Little River Canyon National Preserve

The Little River is a rare thing in the Appalachians. Fed by rain on the broad, flat top of Lookout Mountain, it gathers and flows for miles across the plateau before it starts to cut down, which is why it is often described as one of the longest mountaintop rivers in the country. As it drops off the plateau it plunges over Little River Falls and enters the canyon proper.

From there the river has spent millions of years grinding down through the hard sandstone of the mountain, carving a gorge that reaches hundreds of feet deep in places. The rim overlooks let you stand at the top of those walls and look down at the water threading among giant boulders far below, a view that feels more like the mountain West than the Deep South.

This corner of Alabama was Cherokee land, part of the homeland the Cherokee held across the southern Appalachians until the forced removals of the 1830s along the Trail of Tears. The nearby town of Fort Payne takes its name from a fort built during that period, and the Cherokee heritage of the region is remembered in local history and place names.

In later years Fort Payne became known for two very different things: a boom as a hosiery-mill town, once billing itself as the Sock Capital of the World, and as the hometown of the country band Alabama. Today it serves as the gateway town to the canyon, a base for exploring the plateau, the falls, and the deep gorge just to the east.

The signature sight is Little River Falls, where the river drops over a broad sandstone ledge near the head of the canyon, reachable by a short walk from the parking area. Downstream, the rim drive strings together overlooks with sweeping views into the gorge, and side trails and pull-offs lead to smaller falls and to points where you can scramble down toward the water.

Below the falls, the river fills with boulders and pools that draw swimmers, waders, and boulder-hoppers in warm weather, while whitewater paddlers run the more challenging stretches when rain brings the river up. The trails that descend into the canyon are steep and rocky, rewarding the effort with a river-level view of walls that tower overhead.

The plateau and canyon are cloaked in southern Appalachian hardwood forest, with oaks, hickories, pines, and mountain laurel clinging to the sandstone. White-tailed deer, wild turkey, foxes, and a rich mix of songbirds live in the woods, hawks and vultures ride the updrafts over the gorge, and the river holds fish, turtles, and salamanders. Spring wildflowers bloom along the rim, and rare plants cling to the bluffs.

Spring brings full waterfalls and blooming laurel and dogwood. Summer is warm and green, the season for cooling off in the river's pools, though flows drop in dry spells. Fall is the showpiece, when the hardwoods turn and color pours down the canyon walls, drawing leaf-lookers to the overlooks. Winter is quiet and stark, with bare trees opening long views and cold, high water thundering over the falls after a storm.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.