghosts at the Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham.

Best Alabama Road Trip For Spring

Kerry Sanders/Flickr

• Route: Hoover > Gadsden > Fort Payne > Piney Branch Falls > Grove Oak > Pinson > Hoover
• Distance: 315 miles
• Trip Time: 6 hours driving time

Springtime in Alabama gets so vibrant with fresh leaves and nourishing rain to make those new colors pop. So when spring hits, and we want to get out on the road to explore, one of the top springtime attractions is our beautiful waterfalls. This ultimate waterfall road trip will take you to see the Moss Rock Preserve with picturesque waterfalls rushing over beautiful layers of rock outcroppings. The iconic Noccalula Falls is next on our list, followed by Little River Falls in Fort Payne. Desoto Falls screams, "But what about me!" So we'll pay a visit to see the 104-foot waterfall cascade over a Lookout Mountain cliff to plunge into a glorious basin of water. Piney Branch Falls, High Falls, and Turkey Creek Falls, each have their own unique features, hiking trails, and scenic roads to wander. If your heart starts to thump in your chest when you round the bend in a forest trail, this road trip is for you.

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Best Summer Road Trip In Alabama

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• Route: Gulf Shores > Foley > Magnolia Springs > Fairhope > Daphne > Dauphin Island
• Distance: 88 miles
• Trip Time: 2 hours driving time

What is the one thing you most want to do in Alabama in the summertime? Hit the beach, of course. And this quick summer road trip will take you to some of the best beaches in Alabama. We'll start in Gulf Shores, wrap around Bon Secour Bay and Mobile Bay, and back around to the epic Dauphin Island. With a handful of charming coastal beach towns, the lovely Magnolia Springs and its tunnel of trees, and the Sunset Capital of Alabama under our belt, your summer fun will be off to a great start. Just follow this Alabama road trip map to cool off this summer.

Best Alabama Road Trip For Fall

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• Route: Bankhead National Forest > Oak Mountain State Park > Birmingham Botanical Gardens > Palisades Park > Cheaha State Park > Noccalula Falls Park & Campground > Little River Canyon National Preserve
• Distance: 307 miles
• Trip Time: 6.5 hours driving time

When fall arrives, there's no better road trip to take than Alabama's fall foliage road trip. What better place to see fall colors than by driving through some of Alabama's finest state parks and national forests? Make sure you take some time for hiking, a little biking, perhaps some kayaking, or even some fishing on the banks of a stream surrounded by red, gold, and fire-orange leaves.

Best Winter Road Trip In Alabama

Bryan Taylor/Google Reviews

• Route: Huntsville > Cullman > Birmingham > Montgomery > Andalusia > Theodore
• Distance: 438 miles
• Trip Time: 7 hours driving time

A Christmas lights road trip should be on everyone's winter bucket list, and we have an epic one for you. You'll want to plan this trip over several days so you can spend the evening at each location to take in the festive celebrations in each town. Start out in Huntsville where you can catch the Galaxy of Lights, the Tinsel Trail, and Santa's Village all in one night. You could even hit the stop in Cullman at Sportsman Lake Park for a cool drive-through display. The next morning we'll head to Birmingham for a couple of fantastic events. The "Brrrmingham Winter Adventure in Railroad Park" features a 100-foot ice slide and an outdoor ice skating rink. Also in Birmingham is Glow Wild at the Birmingham Zoo. All the way south just before you hit the Golf Shores and Dauphin Island, you can stop to see the Magic Christmas in Lights event at the Bellingrath Gardens and Home.

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Family Friendly Alabama Road Trip

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• Route: Huntsville > Birmingham > Montevallo > Montgomery > Foley > Gulf Shores
• Distance: 397 miles
• Trip Time: 7 hours driving time

The best road trips in Alabama with the fam create memories that last a lifetime. (even if you have to break up a few fights between siblings now and then) This family road trip through Alabama leads to some cool destinations. A superhero-themed restaurant, the US Space and Rocket Center in the Rocket City (space camp anyone?), and an interactive science museum. Then you have a 40-acre park with the whimsical Tinglewood Trail - 30 cool tree carvings by Tim Tingle. But that's not all. For you history buffs, we'll visit Old Alabama Town - a unique museum near the state capitol that lets us get a feel for what it was like to live in Civil War era Alabama. We'll round out our trip with a fun visit to Alabama's Gulf Coast and Lulu's in Gulf Shores where you can get wild on a three-story ropes course, get blown away by a hurricane simulator, and of course, enjoy the white sand beaches.

Road Trip to Alabama Landmarks & Natural Wonders

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• Route: Gadsden > Woodville > Scottsboro > Bridgeport > Little River Canyon National Preserve > Delta > Gadsden
• Distance: 297 miles
• Trip Time: 6.5 hours driving time

Caves, canyons, waterfalls, and Alabama's highest point await you in this fantastic natural wonders road trip. If you love the outdoors and scenic views, this scenic drive is for you. Some of the places on this trip include Cheaha State Park, Russell Cave National Monument, Cathedral Caverns, and Noccalula Falls. Some of the best natural areas in Alabama.

Road Trip to Best Small Towns in Alabama

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• Route: Fort Payne > Eufaula > Greenville, > Monroeville > Mountain Brook > Tuscumbia > Mooresville > Fort Payne
• Distance: 832 miles
• Trip Time: 15 hours driving time

Alabama is home to many charming towns with rich historical significance, historical sites, natural wonders, and plenty of stories to tell about our nation's past. We'll visit the birthplace of Helen Keller tucked away in a cute Appalachian Mountain town. We'll stop by the richest town in all of Alabama and we'll even stop to see the "Literary Capital of Alabama." This small-town road trip will take you to seven of Alabama's most picturesque towns for an unforgettable experience.

Whether your ideal getaway is traveling to beautiful beaches in the Gulf of Mexico, a few small towns filled to the brim with southern hospitality, or you love national memorials, history museums, or even some famous Alabama BBQ, there is a road trip with your name on it in Alabama. Of all these Alabama road trip ideas we’ve featured here, which one do you see yourself doing first? What do you consider to be the best road trips in Alabama? Be sure to tell us all about the best Alabama road trips you’ve been on.

For road trip planning and packing tips, check out OnlyInYourState’s Ultimate Road Trip Packing List. Whether you’re leaving for a single day or a week-long road trip, you can’t forget the snacks: here are 50 on-the-go snack ideas perfect for traveling.