You’re just a short day trip away from Alabama’s largest city and some incredible music history.
Here ’s a fun fact about Alabama you probably did n’t know : Birmingham is no longer the largest metropolis in the commonwealth . Neither is the state cap , Montgomery . The honour of the most populous metropolis in the Yellow Hammer State locomote to Huntsville thanks to a population growth of almost 15 % over the past tenner . citizenry are moving there because they ’ve discovered what a gemstone this North Alabama town is : a hotbed of artistic production , scientific discipline , eating place , and bars . Add in the musical legacy of their neighbors in the Shoals a piddling over an hr by , and you ’ve get plenty of reasons fora road trip from Nashville . Here ’s what you ’ll discover in The Rocket City .
Blast off at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Ever since an prestigious group of German rocket scientist chose to relocate to Huntsville after WWII , the metropolis has literally been the propelling force out behind NASA ’s outer space program . Wernher von Braun lead the squad that developed the Saturn cinque rocket that send a dozen Americans to the Earth’s surface of the lunation , and decades later Huntsville is the home of the program to create the most muscular Eruca sativa ever work up for the Artemis program that aims to hark back to the moon before the death of the decade .
Huntsville ’s role in the space race is chronicled at the popularU.S. Space & Rocket Center , which is home base to an amazing collecting of blank chronicle . From lifespan - size models of the International Space Station to a immense Saturn V rocket hang from the ceiling of the master showing construction that you may take the air underneath , it ’s a jaw - eye dropper of a destination . It ’s also the home toSpace Camp , which has trained more than a million children in the science of space travel over the retiring 40 years , including a smattering of graduates who have run low on to become factual astronauts .
You can drink in school
Well , it ’s not still a school , butCampus 805was indeed a middle shoal for decennium before developer converted the large campus into an entertainment complex featuring two craft breweries ( including one in the old gymnasium ) , a speakeasy streak hide behind a slide quarrel of locker , restaurants , entertainment venue , and retail shops . It ’s even legal to cheat the hallways of the building with a beer , so it ’s your high-pitched school phantasy get true .
Huntsville loves their multi - purpose amusement venues with plenty of food and drink choices under one roof . Other fun partyplexes includeStovehousein the refurbed Martin Stove Factory andA.M. Booth ’s Lumberyard , which is currently being remodeled , but should riposte better than ever .
There’s a fantastic arts scene at Lowe Mill
The Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment complex is the large in private owned artwork facility in the area , home to more than 150 work studios where artist create alone works in full view of visitant . Each individual studio apartment has big windows to allow you to determine the illusion happen , and if the door is open , you ’re welcome to walk in and meet the artists . The facility also features seven art gallery blank space , four functioning locale plus nutrient and bev selection .
Huntsville is a sporty kinda town
While college football game may be king in Alabama , Huntsville is home base to some other surprising sports teams . First and foremost is their minor league baseball team that is an court to racoons , those irksome nighttime marauders that rap over your garbage cans . That ’s right , you could steady down , root , root for theRocket City Trash Pandas , or at least buy some of their screaming creative merch . They also play hockey game in Huntsville , wayward to the latitude , and theHuntsville Havochave really make headway a few conference championships . If you like ascertain people drive fast and turn over left , point out to theHuntsville Speedway , where the short poop mil running ensures wad of turning and mickle of action . Rubbin ’s just racin ’ .
They’ve finally exited the dark ages of craft brewing in Alabama
Alabama was way behind the rest of the land when it came to beer . Raised on megabrewery abstemious lagers , Alabama was a craft beer desert until a picayune over a decade ago when a “ disembarrass the Hops ” exploit worked to change country laws . Since then , the floodgates have opened and the tap are hang at more than a dozen craft breweries in Huntsville . Among the most noteworthy areYellowhammer Brewing , Straight to Ale Brewing , Innerspace Brewing Co. , andSalty Nut Brewery . They ’re definitely make up for confused time .
Hit the great outdoors
If you think all of Alabama is as flat as the top of a biscuit , you have n’t claver the northern part of the United States Department of State which is in reality home to some adorable mountains likeMonte Sano State Park . Spanish for “ mountain of health , ” Monte Sano offers sweeping views of Huntsville as well as miles of hiking and biking lead to get your heartrate up . TheMadison County Nature Trailatop Green Mountain is liberal to the public who can relish wooded paths and snap by a secluded 16 - acre lake . If you ’re a fan of the water , the metropolis has created apaddling trailto point you to the best places to put in your canoe , kayak , or paddleboard , or if you ’re more of a peaceful observer , ascertain out some of thescenic waterfallsaround township .
The dining scene will surprise you
They eat well in Huntsville , and you could , too . From fine dining at the venerable modern American favoriteCotton Rowto the clubby , pubby vibration at1892 East , Huntsville boasts some splendid dining options . For a more down - dwelling experience , do n’t pretermit the soul food atG ’s Country Kitchen , a strip mall restaurant that proudly declares that it is n’t “ libertine food . ”Toybox Bistrois a self - name “ nerd eating house ” that embraces the chronicle that NASA nerds basically build the city . Every nook and cranny is fill up with geek - ablia interior decoration , and the menu of slyness beer and effete barroom food absorb in the crowds .
Taste legendary BBQ in Decatur
If you decide to take a side trip to the four towns that make up the Shoals ( Muscle Shoals , Florence , Tuscumbia , and Sheffield ) , you might want to make a perdition occlusion along the way at one of the most iconic barbecue joints in the South . The history of most barbecue is , shall we say , smoky and bleary , so it ’s rare when you’re able to point to the definite originator of a particular dish . Big Bob Gibsoninvented a tart mayonnaise - establish barbecue sauce now known as “ Alabama White Sauce ” back in the first poop of the 20th century , and a quaternary contemporaries of the family eating house still smokes wimp and dip them in that delicious dip to create a beauty that has been copied all around the earthly concern .
The Shoals is a national musical treasure
When Lynyrd Skynyrd famously sang “ Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers ” in their Southern rock anthem “ Sweet Home Alabama , ” they were talking about the fabled backing dance orchestra of player who played on piles of hits from the ‘ 60s through the ‘ 80s . The calendar method of birth control department played on or produced albums from an eclectic reach of melodious acts from The Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan to Paul Simon to Aretha Franklin . Tour the studio apartment they recorded in atFAME Studiosin Muscle Shoals orMuscle Shoals Sound Studio , ( which is actually in Sheffield ) . describe even more acclaimed performers from the realm at theAlabama Music Hall of Famein Tuscumbia .
You can visit some famous homes in the Shoals
The Swampers were n’t the first far-famed musicians to call the Shoals household . W.C. Handy is do it as “ the father of the blue , ” and the log cabin where he was bear has been moved from deep in the wood to closer to downtown Florence so that more visitor could tourthe museumand see the assemblage of memorabilia from his life . Firenze stagecoach anannual music festivalin Handy ’s pureness , drawing dozens of blue angel performer to the area each summertime . Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia , and her nativity home is preserve as amuseumwhere you could see the H2O pump where she first made the connection to transmit with her teacher Anne Sullivan , a panorama magnificently recreated in the pic , “ The Miracle Worker . ” While the resident of TheRosenbaum Houseweren’t nationally celebrated , the home ’s designer sure was . Frank Lloyd Wright designed this example of the Usonian style of computer architecture for the Rosenbaum syndicate of Florence , one of his few projects outside of the Midwest or New York . you’re able to still tour the abode and theaccompanying museum .
Campus No. 805
U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Huntsville Havoc
Free the Hops
Cotton Row Restaurant
FAME Recording Studios & Publishing Co.
