Cherokee Rock Village is a great place to visit if you’re looking for a good view or to go bouldering/rock climbing! This spot is a part of Lookout Mountain (and more on this later), so you know that the views are going to be amazing. This park also has over 200 acres of sandstone boulders, which are surreal to walk through as you hike.
You’ll get to enjoy some amazing views over Leesburg, AL without doing too much hard work!
There are four hiking trails you can enjoy (and over 14 miles of trails total), but you can really get to all of the great vantage points without hiking since the park entrance is at the top of the mountain. I cheated and looked up the vantage points before I went, but I was surprised they were all so easily accessible. There’s even an overlook on a wooden deck you can go on if you don’t want to get too close to the rocks or forest.
The famous Rock Formations are known for being one of the sites that the movie “Failure to Launch” shot in, and plenty of weddings and events take place here. Who knew rock formations like these were in Alabama?
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There’s also a playground, pavilions, faucets for clean drinking water, and more! It’s also a great place to camp and if you’re into RC Rock Crawling, you may want to check out Cherokee Rock Village!
Hiking can be intimidating for some people, so if you’re looking for a way to work on your walking endurance for hikes without going outside, then get a walking pad! I have one to walk indoors during the winter or when it’s raining and I love that it has different speeds, tracks the time, and shows me the calories I’ve burnt on the walk. I receive a commission from the links below, but you can order a walking pad and mat to go underneath on Amazon with these links: walking pad: https://amzn.to/49MVkon ; floor mat: https://amzn.to/3USVKoX
Learn more about Cherokee Rock Village before you go (including hours and park entrance fees and camping information: https://cherokeerockvillage.com
Cherokee Rock Village
2000 County Rd 70
Leesburg, AL 35983
Have you been to Cherokee Rock Village? Tell me what you loved about it in the comments below!
One other thing that I loved about the location of Cherokee Rock Village is that coming from Birmingham, you take the same exit as you would for Noccalula Falls Park, but you turn left at the exit instead of right. If you haven’t been, check it out!
Noccalula falls is a 90 foot waterfall with a fairly easy hike to get to! It’s also a great spot to take kids outdoors as there is a train that rides around the park, a petting zoo, putt putt golf, a playground, and even campgrounds! Learn more about Noccalula Falls Park here: https://www.noccalulafallspark.com
OTHER OUTDOOR SPOTS NEARBY
There are so many great outdoor places in North Alabama!
DeSoto State Park and DeSoto Falls are great places to get outdoors, hike, grill out, see waterfalls, and even swim! Take long hikes to the waterfalls, or enjoy the views from an overlook that is a short distance from the parking lot! Learn more about what this park has to offer here: http://www.alapark.com/parks/desoto-state-park
There’s also a very small park about forty minutes from DeSoto State Park located in Scottsboro called Weathington Park. The park itself isn’t large and the hiking trail is a short loop, but the view is what makes the trip worth it.
If you’re into caves, you need to check out Stephens Gap! This 143 foot pit has amazing lighting and a waterfall. You can enter through a walk in passage, or if you’re experienced, you can rappel in! Learn more about visiting Stephens Gap here (note you’ll need a reservation to gain entry to the property).
Closeby to Stephens Gap, Cathedral Caverns is only 15 minutes away. This cave has one of the largest openings at 25 feet high and 126 feet wide! It’s definitely worth the trip! Checkout their website for hours and more information: https://www.alapark.com/parks/cathedral-caverns-state-park
While you’re in North Alabama, travel a little farther North into Tennessee and Georgia for some of these other great spots.
Since Cherokee Rock Village is park of Lookout Mountain, learn more about another great place to visit, Rock City, here.
Rock City has incredible views of seven states, a rock path that leads you to a year round 100 foot waterfall, and a fairy cave! The car trip here is incredible as well since you’ll be able to see some significant mountain views. While you’re at Rock City, there are some close hikes nearby like Cloudland State Park that have more amazing views, and waterfalls for you to enjoy on a less touristy and definitely a woods, outdoor dirt hiking path.
Fall is almost here and I think Cherokee Rock Village would be a great spot to overlook the forest and get some nice views of the fall foliage! If you’re looking for another spot to enjoy the colors of fall outdoors, check out Oak Mountain State Park! There are so many different spots, vantage points, and hiking trails to enjoy the beautiful colors of the leaves. Learn more about Oak Mountain in this post.
Have any other outdoor spots that you love? Share with me in the comments below!
