Level 4

DeSoto State Park, on Lookout Mountain in northeastern Alabama, has just about everything you could be looking for in a state park. The “must see” is 104 foot DeSoto Falls, located 7 miles north of the park and yet still a part of the park. For adventuring there is kayaking, canoeing, fly fishing, swimming, hiking, mountain biking, rappelling, and rock climbing. You can go horseback riding to DeSoto Falls with Shady Grove Dude Ranch (not affiliated with DeSoto State Park) or zip-lining with Screaming Eagle Zip Lines and Aerial Adventures (not affiliated with but is partnered with DeSoto State Park). The 3,502 acre park also has mountain chalets, log and rustic cabins, motel rooms, a restaurant, meeting rooms, pavilions, picnic area with playground, an Olympic-size swimming pool (seasonal), interpretive programs with live animals, a campground with 94 full-hookup tent and RV sites, primitive camping sites, as well as two back country campsites with shelters.

Splash Adventure, located in Bessemer, Alabama, is a seasonal (May through September) water park which shares it’s location with Alabama Adventure, an amusement park. Guest can enjoy both parks with one ticket. There are 11 attractions in the water park section including a wave pool, a water maze, a vertical drop and several slides and tubes. There are also two areas designed specifically for kids, Salamander Bay & Splash Island. As with Alabama Adventure, admission includes free parking and free soft drinks and Splash Adventure adds free use of inner tubes and life jackets.