Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, AL, is the largest city on the Tennessee RiverLine, with just under 200,000 residents. Accordingly, it has attractions for everyone; from Antebellum architecture, Civil War and Space Race history, to modern art, outdoor recreation and sports access, shopping, spas, live music, and nightlife activity, Huntsville has it all.
Visit Huntsville!
Outdoor Fun
Ditto Landing on the banks of the Tennessee River is the most popular access point for boaters and water-traversing visitors heading into Huntsville. With a full marina, dry storage, a greenway, fishing hotspots, and camping and RV sites, there is plenty to do and see while walking off your sea legs. Its legendary sunsets are a top attraction near Huntsville.
It was named after John Ditto, who ferried countless visitors, troops, and important figures across the river at this spot, including future President Andrew Jackson and Davy Crockett during the War of 1812.
The Riverwalk Greenway and Tennessee River Greenway line the banks and provide plenty of space to walk or bike and soak up the scenery before heading into town. The nearby Green Mountain Nature Preserve offers plenty of hiking opportunities, including paths to see the impressive Grotto Falls (one of several waterfalls on the preserve) and historic structures including a sturdy, long-standing log cabin and a chapel. Those looking for an easier trek can head up the road for a quick loop around the Madison County Nature Trail. Blevins Gap Nature Preserve offers another local-favorite hiking trail through breathtaking mountains.
There are tons of other hiking, biking, and even caving experiences all around Huntsville, including the impressive Monte Sano State Park. Coming in at more than 2,100 acres, it offers 20 miles of hiking trails with mountaintop vistas, natural freshwater springs, more than 10 cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and it is also known for amazing blooms in spring and spectacular foliage in autumn. The Japanese Garden is a much-appreciated getaway for busy city folks who want to catch a break and enjoy silent reflection.
Golf is a popular recreation outlet across Huntsville, boasting several courses within city limits and a few more secluded options just beyond its reach. The city also offers Top Golf for those who need a little arcade-style competition while perfecting their swing.
With the Tennessee River close by, there are obviously great opportunities for paddling in crafts of any size. The watershed is not limited to the RiverLine, however, as there are many paths up and around Huntsville via the Flint River and other tributaries and streams.
Of course, with all of this water comes tremendous fishing opportunities. As previously mentioned, Ditto Landing is a popular angling spot, and offers plenty of chances to catch Tennessee River staples including catfish, bass, and bream.
The Huntsville Botanical Garden offers a breathtaking experience year-round, with a nature trail that features the country’s largest accredited trillium collection. The gardens feature a variety of climates and habitats, as well as the biggest open-air butterfly house in the U.S.
Huntsville History
The land that Huntsville now sits on was once a well-used hunting grounds primarily shared by the Cherokee and Chickasaw tribes, and also by Creek, Seminole, and Choctaw people. Turkey, fox, rabbit, deer, ox, bear, pigeon, goose, bison, duck, and quail–practically any game you can imagine–were hunted in what is now Madison County. Remnants of this past life are still found in the area today along streams where people fished and set up camp on hunting trips.
Local legends have suggested that the land lacked permanent settlements because the Native people called it “the Valley of Sickness.” It was acquired as part of the Mississippi Territory in 1798, and both the Cherokee and Chickasaw tribes signed treaties ceding the land in 1805. Those who remained in the region were forced to move west along the “Trail of Tears” in 1820, just like thousands of others in settlements throughout the Tennessee River Valley.
John Hunt, a pioneer, set up his home near a spring in this area, thereby reserving the town’s eventual namesake. Many others quickly followed his lead and Huntsville (though it was called Twickenham until 1811) was Alabama’s largest town upon the state’s admission to the Union in 1819. Huntsville was the first capital of Alabama before it was moved to a more central location.
It was a popular destination for cotton cultivators and entrepreneurs, steadily growing through the start of the Civil War. Huntsville’s position on the river made it the cotton-trade capital of the Tennessee Valley, and beneficiaries of this wealth built what we now call the Twickenham Historic District. This row of extravagant houses is Alabama’s largest collection of pre-Civil War homes and offers popular walking tours year-round.
Nearby Alabama Constitution Hall Park & Museum offers tons of living history experiences, including a cabinetmaker’s shop, library, post office, confectioner’s shop, and print shop. Alabama’s constitution was drafted at this very place in 1819, hence the name.
Huntsville has an impressive 65 Antebellum homes still intact. This number is shockingly high given the city was twice occupied by the North and was coveted for its strategic railroad connections (both sides tended to leave a path of destruction at transportation hotspots). The survival of so many pre-war buildings is largely thanks to wealthy and influential businessmen who stayed loyal to the Union throughout the war. Many wartime visitors wrote home telling of how beautiful Huntsville was, and the strain Northern occupation put on its different citizens varied significantly.
The Huntsville Depot Museum keeps much of this history alive today for visitors in one of the oldest train stations in America. As of early 2025, the museum itself is not open, but the grounds are still free to the public to check out old train cars, engines, and rail accessories. One of its most famous attractions was literal writing on the wall, as Confederate soldiers did some graffiti in their cells while they were under Union imprisonment there during the Civil War.
Residents overall had mixed feelings about Northern occupation and sympathizers; some stayed loyal to their seceded state, while others benefitted from Union protection. Huntsville was the birthplace of six men who served as generals in the Civil War, three fought for the Confederacy and three for the Union.
From a certain point of view, the Civil War itself was initiated by a Huntsville native. LeRoy Pope Walker, the grandson of the “Father of Huntsville” LeRoy Pope, ordered the first shot at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, thereby initiating the fighting that would last the next several years.
