Little River Canyon National Preserve

Though some states are seeing spikes in Covid-19 cases, more parks are reopening access to the public. Death Valley National Park has reopened more campgrounds, Zion National Park plans to resume its shuttles this week, and Canyon Mouth Park at Little River Canyon National Preserve is back in business.

When someone says the word, “Alabama,” what do you imagine? For most, the melody of “Sweet Home Alabama” pops into their head, or scenes from the movie by the same name. For me, most of what I pictured stemmed from the popular television show “Hart of Dixie” about a young doctor moving to the state in search of a mystery father – not exactly based on reality. What I didn’t know until I moved into the next-door Florida Panhandle was that Alabama is an ecologically diverse, beautiful state, stretching from sugar-sand coastline to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Most likely, you’re well aware that Yellowstone National Park is a great destination to see elk and bison in fall, and that Glacier National Park will reward you with mountain goat and bighorn sheep sightings. But where else can you head in the National Park System, preferably someplace without so many crowds?