20 Best Travel Books—Sweet Home Alabama
/Alabama has southern charm, rich history, and spectacular beauty—and these travel books may inspire you to travel to this great American state.
By Michelle Segrest, Navigate Travel Adventures from #myofficetoday
I love to travel and have visited six of the seven continents (Antarctica is at the top of my bucket list). But no matter where I travel in the world, there is no place like home! I am proud to a true Southern girl from Sweet Home Alabama! I often encourage people to travel to this great American state. It is full of rich history, about which countless books have been written. However, this post is about travel—so, here are some of my favorite travel books about Alabama that may inspire your wanderlust!
What's so great about Alabama? Find out the top ten sites to see or things to do in the Yellowhammer State!
Explore Alabama's warm ocean coast, museums, and rich history. The Alabama by Map feature shows where you'll find all the places covered in the book. A special section provides quick state facts such as the state motto, capital, population, animals, foods, and more. Take a fun-filled tour of all there is to discover in Alabama.
2. Exploring Wild Alabama: A Guide to the State’s Publicly Accessible Natural Areas—By Kenneth M. Wills and Dr. L.J. Davenport
Exploring Wild Alabama is an exceptionally detailed guide to the most beautiful natural destinations in the state. From the rocky outcrops of the Appalachian plateaus to the sugar-white beaches of the Gulf Coast’s Orange Beach and Dauphin Island, Alabama offers a wealth of remarkable sites to explore by car or canoe, bicycle or motorcycle, or on foot.
Intrepid explorers Kenneth M. Wills and L. J. Davenport divide Alabama into eleven geographic regions that feature state parks and preserves, national monuments and forests, wildlife management areas, Nature Conservancy and Forever Wild properties, botanical gardens and arboreta, as well as falls, caverns, and rock cliffs. Exploring Wild Alabama provides detailed site entries to one hundred and fifty destinations. Each section is beautifully illustrated with color photographs and area maps.
Whether you’re a visitor or a local looking for something different, Alabama Off the Beaten Path shows you the Yellowhammer State you never knew existed.
Uncover the roots of the civil rights movement at the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery
Tour the state's network of limestone caves , like Cathedral Caverns in Woodville
Soak up the sun on the sugar-white sands of Alabama's Gulf Shores
4. 100 Things to Do in Alabama Before You Die—By Mary Johns Wilson
This comprehensive itinerary explores the scenery, restaurants, historic spots, tourist gems, and everything in between, that makes Alabama a great place to visit and an even better place to live. This book provides a road map of everything to see and do in the great state of Alabama.
5. 100 Things to Do in Birmingham Before You Die—By Verna Gates
100 Things to Do in Birmingham Before You Die is a delightful, page-turning book that captures stories and moments that even lifelong residents of the Magic City may have missed. The book includes a list of the most authentic and unique Birmingham attractions and hotspots including historical and modern recommendations. It is an “everyman’s guide” to Alabama’s largest city.
6. Five-Star Trails: Birmingham: Your Guide to the Area's Most Beautiful Hikes—By Thomas Spencer
In the first part of the 21st century, Birmingham is building again on its natural resources, but this time it’s not to fire steel-making smokestacks. Instead, where railroads ran and mines once burrowed into mountains, the healed landscape is being repurposed for hiking and biking. New and expanding venues around the city are providing more opportunities not only to get outside and exercise but also to appreciate the labor and industry that built this part of Alabama.
In Five-Star Trails: Birmingham, local author Thomas Spencer leads readers to some of the best hikes around the city. Within a short drive from Birmingham, you can find yourself on an Appalachian mountain peak or on the banks of the Cahaba River as it broadens to snake through the Coastal Plain. You can visit old-growth forest in the Sipsey Wilderness or hike down into the “Grand Canyon of the East” at Little River Canyon. And that's only the start. Across this landscape, you’ll find a level of diversity of plant and animal species, some rare and endangered, that rivals anywhere in North America.
7. Amazing Alabama (Lacey's Amazing America Series)—By T. Jensen Lacy
Become an "Alabama Expert" with historically accurate and tour-able sites in all of the 67 counties of Alabama.
Read all about the amazing stories, historical oddities and fascinating tidbits from the Yellowhammer State.
The Kindle version has links to almost all the sites in the book as well as a full index.
8. This Is My South: The Essential Travel Guide to the Southern States—By Caroline Eubanks
You may think you know the South for its food, its people, its past, and its stories, but if there's one thing that's certain, it's that the region tells far more than one tale. It is ever-evolving, open to interpretation, steeped in history and tradition, yet defined differently based on who you ask.
This Is My South inspires the reader to explore the Southern States--Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia--like never before. No other guide pulls together these states into one book in quite this way with a fresh perspective on can't-miss landmarks, off the beaten path gems, tours for every interest, unique places to sleep, and classic restaurants. So come see for yourself and create your own experiences along the way!
