Decatur, Alabama
Decatur, AL, has long been a hotspot for transportation and industrial opportunity, and it has become one of Alabama’s leading tourist destinations thanks to its festivals, outdoor recreation opportunities, and cultural offerings.
Visit Decatur!
Parks and Outdoors
Heading in from the water, visitors meet Decatur between miles 303-310 of the Tennessee RiverLine. Travelling north with the flow of the river, paddlers and boaters will reach Point Mallard Park just below the city center at the edge of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge on Flint Creek.
Point Mallard Park is home to everything one could ask for, including baseball and soccer fields, tennis and pickleball courts, batting cages, a driving range, a biking and hiking trail, multiple swimming pools, an archery park, and even a water park and golf course.
The water park features everything families need to keep cool including a scenic sandy beach area, several large slides, a wave pool, and splash pad.
Travelers who wear themselves out golfing 18, hiking through the scenic pines, or paddling around Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge can find respite at Point Mallard Campground, which offers full hookup sites, a laundry facility, and a store for short or extended stays.
Point Mallard is far from the only park in town, however, as there are more than 25 parks in Decatur. One of the highlights of the city’s parks offerings is Rhodes Ferry Park, a historic landing spot and beautiful location for views of the Tennessee River. Another historic park worth highlighting is Decatur’s oldest, Delano Park. It features a splash pad and large, peaceful garden, which was designed by an esteemed landscape architect in 1887 and features a mile-long walking path.
Museums and History
Decatur has a storied history of resilience in the face of hardships and change. As a railroad and river transportation hub throughout its history, the city is understood to have changed hands eight times during the Civil War.
In October of 1864, the Battle of Decatur was fought on the shores of the Tennessee, with Union forces fending off this Confederate attempt to take control of Tennessee via the river. This battle and others in the area left Decatur almost completely destroyed as it was burned and dismantled throughout the war, making its antebellum landmarks even more significant.
One such landmark is the Old State Bank from 1833, which has become a symbol of resilience in Decatur. It has stayed standing through economic depressions, citywide fires, Civil War battles, and even an attempt to demolish it in 1982. This happened after the city determined its plain brick exterior no longer added to the beauty of the city, so a demolition crew began working to bring the building down. The razing proceeded until their wrecking balls bounced off the facade, revealing limestone columns that had been hidden by its brick exterior.
Today the 100-ton columns show signs of the battles they’ve weathered, including chips from bullets and cannonballs, and initials and troop numbers carved by soldiers. The structure is now a museum open to the public for free tours. As of May 2024, it is closed temporarily for renovations to its foundation.
Another of Decatur’s landmarks-turned-museums is the Historic Train Depot & Railway Museum, which was built in 1905. It features artifacts from the city’s heyday as a stop on the Southern Railway, as well as plenty of rare and unique model trains for hobbyists to enjoy seeing in person.
Famous Foods
For those who want to taste history rather than just looking at it, Simp McGhee’s is a longtime local favorite seafood joint named after a well-known riverboat captain who loved playing pranks and was recognized for his beer-drinking pet pig. Rumors are at odds over where McGhee came from, but he’s said to have claimed “My daddy was a gambling man, my mama was the Tennessee River. I’m too mean for dry land, too gentle for the river … .”
Simp McGhee’s serves cajun style food, as well as steaks, salads, chicken, and a variety of drinks including specialty cocktails and a variety of wines.
The other of Decatur’s most legendary eateries is Big Bob Gibsons BBQ. With 100 years of history dating back to the original location opening in 1925, this white-sauce-serving northern Alabama staple has become a tentpole of American barbecue.
Its signature sauces have won awards for decades and made the leap to nationwide distribution, but their source has retained its small-town connection and is still an integral part of Decatur’s identity and social scene.
Festivals and Fun
Decatur has long attracted thousands of visitors annually with its robust Events Schedule, which is filled with nationally recognized festivals and celebrations.
The city never waits until summer to roll out the welcome mat, as its first big event, the Festival of the Cranes, kicks off in January with the arrival of thousands of sandhill cranes to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.
Storytelling, informative programming, cultural interpretation, wildlife demonstrations, and more fill out the festival’s daily schedule beyond normal observation of the massive migratory population. Truly a sight to behold, the cranes’ staging interval is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for nature lovers.
The city also hosts a large Mardi Gras celebration in the form of the Carnegie Carnival each year, complete with a parade, costumes and masks, and more than enough beads to go around. Spring fun continues with late May’s Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic, America’s second-oldest hot air balloon race behind the Kentucky Derby’s, which attracts about 50,000 visitors each year.
The Fourth of July makes a big splash annually as well, with concerts, fireworks, 25+ food trucks, 100+ arts and crafts vendors, a hot dog eating contest, bike parade, car show, and more at the Spirit of America Festival.
Once fall rolls around, Decatur hosts the River Clay Fine Arts Festival in late October. This juried festival celebrates artists’ work from all over the Southeast, and gives patrons an opportunity to attend concerts, try out different artistic mediums, and chat with the artists themselves while making purchases or just browsing.