Alabama’s 24 state parks include many recreational activities and lodgings. You have the choice of resort lodges, hotels, camp grounds, chalets, and cabins both modern and rustic. Several parks have marinas, gold courses and tennis facilities. You can contact Alabama State parks for reservations or information. Desoto State park, Fort Payne, in northern Alabama has the spectacular Little River Canyon and falls. Lake Guntersville State park also in the northern part of the State is home of the annual Eagle Awareness programs. Gulf State park near Gulf Shores has 2 ½ mi of powdery white dunes and beaches.
Birmingham is a relatively new Alabama city, having blossomed with the development of the iron industry and coal mines in the early 1900s. Today its primary employer is the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which has one of the country’s largest medical centres. The city has restored many of its early 20th century buildings and is an attractive and welcoming metropolis.