9. Greater Than a Tourist- Alabama USA: 50 Travel Tips from a Local—By Cyndi Owens Nelson
Are you excited about planning your next trip? Do you want to try something new? Would you like some guidance from a local? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this Greater Than a Tourist book is for you. Greater Than a Tourist- Alabama, United States, by Cyndi Owens Nelson, offers the inside scoop on Alabama. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.
In these pages, you will discover advice that will help you throughout your stay. This book will not tell you exact addresses or store hours but instead will give you excitement and knowledge from a local that you may not find in other smaller print travel books.
10. Hiking Alabama: A Guide to the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures (State Hiking Guides Series)—By Joe Cuhaj
The premier guide to 51 of the greatest hikes in Alabama. This one-of-a-kind guide to the "State of Surprises" takes hikers to the summits of the last of the Appalachian Mountain chain, the deep and wild canyons and rivers of Central Alabama, and the pristine white beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. Inside readers will find detailed maps, accurate route profiles showing the ups and downs of each hike, tips on equipment, trip planning, and hiking with dogs and children, accurate directions, difficulty ratings, trail contacts, and more.
11. Explorer's Guide 50 Hikes in Alabama (Explorer's 50 Hikes)—By Johnny Molloy
A hike for every interest and ability! Alabama has so many great hikes to offer, including those in national and state parks and forests and in national wildlife refuges. In this book, the emphasis is on the most scenic destinations and unique places that help make Alabama so beautiful, like the rock formations of the Wall of Jericho, or the dunes of Bon Secour. Many hikes described here are off-the-beaten-path treks to lesser-known sites such as Needles Eye and Blue Spring; they show visitors the state’s wide range of beauty and biodiversity. Others take place at various spots along the Pinhoti Trail, the master path through Alabama’s mountains. Black-and-white photographs and maps
12. The Old Federal Road in Alabama: An Illustrated Guide—By Kathryn H. Braund, Gregory A. Waselkov, and Raven M. Christopher
The first half of The Old Federal Road in Alabama: An Illustrated Guide offers a narrative history that includes brief accounts of the construction of the road, the experiences of historic travelers, and descriptions of major changes to the road over time. The authors vividly reconstruct the course of the road in detail and make use of a wealth of well-chosen illustrations. Along the way they give attention to the very terrain it traversed, bringing to life what traveling the road must have been like and illuminating its story in a way few others have ever attempted.
The second half of the volume is divided into three parts—Eastern, Central, and Southern—and serves as a modern traveler’s guide to the Federal Road. This section includes driving tours and maps, highlighting historical sites and surviving portions of the old road and how to visit them.
13. Birmingham in Vintage Postcards—By J.D. Weeks
A travel guide through postcards. At the start of the 20th century, Birmingham was one of the fastest growing cities in the South, sometimes referred to as the "Magic City." It began as a town located at the intersection of two railroads and then quickly expanded and took in neighboring communities. Around this time, photographers traveled around the United States taking photographs of towns and cities and turning the photographs into postcards. The postcards collected here show historic Birmingham's downtown, hospitals, parks, communities, schools, hotels, and industries. These images serve as a record of everyday life in this bustling Southern city.
14. Away for the Weekend: Southeast—Revised and Updated Edition: Great Getaways for Every Season in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee—By Eleanor Berman
The Away for the Weekend series has sold more than 200,000 copies. This thorough update of Away for the Weekend: Southeast presents weekend itineraries for every season of the year in five popular southeast vacation states, including the great state of Alabama. The travel book about Alabama includes maps and illustrations.
15. Headwaters: A Journey on Alabama Rivers First Edition—By Beth Maynor Young and John C. Hall
Headwaters is a breathtaking portrait of Alabama rivers. From their primal seepages in the Appalachian highlands or along the broad Chunnenuggee Hills, Alabama’s rivers carve through the rocky uplands and down the Fall Line rapids, then ease across the coastal plain to their eventual confluence with the Gulf of Mexico.
Beth Maynor Young’s 155 full-color photographs constitute art through a lens; the colors, the light, and the angles all converge for a tender praise of her subject. Her stunning visuals are supported by tantalizing captions and introductory text from John C. Hall, a master field trip leader. Together, they tell a proud story of the native beauty and complexity of these Alabama watercourses that shepherd fully 20% of the nation’s fresh water to sea.
The intimate close-up of verdant mosses or pebbled beaches pulls one into their space just as surely as does a sweeping scene of a watershed valley or a sparkling sunset over water. We all become eager listeners and observers on this guided “paddle to the Gulf,” drinking in the peace, delight, and beauty offered by the experience. At the end, we know we won’t be the same as before beginning the journey.