Rocket City in the 20th Century
Huntsville’s population was relatively small through the 1940s, and cotton production was still the leading economic force of the city through the Great Depression, joined by watercress, which was so abundant that Huntsville was called the “Watercress Capital of the World.”
The U.S. government took notice of Huntsville’s plentiful space, and decided to build three chemical munitions facilities within its borders. These facilities created many jobs, as they required 20,000 workers to operate from 1941-1945, the duration of World War II.
After the war, an aspiring businessman decided the facility would be perfect for producing cheap cars. 18 Keller automobiles were constructed there before George Keller, its namesake, had a heart attack and passed away, effectively ceasing the company’s U.S. operations. Four of the cars are known to exist today, and they are the oldest Alabama-built cars left in the world.
The vacant (and renamed) Redstone Arsenal space would fall back into the hands of the federal government after the war, as local officials courted the U.S. Army’s rocket program. This became the headquarters for all aspects of rocket development and testing, and some of the best American and German scientists in the world moved in to get to work in Huntsville.
Later in the 1950s, the Space Race became a top priority for the powers that be, and the rockets developed and tested at Redstone began to take on new missions. The Jupiter, Mercury-Redstone, and Saturn rockets were developed and tested there before they completed iconic missions including the first American satellite launch, the first American-manned mission to space, and the moon landing.
Huntsville is still involved in the production and design of rockets to this day, and it’s self-evident why its nickname is the “Rocket City.” The U.S. Space & Rocket Center keeps incredible artifacts, including an actual Saturn V rocket and other projectiles, pods, and capsules, on-site permanently in Huntsville. The past isn’t all that’s present in the museum’s collection, as contemporary information about NASA’s missions is available there, as well as next-generation vehicles and models.
Contemporary Attractions
Huntsville residents enjoy all the amenities of a major city, including tons of museums, parks, live music venues, a variety of restaurants, and historic districts.
Before visiting Huntsville, it would be wise to check out what’s going on at the Von Braun Center, where everything from Huntsville Havoc hockey games to Broadway performances on national tours are hosted. With a concert hall, convention center, arena, music hall, playhouse, and a restaurant and rooftop bar on site, there is always something happening.
It isn’t the only multi-purpose entertainment venue in town, as the Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment Center offers Huntsville the largest privately owned arts facility in the country. Filling out the shell of a historic factory space, it’s home to record stores, art galleries, studio space, four performing arts stages, and a very impressive lineup of unique and international cuisine options. Sip on craft coffee, tea, whiskey, or cocktails while browsing one-of-a-kind sculptures, pottery, soaps, jewelry, paintings, and more made in the very space you are shopping.
If shopping in unique settings is your thing, Railroad Station Antique Mall is a must-stop as well. Three floors of antique furniture, lighting, knick-knacks, and much more fill out a beautiful brick space that earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
The bronze-domed Parkway Place Mall is also not to be missed by avid shoppers, as it features more than 150 stores and eateries, a children’s area, and all the seasonal photo-ops you would expect from a large-scale shopping center.
As for museums, the aforementioned U.S. Space and Rocket Center is as breathtaking and unique as any learning experience in the country. Hands-on laboratory activities and live demonstrations often leave kids excited to learn more about STEM and space exploration, and rides like the Moon Shot and G-Force Accelerator offer fun ways to get a hint of what our astronauts felt as they took to the skies. Legendary aircraft can be found all over the property, from military jet planes to pods and rockets that made it back from extra-terrestrial voyages. The planetarium hosts space documentary screenings across its theater-enveloping screen, offering stunning showcases of other worlds from a perspective you can’t find anywhere else. There is no reason to fear leaving empty-handed, as the gift shop offers limited-edition models of spacecraft that can be found on-site, as well as apparel, educational toys, and other collectibles and accessories.
Not far behind in Huntsville’s top attractions list is the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum. Tanks, motorcycles, mortar-launchers, flag collections, Revolutionary War-era rifles and uniforms, boats, helicopters, jeeps, trucks–practically any military memorabilia one can imagine–are on display there, making it one of the top military museums in the world.
One of its proudest offerings is the Ford Pygmy, which was hand-built by Ford developers in response to the U.S. military’s request for an all-purpose off-road vehicle in 1940. One of the first three “general purpose (GP),” or “jeep,” cars ever built, it is the oldest surviving vehicle of its kind.
The Huntsville Museum of Art provides a very different look at our nation’s history, and its 3,000+ piece collection focuses mostly on 19th and 20th century Americana. Though its offerings heavily feature works from the American Southeast, pieces from South American, Asian, African, and European artists also make up its permanent collection.
The H.C. Blake Art & History Center offers a free and unique look back at Huntsville history, incorporating a poignant cultural lens you can't find elsewhere. Its various artifacts include vinyl records, paintings, and pieces of Huntsville history that give visitors a fresh, otherwise unseen perspective.
Another great way to get exclusive perspectives around Huntsville is through Scene That Tours, which offer guided walks through the city centered around themes such as Civil Rights, Historic Homes, Daytime Food Tours, and more.
It would be impossible to offer a short list of restaurants to check out on a visit to Huntsville, as its cuisine landscape is vast and diverse. From local breweries with stages and creative plates, to upscale traditional steakhouses, to a massive range of ethnic cuisines, there truly is something for everyone in this sizable, hip metro area.
From the water to the skies, there is no limit to the fun things available around Huntsville, AL. The RiverLine’s largest city has something for artists, adventurers, athletes, activists, architects, and those who are “all of the above.”