Alabama is a curious mix of southern charm, historical pride, and political firsts. Sandwiched between Mississippi and Georgia on the North American Gulf Coast, Alabama is home to the Crimson Tide, War Eagles, and one of the world’s largest rocket collections housed at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.
As a southern coastal state, Alabama has 97 beaches stretching along its 53-mile segment of the Gulf of Mexico’s freshwater coast. If you include the additional bay and island shorelines, that piece of the coastal pie increases to over 600 miles.
The best time to visit the sands and parks of the Yellowhammer State is from April to October, when cooler waters make temperatures in the 90s bearable.