16. Best Tent Camping: Alabama: Your Car-Camping Guide to Scenic Beauty, the Sounds of Nature, and an Escape from Civilization Paperback—by Joe Cuhaj
Best Tent Camping: Alabama is your guide to the 50 best tent-camping sites in the Heart of Dixie. Whether you prefer the pristine white beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. or the mountains and canyons of the Tennessee Valley, or something in-between. Alabama has it all. The guide takes you to the most beautiful, yet lesser known, of the state's campsites, guaranteeing you a peaceful retreat. Each guidebook entry provides the latest maps of the grounds; each entry also alerts you to the best sites within the facility to ensure a rewarding and relaxing visit.
The guidebook's campsite ratings on beauty, privacy, spaciousness, quietness, security, and cleanliness let you know whether or not each campground is the one you seek at any particular time. In addition, each site entry has complete contact and registration information, operating hours, and a list of restrictions. Directions to the site come complete with GPS coordinates to put you at the main gate.
17. Alabama Canoe Rides and Float Trips Paperback—By John Foshee
John Foshee’s popular and informative Alabama Canoe Rides and Float Trips has been a favorite of canoeing enthusiasts since 1975, providing a detailed guide to 102 canoe trips on the Cahaba River and 40 other creeks and rivers within the state. The trips highlighted in the book range from 3½ to 14 miles in length, with difficulty factors varying from leisurely float trips to Class 4 rapids.
This handy guide will assist beginning and expert canoeists in the selection of and preparation for a variety of float experiences. The author gives suggestions for river safety and makes recommendations for equipment. In addition, he points out major danger areas and obstacles that may be encountered and includes information on river access and use of topographical maps. An appendix contains brief descriptions of the rides, including their put-ins and take-outs, and follows the general format of the individual trip descriptions.
18. Motorcycling Alabama: 50 Ride Loops through the Heart of Dixie—By David Haynes
Motorcycling Alabama is a much-needed guidebook for one of the most beautiful states to explore on two wheels. From the rocky outcrops of the Appalachian plateau to the sugar-white beaches and teal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama is a rider’s paradise.
David Haynes offers fifty ride loops of between 75 and 150 miles in length throughout every region of the state. The start and stop points for each ride are identical and easy to locate. This handy guide, which is designed to fit in a tank bag, features both streetbike and dual-sport rides. Also included are detailed, color-coded maps of the routes and turn-by-turn directions. Stunning full-color photographs accompany each ride description, highlighting scenes and points of interest along the way. There are introductory chapters on motorcycle safety, gear, and the use of global positioning devices, as well as pointers on motorcycle camping. The companion website, motorcyclingalabama.info, offers sample rides and downloadable GPS codes for all fifty rides, and hosts an author blog.
Motorcycle touring is one of the fastest-growing outdoor recreational pursuits in the country. For both the in-state and out-of-state motorcycle enthusiast, Motorcycling Alabama is a valuable and complete guide to a state rich in diverse types of scenery and with many unsung treasures yet to be discovered. Published in cooperation with the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Birmingham.
19. Paddling Alabama: Kayak and Canoe the State’s Greatest Waterways—By Joe Cuhaj and Curt Burdick
From the Appalachian highlands in the north to the Gulf Coast, this guide offers paddling opportunities ranging from classic whitewater rapids to meandering rivers, quiet lakes, and saltwater estuaries. Join authors Joe Cuhaj and Curt Burdick for a statewide tour of Alabama's premier paddling destinations for the canoeist and kayaker. Each destination is described and mapped in detail, with information on put-in points and take-outs, water conditions, and flora and fauna. Sidebars and at-a-glance data highlight local history, seasonal attractions and cultural events, restaurants, paddlesports organizations, and much more.
20. Weekend Getaways in Alabama—By Joan Broerman
Weekend Getaways in Alabama provides everything the weekend traveler needs to explore the great state of Alabama, including complete contact information, clear directions, and maps.
Entries give not only information about great attractions, lodging, eateries, and more, but also complete addresses and telephone numbers, so trip planning couldn't be easier!
BONUS—This is not a travel book, but it’s all about Alabama and one that I can highly recommend!
A Storm Came Up—By Doug Segrest
They grew up together, on the same street separated by a half-dozen homes, yet they lived a world apart. Braxton Freeman dreams of a good college education, blonde, blue-eyed girls and a safe, secure future. Moses Burks just wants to go somewhere else fast, to a place where he would no longer be judged by skin color. In the summer of 1963 in a small, East Alabama town, Brax Freeman and Moses Burks find themselves caught in a vicious crossfire between George Wallace, the KKK, state troopers and memories of a grisly murder they witnessed as youths. Neither Brax, Moses nor the town of Takasaw will ever be the same.
