DeSoto State Park is a public recreation area located on

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-cen ...

northeast of

Fort Payne, Alabama Fort Payne is a city in and county seat of DeKalb County, in northeastern Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877. European-American settlers gradually developed the settlement around the former fort. It grew rapid ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

covers of forest, rivers, waterfalls, and mountain terrain. It borders the Little River, which flows into the nearby

Little River Canyon National Preserve Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

. The DeSoto Falls, the state's highest waterfall, is found in a separate part of the park north of the main park.

History

The park, which bears the name of 16th-century explorer

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

, was developed in the 1930s by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

. The park then known as State Park No. 5 was established in 1935. When it was dedicated as Desoto State Park on May 24, 1939, it was the largest state park in Alabama. The park's museum celebrating the CCC's work in Alabama state parks opened in 2013.

Awards

In September 2020, DeSoto State Park was one of eleven Alabama State Parks awarded Tripadvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Award, which recognizes businesses and attractions that earn consistently high user reviews.

Activities and amenities

The park features of hiking trails that include more than of

National Recreation Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

-designated mountain bike trails, a CCC-built lodge and cabins, restaurant, campsites, chalets, motel, swimming pool, and nature center.

References

External links

DeSoto State Park
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
DeSoto State Park Trail Map
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources * {{authority control Lookout Mountain State parks of Alabama State parks of the Appalachians Protected areas of Cherokee County, Alabama Civilian Conservation Corps in Alabama Protected areas of DeKalb County, Alabama National Recreation Trails in Alabama