Winter RVing in Alabama

Attractions include famous Civil Rights landmarks and museums in Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma.

Other attractions include:

— Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham: This museum is home to a collection of more than 1,400 motorcycles, including some of the earliest and rarest models and modern machines.

— Frank Lloyd Wright Rosenbaum House Museum in Florence: Designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1939 for newlyweds Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum, this is the only house Wright designed in Alabama and the only Wright house in the Southeast that is open to the public. The house was built with cypress, glass and brick features its original Wright-designed furniture.

— Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores: This park features hiking and biking trails, guided nature walks and animal encounters.

— Talladega National Forest: This forest features scenic drives, opportunities for hiking, biking, horseback riding as well as lakes and streams for fishing. 

 — Tuskegee Air Museum: This museum is a repository for the oral and written history of the Tuskegee Airmen, the famous squadron of American American fighter pilots who helped fight for America during World War II. 

 — U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville:The center is a Smithsonian affiliate and the Official Visitor Center for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The center features one of the largest collections of rockets and space memorabilia anywhere in the world.

— U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile: This park features the 1942 USS Alabama Battleship, aka “The Might A,” which was decommissioned after World War II.

The park also includes the U.S.S. Drum, a submarine used during World War II, as well as a variety of aircraft, including a B-52 bomber, an A-12 Black Bird spy plane and other military equipment, including tanks.

Sparrow said several new parks have been built across Alabama, while many existing parks are adding RV sites.

Alabama newest parks include:

— Gulf Shores RV Resort in Gulf Shores in Gulf Shores: This park features RV sites that are located around stocked fishing ponds. The 128-acre park could eventually be expanded to as many as 500 sites.
 

— Homestead RV Community in Theodore: This park recently opened with large concrete pads, a large fenced dog park, a stocked fishing pond and fiber optic cable Internet service. 

— Red Coach Resort in Toney in Toney: This park is in a scenic location along a half mile of riverfront, with water suitable for swimming, rafting and kayaking. The park also rents out horse stalls and pasture areas to accommodate people who travel with their horses.
 

— River Ridge Retreat in Guntersville: This park is located along Lake Guntersville and features lakefront RV sites as well as rental cabins. Park amenities include miles of walking, biking and golf cart paths.

Following are updates on new and recently expanded RV parks across Alabama:

— A Okay Campground in Dothan: This park recently launched a 40-site expansion that will bring the park to 125 sites, according to park co-owner Catrina Duke. 

— Autumn Lakes RV Park in Calvert: This park recently added eight new RV sites. 

— Buena Vista RV Resort in Orange Beach: Thirteen new lots were developed at this 41-site park last year, according to park manager Jim Winton, adding that the park plans to eventually expand to 121 sites. The resort, which is across the street from a sugar white sandy beach on the Gulf of Mexico, has RV sites for rent and for sale. Park amenities include a clubhouse with an indoor heated pool and a lazy river. The park also has a five-acre stocked fishing lake.

— Coaches Corner RV Park in Tuscaloosa: This park recently added 22 RV sites, which boosts its total site count to 130 sites, according to park owner Benton Chambliss. 

— Chestnut Bay RV Resort in Leesburg: This RV resort added another 32 RV sites in 2020. The park is next to the Pirates Bay Water Park as well as 32,000-acre Weiss Lake.

— Dothan RV Park in Dothan: This 70-site park, formerly known as Cherry Blossom RV Park, added 24 pull through RV sites in 2020. The park planned to add three park models as rental units last year as well as a new bathhouse. 

— Kountry Aire RV Park in Prattville: This park added six new RV sites last year, which increased the park to 44 sites. 

— Pirates Cove RvvvV Resort in Foley: This family owned park opened in May of 2020 with 100 RV sites. Another 40 RV sites were added in 2021 and the park expects to eventually grow to 170 sites. The park caters to weekend travelers as well as snowbirds and people who work in the greater Mobile area, according to Maranda Pippin, whose parents are developing the park. 

— Sugar Sands RV Resort in Gulf Shores: Major new amenities were added to this 82-site park in 2020, including a fitness center and a splash pad while its laundry facilities were upgraded. The park is about a 10 minute drive to the beach, depending on traffic.