Alabama - Russell Cave National Monument

Over the last several years, I have been attempting to visit a National Park Service property in each state. As of this trip, I have only a handful of states where I have not yet done this. Alabama and Georgia are two of the states that I still need to visit. So, during COVID, as I got more stir crazy in my house, I decided to go on a road trip to Alabama and Georgia. To do this safely, I decided I would camp in my campervan along the way, to minimize any contact with others.

The first spot in Alabama that I stopped at was the Russell Cave National Monument. The area it is found is rural, and it’s a little way off the beaten path, but not too much. Once there, I went into the Visitor Center to see what I could learn. There were some museum type things discussing the cave, and how it was used for the last several thousand years. I was able to watch the movie as well – some Visitor Centers are not allowing that due to COVID, but not here.

The walk to the cave was short – and on a boardwalk (my favorite). The cave is large, and has two big chambers, one at the river level, and another chamber up higher. It makes sense that this was the location that people decided to stay for thousands of years.

There is also a short nature trail that is about a mile long, going up a hill and through the woods. Nice stop!